The Introductory Overview Tutorial of Google Drive - Essay Example

?Video summary Part of this video series is the introductory overview ial of Google Drive that discusses its purpose and functionality. To use Google Drive, one must first make a Google account or a G-mail account. The link of Drive appears at the top black bar. Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage and sharing service. In Google Drive provides the user with the option to either upload files one by one or upload the whole folder altogether. It is advisable to always have the box that asks if the file has to be converted or not into Google’s format before any file is uploaded. Google drive is a service where any type of document can be uploaded and composed. Files uploaded can only be edited after their conversion into Google Docs format. The name of the file remains the same both in the converted and the original format in the activity section, but the symbol on the left of the name helps determine whether the file is converted or not. It is recommendable not to check the box that asks for the conversion of image or pdf files because of the great possibility of occurrence of conversion issues. Once uploaded and clicked upon, files open in new tabs from where they can be read, edited, saved, and performed all other kinds of functions upon. The free version of Google Drive has established the limit of 5 GB for uploading documents. For storage beyond that, the account has to be purchased. Video 2 summary Part 2 of this video series is about creating documents within the Google Drive. Google Drive lets the users create documents that are similar to the formats they work with in the Microsoft Office. There are different programs that compare to different programs of the Microsoft Office e.g. Presentation in Google Drive is the equivalent of MS PowerPoint. Likewise, Spreadsheet in Google Docs has almost all of the features of MS Excel. The user can perform different sorts of functions on the data in Spreadsheet just like it is done in MS Excel. Google Docs have an Autosave feature that obviates the need to properly save the content written in the file all the time. Users must first title the documents to differentiate them from one another in the list. Most of the features of Google Docs are similar to those of Microsoft Office. Users can make a copy of the documents to be able to edit the documents even if the editing rights have not been granted to them by the sender of the documents. Users can revisit the older versions of the documents using the Revision History feature. This is a very powerful feature as a new revision history is created every time a change is made to the document. The Form in the Google Docs is a very useful program to conduct surveys with. Everything ranging from making graphs to drawings, writing, and making presentations can be done using the programs of the Google Docs. Video 3 summary Part 3 of this video series is about sharing documents within the Google Drive. Sharing is of two types; sharing with a Google Docs’ user and sharing with a non-user of Google Docs. The way to share a document with a Google Docs’ user is to right-click anywhere on the row of the document, go to share, and then again share. The sender has the option of deciding whether the receiver can edit, comment, or just view the document. Once the document has been shared, its shared status is visible on the row next to where it is located. The powers given to the receiver to change the file in any way can be limited or increased anytime by the sender. To share a document with a non-user of Google Docs’, the first step is to convert the document from Google Docs format to the original format. Once this is done, the rest of the process is the same as for the user of Google Docs’ except we go to “Email as attachment” instead of “share” in the third step. Any important updates about the document that the sender wants to share with the receivers can be sent as a message via “Email collaborators”. More than one file can also be shared with a group of people by creating a shared folder where individual files can be dragged and dropped in. This is a very useful feature in situations where people have to work as a team from remote locations. Video 4 summary Part 4 of this video series is about file organization and management. The Activity section is like an inbox for the Google Docs. Files keeping changing positions depending which one of them has been modified most recently. The name of the modifier and the time of modification are mentioned. While Activity list only shows files, the All Items list shows folders in addition to the files. Files removed from the Activity list still show up in the All Items list. Individual files from the crowded All Items list can be traced using the search bar. Files can be sorted in different ways in the All Items list unlike the Activity list where they can only be sorted according to last modification. Files can be removed from the Activity list and placed in folders. The search feature is very powerful as it does not need the exact file name to locate a file; words from the content of the file when searched can produce the file instantly. Folders and files are shared with others in the same way. When someone else shares a folder with you, it can be browsed from the link in the email and moved to the My Drive section. Users should keep their Activity list cleaned up. The search feature should be used to instantly locate the files. Multiple files should be shared with others in the form of folders all at once rather than doing the process for each of them individually. Reflection Google Drive is essentially like a virtual USB that provides an individual with access to his/her documents anytime, anywhere in the world without having to have the computer or a hardware storage device to access them. This way, it frees us from the need to carry our hardware devices with us all the time. All we need to remember is our passwords to access our documents. A very interesting and important quality of Google Docs is that it increases the transparency of editing since changes made by everybody are recorded along with the editors’ names and time of editing. Lack of this transparency in editing may be a very important issue in professional scenarios where every word counts. Google Drive is overall very user-friendly. I think that learning Google Drive is a must-do in the present age when there is so much data to save and retrieve with so much travelling involved where taking your gadgets along with you everywhere can be inconvenient. Google Drive makes all this so easy and comfortable for the users. The best thing about Google Drive is that it has programs similar to those of the Microsoft Office so that the users do not have to learn a lot before they get comfortable using its programs for their works. As the use of Google Drive becomes more common, the influence of the Internet over the lives of people will become even greater in a positive way. I am excited to explore the different features of Google Drive and make using it a regular activity. Read More