Create new files from the address bar
You already use Google Drive. So now let me help you save some time.
In this video, I'm sharing with you seven tips and tricks to help you save time while using your Drive files. And the first one we want to get to is to create a brand new file, but you know what?
You're not always here within your Drive account. You may be on social media or doing something else with your web browser.
Well, if I need to create a new document, all I need to do is come up to the address bar and type in doc or docs.new, either one will do. And immediately after hitting enter, I will have a brand new Drive document to start with.
Maybe I want to add a new sheet. You can either type in sheet or sheets.new, hit enter and once again we have a brand new spreadsheet to start working with.
We can also do this with slides. In fact, you can use the word deck if you want to, deck.new and that will also allow you to start a brand new presentation.
And last but not least, we can type in form or forms.new and hit enter and we will start a brand new form so quick and easy, allowing you to create a new file, even if you're not within your Drive account.
Drag & drop files from your computer
Next on our list has to do with adding files to our Drive account. And you're probably already used to coming up here to select new and then select file upload or folder upload.
However, if you have the file handy with you, you can just drag and drop it directly into the file that you would like. So maybe I want to plant this one here under my test folder, I'm just gonna drag it and let it go.
And now it's right there waiting for me. I've got that file exactly where I want it to be.
So I don't have to go first and find that place and then go into that file and then select new. I can just drag and drop that file directly into my Drive account.
Using keyboard shortcuts
Now, speaking of saving time, there are a few things that are more time-saving than using keyboard shortcut keys. And there are a lot right here within Drive.
Up in the top right-hand corner, if we select this settings gear icon, the third option is keyboard shortcuts. And here you can search through or scan through all of the different shortcuts that are available to you.
In fact, you can even use this handy dandy search bar to type in something that you're looking for. If you're looking for a particular shortcut, but there must be a faster way to get to the shortcut's menu.
And that is the question mark key. If you type in the question mark key on your keyboard, your keyboard shortcuts menu will immediately pop up here.
Let's take a look at two of my favorite. One of the things that I do quite often here within my Drive account is rename a file.
So for example, if I want to rename this file, I have to right-click and then I need to come here and select rename. Well, there's a quicker way.
As long as I select that file, all I need to do is select N on my keyboard and immediately this rename dialogue will come up, so I can give it a new name, for example, and hit enter.
If I wanna rename this spreadsheet, as long as it's selected, I can hit N on my keyboard and immediately rename it. The next one that I love to use on a frequent basis is the ability to share.
Let's say I want to share this image with someone. Well, as long as it's selected and I hit the period key, it's going to immediately bring up this share dialogue.
So some quick and easy ways to get you to where you want to be. Now speaking of sharing, something that can save you
Share files without certain options
a lot of time and really a lot of headache is getting the proper permissions when you're sharing something.
So let's stick with this example. First, I'm just gonna find the person that I want to share this file with.
And you're probably already familiar with this dropdown here where we can choose to allow them to edit, be a commenter or just be a viewer. So in this case, I might choose them to just be a viewer, but don't forget this little gear icon just up above.
Here we have you additional options, two checkboxes which by default will always be checked. The first one is editors can change permissions and share.
In many cases, I don't want that. I don't want to give someone else the ability to choose who can share this file. So I'll uncheck this.
And then the second one is also important. Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print and copy.
Well, depending on the file, and depending on whom I'm sharing this with, I may want to uncheck this. This is especially important I find with something like video content, where it's so easy to download that content, and then someone else could do something with that video.
With this unchecked, it's an awful lot harder for them to find the tools and others extensions and apps in order to do so here. So these can be a great thing.
Now, if I go back, I'm returned to my share window and I can add further individuals and hit send. So this is going to save you more headache, but also save you some time, making sure that people don't have access to things that you don't want them to.
Manage version history of Drive files
Now, the next tip on my list has to do with reducing the number of times you need to upload new content and then also share that with all of the same individuals. Something that I used to waste an awful lot of time with is that I would create a file such as this video file and then I would share it with a large number of people, or at least a specific group of people.
And just like we saw before, I gave them specific permission and rights and privileges. But then if I needed to upload a new version of this video, something that I didn't create here within Drive, I'd have to upload a second file and then remember or copy and paste and bring over all of those other individuals.
Well, if you just need to upload a more recent version of that file, all you need to do is right-click and select manage versions. So in this case, we can see when this video was last uploaded, but now I can upload a new version.
So if I go in here and let's go and find the exact video that I'm looking for here, I'm gonna double-click here and I'm gonna upload this new version of this particular video.
Now I can see the version history, but I can be confident that anyone who I've shared this original file with will now see the current version of this video. So no longer do I have to manage multiple files in multiple folders, I can just have the single file but have multiple versions within.
Grab text from Drive images
Now number six on my list happens to be one of my favorites and something that a lot of Google Drive users are not aware that we can do here. Let's say for example, that you come across a social media post or a PDF document or something that is image-based.
So in this case, I've been sent this little paragraph of text or a few different paragraphs of text, and I really like the content here. In fact, I'd like to copy and paste it into another document, or maybe I'd like to edit some of this text.
But I can't do that because this is an image, if I drag across the text, the best I can do is just comment on it. Well, if you want to grab the text from an image, all you need to do is right-click on that image file and then the second option is open with, and we're going to open this with Google Docs.
Now depending on the size of the image and how much text is there, this may take a few seconds, but in a little while, not only will it show us the image here within the Google Doc, but immediately down below, we have all of the text that was contained within that image.
So now what I can do is I can select this. I can copy it, I can edit it. I can do whatever I want when it comes to the image that was originally from this text.
Making Drive folders more findable
Now my last time-saving trick today has to do with finding information that much quicker. And one of the easiest ways to do so is to categorize your files within folders.
Yeah, Scott, that's a no-brainer, we get it. But if you have a long list of folders, sometimes it can still be difficult to find exactly what you are looking for.
And by default, Google Drive creates all of our folders in this sort of graphite or dark gray shade. Well, what you can do is change the color of any of your folders.
So for example, if I want this sales folder to stand out, maybe I'm going to make it a red shade. If I want this finance folder to stand out, I'm gonna come here and select change color and make it a green shade.
Now, whenever I come into this subfolder, these particular folders are really going to jump out and stand out to me. Now another trick that I like to use is actually using emojis or special characters in front because maybe this sales folder is something that I use all the time and I don't want it sorted.
I want sales to show up at the very top. So if I come in here and select rename, or perhaps I should use my shortcut key, remember that's N on our keyboard.
What I can do is add a special character such as a period in front, and now sales is always going to jump to the top of this folder. Now if you wanna get a little more creative, we can rename this again and this time, instead of a period, I'm actually going to add an emoji.
And maybe I'm gonna add something like a money sign, for example, and hit save. Now, that file folder really stands out.
It's always going to be at the top because the emoji is being treated as a special character and I've also got a color-coded folder as well. So you can get creative, especially if you have a long list of folders and a complex folder structure here within Drive.
I hope you enjoyed today's video. And if you did, be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe right here to the Simpletivity channel.
I'd love to know next, what are some of your favorite Google Drive tips? Be sure to let me know in the comments down below.
Thank you so much for watching and remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.
