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Google Drive: Using Shared Drives

This article covers instructions for using the web version of Google Drive. Be aware that other versions, such as the mobile app, will vary in functionality.


Shared Drives are collaborative spaces for teams to store and access shared content. Files uploaded to a Shared Drive belong to the entire team instead of a specific user. This means that if a user uploads a file to a Shared Drive and later leaves the drive, the file will remain. 

Expand each section below to see its content.


To create a new Shared Drive:
  1. Navigate to drive.google.com. Ensure youre logged in with your PLU ePass.
  2. Click Shared Drives from the column to the left. A list of Shared Drives that you currently have access to, if any, will display.

  3. Click New to the top-left. A new pop-up will appear. 
  4. Enter a name for the Shared Drive.
  5. Click Create. The new Shared Drive will be added to the list of available drives and will automatically open.


To add members to a Shared Drive:
  1. Click Shared Drives from the column to the left.
  2. Locate and open the desired Shared Drive.
  3. Click Manage Members to the top-right.

  4. Enter the emails of the members to add.
  • We recommend adding members of different access levels separately.
  • Select the access permission from the drop-down to the right, which is set to Content Manager by default.
    • Viewer: view files only.
    • Commenter: view files and add comments.
    • Contributor: upload and edit files.
    • Content Manager: upload, edit, move, and delete files.
    • Manager: manage content, users, and drive settings.

  • Enter an invitation message into the text field.
  • Click Send. The members will receive an email notification
  • To adjust access levels of members at any time, click Manage Members to the top-right. "Manage Members" only appears to drive Managers.


    To upload a file to a Shared Drive:
    1. Click Shared Drives from the column to the left.
    2. Locate and open the desired Shared Drive.
    3. Click New to the top-left, and select File Upload.

    4. Locate and select the desired file.
    • To select multiple files, hold the Shift key.
  • Click Open. The files will begin uploading and a pop-up with the progress status will appear to the bottom-right of the page.

  • Alternatively, click-and-drag files/folders from the computer desktop into the Google Drive window to upload.

    Do not close the web browser, navigate away from Google Drive, or disconnect from the internet during the upload process. When uploading is complete, a green checkmark next to the file will appear in the upload pop-up.

    Uploading a file with the same name as an existing file will replace it. To see the previous version of that file, click Manage Version in the upload pop-up.

    To create a new folder, click New to the top-left and select Folder.

    All files and folders in a Shared Drive are automatically accessible to members of a Drive. Files can also be shared with non-members as usual (see Google Drive: Sharing Files & Folders for more details).




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    Keywordsteam, file, folder, collaborate, share   Doc ID107487
    OwnerJanelle B.GroupPacific Lutheran Univ
    Created2020-12-01 14:45:42Updated2023-08-04 16:28:19
    SitesPacific Lutheran University
    Feedback  0   0