Google Drive

Create files and folders using Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive

You can now use Gemini in the Google Drive side panel to create new Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and folders. Simply type prompts like "Create a new folder" or "Create a new Google Doc". Gemini will then create the new item and provide you with a direct link, streamlining your workflow.

Limiting access to folders in Google Drive

You can now limit any folder in My Drive or Shared Drives to allow the access of that folder to be different to the access of the parent. As a shared drive manager or My Drive folder owner, choose the folder and the share option, then click on the Share Settings button. Check Limited Access to ‘Folder name’. You will now need to add the people that you wish to be able to access the folder. 

Enhancing video navigation and accessibility with Google Drive video transcripts

Google Drive now offers automatically generated video transcripts.  These transcripts appear in a sidebar next to the video and highlight the spoken text.  Users can search the transcript, making it easier to find specific moments in the video.

Access filter chips more easily in Google Drive search

Filter chips have now been moved to show inside the Drive Search bar. In addition, new as-you-type suggestions for filters will be shown as you enter your search criteria. 

View all relevant folders and files on a single page in Google Drive

Google Drive’s home page will now show both file and folder suggestions that can be expanded or collapsed as required. These will be intelligently chosen based on recent activity, sharing patterns, and connected Google Calendar events. 

Stay on top of shared Drive files with automatic digest email

If you haven’t been active on Drive for 7 days and have multiple shared files that are unviewed, Google will send you a reminder email that summarises the files. The digest email will include information about the unviewed files that were shared with you and a link to “See more activity” on the Drive Activity page. 

Dark mode now available in Google Drive on the web

Dark mode in Drive on the web aims to provide you with a more comfortable, customisable viewing experience for Drive. Go into Settings to enable this option.

View recent shares in Google Drive Activity

As well as pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files, Google Drive’s Activity page now shows recent file shares, including when the file was shared and by whom. 

Updated keyboard shortcuts and navigation in Google Drive

If you opt into the new keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive, you will be able to navigate to a file by typing up to the first five letters of that file name. As a result of this functionality, existing keyboard shortcuts that are just one letter will be changed to a combination of keys. 

Find out more in our how-to video:

Easily share Google Drive files with Google Calendar meeting attendees

Google Drive has introduced the option to share any file with all participants on a Google Calendar invite via the sharing dialog within a file. 

New homepage view in Google Drive

A new home page named Home has been introduced in Google Drive, to make it easier to find the files you need when you first access Drive. This page contains personalised file and folder suggestions, as well as filter chips to find the files you need. 

Filter files by people or group in Google Drive

Google Drive has introduced some new filters that show by default when you view My Drive or Shared Drives. You can filter your file list by people to see files that are shared with a specific person or group, files shared outside of your organisation and files that you own that have been shared with specific people or groups.

• Find files shared with a person or group by navigating to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent, then clicking on the People filter. Search for a person or group who the files are shared with. 

• Find files shared outside of your organisation by navigating to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent. clicking on the People filter and selecting External users.

• find files you own that are shared with a specific person or group by navigating to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent. clicking on the People filter and selecting yourself as the Owner.

New view shows your Google Drive actions in one place

A new view is being introduced in Google Drive to show all pending access requests, recent comments and file approvals in one place. The new Activity tab will show under Priority on the left-hand side of the screen, with Workspaces now getting their own tab in Google Drive too. 

Find out more in our how-to video:

Lock files in Google Drive

You can now lock a file so that updates cannot be made to the file without unlocking it. When a file is locked, edits, comments and suggestions cannot be added. Only the file owner and those with edit access can lock and unlock files. 

Respond to share requests within documents

When users request access to a file, the approvers receive an email with the option to share the file or decline the request. Now, you can review and respond to share requests within the document itself. If a request has been made, you will a dot on the Share button - click on this to view the share request. 

Dedicated spam folder in Google Drive

Google Drive will have a dedicated spam folder to host unwanted files that have been shared with you containing spam or abusive content. When you drag a file into the Spam folder, you will be unsubscribed from any related mailing lists automatically and the file will only show in your Spam folder, nowhere else in Google Drive. 

Please note that any files held in the Spam folder for 30 days will be removed automatically. 

New options for moving files in Google Drive

When you move a file in Google Drive, you will now see suggested locations, with separate tabs to show starred folders and all locations. 

Use search chips to find files quickly in Google Drive

Search chips will now show along the top of your Google Drive screen to allow you to quickly filter by file type, people and modification date. 

Move files and folders from My Drive to Shared Drives

You can now move files and folders that you own from My Drive into a Shared Drive. Note that you will need to be the manager of a Shared Drive in order to move a folder into that Shared Drive. 

Find out more in our how-to video:

Content Managers can now share folders in Shared Drives

Previously, only the manager of a Shared Drive was able to share an entire folder in a Shared Drive - now this can also be done by content managers if this option is enabled in the settings of the Shared Drive:

Here is a summary of the actions that each role in a Shared Drive can carry out:

Sharing suggestions in Google Drive

In Drive, Docs, Sheet and Slides, suggested recipients will now show in the sharing dialog to speed up collaboration across your organisation.

Visitors can now add files to shared areas in Google Drive

Visitor sharing allows you to share documents with people that don’t have a Google email address. This allows non-Google users to view, comment on or edit content in Google documents.  You can now also allow non-Google users to upload or create files in shared folders. 

Offline sync available for MS Office files in Google Drive

If you have opened a Microsoft Office file using Office editing mode in Google Drive, and you have offline mode enabled in Google Drive you will be able to work offline on the MS Office file without an internet connection. You will be able to edit and add comments to the file offline, with any changes synchronising to Drive when you are online again. 

Find out more in our how-to video:

Copy and paste files using keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive

You can now use keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste files in Google Drive, and to create new folders.

Find out more in our how-to video:

Quickly search for Google Meet content in Google Drive

You can now use the search keyword app:”Google Meet” to find all Google Meet content in Drive, including meeting recordings, chat transcripts, attendance reports and meeting notes created in Google Calendar. 

Warning banners for suspicious files in Google Drive

If you open a potentially suspicious or dangerous file in Google Drive, a warning banner will be displayed to help protect you and your organisation from malware, phishing and ransomware. 

Search chips in Google Drive

Just like in Gmail, when you perform a search in Google Drive, search chips will allow you to refine the search quickly and easily e.g. to find specific file types or files shared by specific people. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Use labels to classify files in Google Drive

If your Google Workspace administrator has set up labels, you can apply these to your documents to classify them with additional metadata. You can search for all files that contain specific labels, and your administrator can set specific Data Loss Prevention rules to ensure files with specific labels are not deleted or shared incorrectly. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Files in multiple folders in Google Drive will be converted to shortcuts

With the improvements to shortcuts in Google Drive, any existing files you have in multiple locations in Google Drive will be migrated to shortcuts in 2022. 

As an end user, you will see a banner in Google Drive notifying you of this migration. There is no action that you need to take, and you will still be able to access your files from the same folder, although they will now show as shortcuts. 

When a file is replaced with a shortcut:

• One location is preserved for files or folders currently contained in multiple locations. All other instances of the item will be replaced with a shortcut.

• Ownership and sharing permissions for files and folders are preserved. 

• Admins can view a record of these events and changes in the Admin audit log.

Block users in Google Drive

You can now block specific users in Google Drive, to prevent them from sharing items with you. Any files you have previously shared with the users will no longer be available to them. 

Please note:

• You cannot block users within your own domain

• Blocking a user on Drive will also block them from interacting with you on other apps e.g. Google Chat.

Find out more in our How To video:

As well as being able to change the colour of folders in My Drive, you can now change the colour of folders in Shared drives, as well as shortcuts to folders. 

New options to find files that have been shared with you

The following new options are available when searching for files in Google Drive. 

• from: will now return files shared with you by the specified email address. Previously, this would have returned files owned by that email address.

• to: will now return files that you have shared with the specified email address. Previously, this would have returned all files that the email address had permissions to view, comment, or edit.

• sharedwith: is a new search operator which will return files that the specified email address owns or has permission to view, comment or edit.

• owner: returns files owned by the specified email address. 

Share files with target audiences

Target audiences can be set by Google Workspace administrators to make it easier to share files with specific groups of users. If your administrator has set up target groups, you will be able to create a shareable link to that group from Docs, Sheets and Slides in Google Drive.

Previously in beta, this feature is now available for all users, with the ability to create up to 5 target audiences in your domain. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Google Drive File Stream is now Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive File Stream has changed names to Google Drive for Desktop. This tool allows you to access your files directly from Windows or your Mac, and keeps your files synchronised for both online and offline access. 

Find out more about Google Drive for Desktop in our How To video:

Convert PDFs to Google Docs 

When you convert a PDF to a Google Doc, more image, text and layout conversions will be improved, including:

• Image quality and wrapping

• Text styles and formatting

• Layout such as columns, tables and custom page sizes

You can convert a PDF to a Google Doc by clicking on the Open With drop-down along the top of the PDF preview screen and choosing Google Docs. 

Office editing in Google Drive

When you double-click on a Microsoft Office file in Google Drive, it will open directly in Office editing mode, allowing you to edit, comment, and collaborate on Office files using the Google Docs, Sheets and Slides interface.

Watch our How To video to find out more:

Shared folders in Google Drive

You can now share folders in shared drives.

You can share a specific folder in a shared drive with a non-member, including an external contact. Manager access is required to share a folder in a shared drive. 

Watch our How To video to find out more:

Deleted Items in Google Drive

From 13th October 2020, Google is changing the retention policies for items in the Bin in Google Drive. With this new policy, any file that is put into the Google Drive bin will be automatically deleted after 30 days. Previously, binned items would be retained indefinitely until the bin was emptied by the user. 

Any files already in a user’s bin on 13th October will remain there for 30 days, after which they will be deleted automatically.

Visitor Sharing in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Sites

Visitor sharing allows you to share items with non-Google accounts, allowing visitors to view, comment on or edit your files using a secure pincode. This allows you to collaborate with anyone, even if they don’t have a Google account, and be able to monitor all interactions within the document you have shared. You will also be able to revoke access at any time by removing collaborators as required.

Find out more in our How To video:

Share files with target audiences

Target audiences can be set by Google Workspace administrators to make it easier to share files with specific groups of users.

If your administrator has set up target groups, you will be able to create a shareable link to that group from Docs, Sheets and Slides in Google Drive.

Find out more in our How To video:

Smart compose and link previews on mobile

The link preview feature that has been available in Google Docs on the web for a few months is now available on the Android and iOS Google Docs apps. In addition, smart compose is also available  on these apps, allowing you to write faster with suggested input as well as spelling and grammar corrections. 

Access checker for audio and video in Google Slides

When you insert an audio or video file stored in Google Drive into a Google Slides presentation, Slides will automatically check that the inserted file is shared with everyone that has permission to edit or view the slides. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Review presentations on mobile

If you use Google Slides on an Android device, you will now be able to scroll through the slides of a presentation more easily, pinch to zoom into a slide and easily switch between editing, presenting and casting mode. 

A new Share dialog box has been introduced in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Forms, with the main objective of making it easier to see exactly who a document has been shared with, and to allow link sharing with minimal clicks.

Find out more in our How To video:

You can now create shortcuts or pointers in Google Drive, allowing files to be stored in one folder, but be accessible from any other folder in Google Drive or Shared Drives. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Team Drives is being renamed to Shared Drives, while still keeping the same functionality to store documents in a central location and share them with individuals or Google Groups. 

You no longer need an additional chrome extension to be able to edit MS Office files in Google Drive. 

When you double-click on an Office file, you will be able to edit, comment and collaborate on Office files within Drive in your browser, without the need to convert them to Google Docs. 

Any changes you make will be saved to the original Office file, and the file will stay in Office format unless you specifically convert it to a Google Doc. As an Office file, you’ll be able to edit it in Drive in the same way as your native Google docs, sheets and slides. 

Find out more in our How To video:

Note: If your original MS Office file uses any features in Word, Excel or PowerPoint that aren't currently available in Docs, Sheets or Slides, the features will not display in the file in Google Drive. If your Excel workbook contains macros, for example, you will still be able to edit sheet data in Google Drive, but won't be able to run the macros. 

If you have enabled offline working in Google Drive, you can now right-click over a Docs, Sheets or Slides file in Google Drive to make that files available offline. You can preview which files are available offline using the Offline preview mode.

Find out more in our How To video:

If you are a member of a number of team drives, it can be difficult to find the drive you need to work with from the list of all drives that shows on the left-hand side of the screen. If you no longer need to work on a team drive regularly, you can hide it in the team drive list to make the list more manageable.

You can now search for files created by specific people in a Team Drive, even though all files are owned by the team drive itself. 

Use the creator: label to search for files created by a specific person in the team drive. 

A new view is available in Google Drive named Priority. Through machine learning, this page shows the documents that should be most relevant to you at any time, based on how you open documents during the day. 

You can arrange documents into workspaces to access them more easily from the Priority page. Workspaces are created automatically based on related content, but you can also create your own workspaces to group files stored in various My Drive and Team Drive folders. 

Find out more in our How To video:

The Search drop-down has been updated in all Google Workspace additions, and you can now:

• Click on a suggested search term to search for it

• Click on a top collaborator to find files that you’ve collaborated on with that person

• Click on a file type to find all files of that type

• Click on the Edited Today button to show only files you’ve worked on today

• Click on Starred to show only starred documents

Find out more in our How To video:

The side panel is now available in Google Drive, as well as in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, allowing you to access your Calendar, Tasks and Google Keep notes directly from your documents. 

Early next month, Team Drive will introduce a new role for members of a Team Drive that you wish to be able to manage files, but not manage the Team Drive as a whole by changing settings or membership. 

The other roles within Team Drive will be renamed as follows:

Searching in Google Drive has never been easier - you will now see a range of options when you click on the Search drop-down arrow, to quickly search for documents by collaborator or file type.  Click on an option to see matching files instantly, or click on Advanced Search to add additional criteria.

The Google Drive interface has changed to reflect Google’s new design principles, which include using colour to focus on content  and a responsive layout grid to make your Drive experience the same regardless of the device you are using to access it. 

All commands are available in the new Drive interface, but some things may have moved slightly on screen:

• The logo in the top left has been changed to the Google Drive logo

• If you’ve added a custom company logo, it is now in the top right.

• The Settings icon has been moved in line with the search bar

• The New button has been updated to the new Google compass layout 

Anyone with full access to a Team Drive on their own domain can change Team Drive settings to control how the drive can be shared. You can set whether a Team Drive can be shared with users not on your domain and whether files within the Team Drive can be shared with users that are not specifically members of the Team Drive. Finally, you can control whether shared files can be downloaded, copied, or printed by commenters and viewers. 

Watch our how-to video to find out more about the new Team Drive settings: 

In Team Drive, you can now:

• Limit file access privileges to Team Drives members, or only to users within your domain

• Add Information Rights Management (IRM) controls to prevent users from printing, downloading and copying files within Team Drive

Most people know that the Shared with Me option in Google Drive can be used to view any documents that have been shared with you by other people. This option has been improved to show you files grouped by the person that shared them, allowing you to quickly see all files shared by specific colleagues. 

Watch our how-to video to find out more about viewing shared documents in Google Drive:

You can now email all members of a Team Drive from within the Team Drive or from an open document shared in the Team Drive. 

Watch our how-to video to find out more about emailing Team Drive members: 

Google Drive can be used to store much more than just Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. You can store other file types in Drive including Microsoft Office and PDF files, and you can now collaborate on these files without the need to convert them to Google documents first.

Watch our how-to video to find out more about adding comments and actions to non-Google files in Google Drive:

You can now search for documents within a specific folder in Google Drive, including any subfolders. 

Watch our how-to video to find out more searching in Google Drive folders:

Google Drive Sync has been replaced with Drive File Stream.  Like its predecessor, Drive File Stream allows you to access your Google Drive Documents on your PC, through the Windows File Explorer or Mac Finder. Unlike Drive Sync, it only downloads documents once you open them, taking up minimal file space while allowing you to browse your files and access the documents you need. 

Find out more about Drive File Stream in our How To Video: