This document provides an overview of the basic functions and features of Google Drive. It begins by explaining how to access your Google Drive account and navigate the main Drive page. It then discusses how to create and share documents and folders, leave comments on documents, and collaborate with other users. The document also demonstrates how to create calendar events using Google Calendar and shares some tips for organizing files using folders. The overall purpose is to familiarize new users with the essential tools and capabilities in Google Drive for team collaboration and productivity.
2. FOREWORD
Approaching newer technologies and applications can be
intimidating and frustrating, but the key word to remember
is application. Good online products are designed to be
intuitive and user-friendly, so after learning some the
capabilities of Google Drive, I urge you to experiment to see
what you can do beyond the basic functions that we will go
over in this short presentation.
A brief word of comfort for those of you who may still be
unsure: If you can use a Word Processor, Facebook, or an an
E-mail account, learning to use Google Drive will be more of
figuring out a different layout rather than learning a new
system.
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4. ACCESSING YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT
Use your city’s login to
access the proper
Google account
Example:
Barrybobsue129gmail.com
Password19!92
Note: If you were able to access this presentation without knowing how to use your
email, the creator of this presentation is very impressed. 4
5. PROTIP: Add the Google Drive page to your web browser’s favorites!
https://drive.google.com/
ACCESSING GOOGLE DRIVE
Access your drive by going
to the top right and
clicking the “Apps” button
and selecting “Drive”
Notice that you can also
access “Gmail” and
“Calendar”
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6. THE GOOGLE DRIVE PAGE
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It may be overwhelming at first, but we will only be focusing
on getting around your drive, creating and sharing Google
documents, and making Google calendar events.
7. THE CREATE & UPLOAD MENU
You can create Documents
and Folders simply by
clicking on “CREATE”.
The “CREATE” menu may
vary depending upon how
many applications you
have connected.
can be used to add
other files for your team.
Use if you want to share
files created not using
your Google Drive.
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8. “SHARED WITH ME” PAGE
This is where any documents others shared with you will go. You
can select documents by selecting them with a check mark and
use one of the highlighted options to move or delete the
document. 8
9. THE GOOGLE DOCUMENT PAGE
If you’ve ever used a word processor like Word Perfect or an
E-mail program such as Microsoft Outlook, the basics of
Google Documents are virtually the same. 9
10. UNIQUE TO GOOGLE DOCUMENTS
Your Google document
saves as you work on it.
◦ Pro: Never lose progress
unless your Internet
connection drops.
◦ Con: Constant saving
means your first drafts will
be overwritten by default.
If you are working on a
long document, write it
elsewhere then copy and
paste the final draft into
a Google document.
You can rename the document by
clicking “Untitled Document”
You can click the folder icon to move
the document to folder in your drive.
This menu is on the top right is
discussed on the next slide.
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11. SHARING YOUR DOCUMENTS
Type the e-mail or name
of the people you wish
to share the document
with.
Shareable links will allow
anyone with the link to
access the document.
Good for sharing a
document if you have an
e-mail list.
If link sharing is off, the box will be smaller.
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12. SHARING YOUR DOCUMENTS
There are three types of
permissions
Can View
◦ Others can access and read
only. Good for mass sharing.
Can Comment
◦ Readers can add comments.
Use to get feedback.
Can Edit
◦ Anyone with access can
change the document.
USE SPARINGLY!
If link sharing is off, the box will be smaller.
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13. SHARING YOUR DOCUMENTS
“Send” will e-mail
notifications to everyone
added to the list. In this
case, it will be shared with
Global Team Austin.
If you click “Advanced”,
don’t worry, you didn’t
break anything. Just click
cancel and reopen
“Share” and the box will
be back to normal.
If link sharing is off, the box will be smaller.
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14. COMMENTING ON DOCUMENTS
You can easily comment
on a document by
highlighting and right
clicking comment.
Other users can reply to
comments by clicking in
text box with “Reply…”
and respond to other
comments.
Hitting “Resolve” will
remove the comment.
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15. COMMENT NOTIFICATIONS
Notifications are sent to
your e-mail anytime a
user comments on the
page.
Clicking “Notifications”
gives you three options:
◦ All
Any comment is e-mailed
◦ Replies To You
Only comments made in
response to your comments
◦ None
No notifications will be sent. Clicking “Comment” will add a comment to
the closest word to your cursor in the doc
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16. COMMENT NOTIFICATIONS
If your team is leaving
comments using the same e-
mail, you will not be notified
of new responses!
If you are collaborating with
other team members, I
suggest sharing the
document or using “sharable
links” while having your
other team members
comment using personal
accounts.
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17. CHAT ROOM COLLABORATION
If multiple users are
accessing the same
document, you can use
the chat button to access
an instant messenger box
to collaborate.
As of the making of this
presentation, the creator
of the Google document
sometimes cannot join
the chat room with other
users.
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18. MAKING SUGGESTIONS
Instead of editing, you
can suggest changes.
A suggestion is a
specialized comment
that you can approve or
reject the change.
◦ Approves the suggestion
and edits the document.
◦ Rejects the suggestion and
resolves the discussion.
You will need editing
permission to use
suggestions.
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19. CREATING FOLDERS
Clicking Folder in the
Create menu will make a
new folder and prompt
you to name it.
You can move files and
other folders into folders
just like documents.
Folders will appear be
listed “My Drive”.
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20. PROTIP: Add the Google Calendar page to your web browser’s favorites!
https://www.google.com/calendar/
ACCESSING GOOGLE CALENDAR
Access your calendar by
going to the top right and
clicking the “Apps” button
and selecting “Calendar”.
Notice that you can also
access “Gmail” and “Drive”
from here.
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21. THE GOOGLE CALENDAR PAGE
Highlighted portions are used for navigating your calendar and
viewing it in different time frames such as the week or the month.
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22. CREATING AN EVENT
Clicking the date will
place an event on the
calendar.
Creating an event, click
“edit event”, or double
clicking an event or date
on the calendar will
open up the event on a
separate page.
Go to the next slide to
see an example of a
created event.
This is en excerpt from the Edit Event
page that did not fit on the next
slide. Unlike Google Documents, you
must save changes manually. They
will not auto-save.
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23. A CREATED EVENT SAMPLE
Just like using any other calendar program, you can set the date,
how long it lasts, where and when it is, and other options like
e-mail notifications and sharing it with other users.
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