Tips & Tricks To Get More Out Of Google Drive

There are many cloud storage services out there, one of which is Google Drive. The good thing about Google Drive is that it’s linked to your Gmail account and of course, the 5 GB free storage space. It also supports basic document editing through web browsers.

Here are some handy tips to help you work better with them:

1. Attach Google Drive Files On Gmail

Because Google Drive is linked to your Google account, you can attach files stored in Google Drive directly to your Gmail.

Unlike traditional attachments where you first have to upload an attachment, attaching a file through Google Drive does not require you to re-upload the file. The filesize limit does not apply since a link is given for the email receiver to download.

2. Keyboard Shortcuts

Google Drive allows you to use keyboard shortcuts for navigation right in your web browser. Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts you can use.

Shift + Up Arrow or Down Arrow Select multiple previous or next items

Shift + A Select all items

Shift + N De-select all items

Shift + T Create a new text document

Shift + P Create a new presentation

Shift + S Create a new spreadsheat

Shift + D Create a new drawing

Shift + F Create a new folder

Ctrl + Alt + G Opens Revision History in files

3. Easily Share Photos On Google+

Since your Google+ account is also linked to your Google Drive account, you can easily upload and share whatever pictures you have on your Google Drive onto Google+. All you have to do is select the From Google Drive option when adding a photo.

4. Use Forms To Collect Data

You can create forms to help you collect data, whatever information that has been input into the form will be automatically compiled into a Spreadsheet document.

You have many options or ways to collect data. You can use textboxes, checkboxes, multiple choice, lists, scales and grids. Once you’ve created the form, you can easily share it with other people by providing a direct link to the form or sending it to their email.

Once the form is filled, the results will be automatically and conveniently compiled into a spreadsheet. Google Drive’s spreadsheet works similar to Microsoft Excel where you can calculate values and use mathematical formulas.

Read: Create Contact Us Form Using Google Drive

5. Save Images On Websites To Google Drive

If you want to instantly save images, documents, HTML5 audio and videos to your Google Drive, you can do so by installing the Save to Google Drive Chrome extension. With the extension, whenever you right click on a link or image, you get the option to save the image or link directly to your Google Drive.

6. Edit Google Drive Images

Installing the Pixlr Editor on your Chrome web browser will enable you to edit photos on your Google Drive. Once you have Pixlr Editor, right click on any of your pictures and open it. Pixlr Editor comes with many basic tools Photoshop has and should be more than sufficient for basic editing needs.

7. Edit Google Drive Videos

By installing Pixorial Video to Google Chrome, you can combine different video clips, trim them, and add titles, music and transitions to create a basic video.

8. Use Revision History To Avoid Mistakes

If you’ve accidentally deleted a file on Google Drive, you can reclaim the file from the Bin within 30 days before it gets deleted for good. For individual files, you can view and choose to restore a revision you’ve made in the past.

All you have to do is open a file from the Google Drive website, and hit Ctrl + Alt + G where you can see a panel on the right of your screen showing the revisions you’ve made in the past.