Home

Email and Collaboration

Create folders

Create a new folder:

  1. On the left, click a Team Drive or existing folder.
  2. Click   New > Folder.
  3. Enter a folder name and click Create.

Upload an existing folder from your computer:

  1. On the left, click a Team Drive folder.
  2. On your computer, drag an existing folder into a Team Drive. Or, click   New > Folder upload. Navigate to the folder and open it.

Add and edit files

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the Team Drive, your files remain.

  1. On the left, click a Team Drive.
  2. Drag an existing file (that you own*) from your computer or from My Drive into a Team Drive. Or, click New and choose an option:
    • To create a file, select the file type you want to create, such as Google Docs.
    • To upload a file, click File upload. Navigate to the file and open it.
  3. Double-click a file to open and edit it.

*If you don't own the file but have Can edit access in Drive, you can move it to a Team Drive if your G Suite admin has allowed this option.

NOTE

To store and access files on your desktop, use Drive File Stream. 

Star important files

Flag important files or folders to quickly find them later. Just right-click a file or folder and select Add star.

To see all your starred files and folders, on the left, click Starred.

Move files

To move files from My Drive into a Team Drive or between Team Drives, drag the files into the destination Team Drive folder. To move folders, contact your G Suite admin.

Move files from My Drive to Team Drives:

You can move any file you own into a Team Drive, whether it’s from another Drive location or from your computer or mobile device.

If you’re not the owner of a file in My Drive, but you have Edit access to the file, you might be able to move that file into a Team Drive, if:

  • Your G Suite admin has enabled this option.
  • The file’s owner is a member of the Team Drive where you want to move the file.

Otherwise, you need to ask the owner to move the file into the Team Drive.

Move files between Team Drives:

To move files between Team Drives, you need Manager access to the original Team Drive and at least Contributor access to the destination Team Drive.

Delete or restore files

Move a file to trash:

IMPORTANT

Requires at least Content manager access

  1. Click the file you want to delete.
  2. At the top, click Trash delete.
  3. Click Delete For Everyone.

The file moves to the Team Drive's Trash folder. Files in a Team Drive’s Trash folder are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Permanently delete a file in trash:

IMPORTANT

Requires Manager access

  1. In the Trash folder, right-click the file you want to delete and select Delete forever.
  2. Click Delete Forever to confirm.

Restore a file (up to 30 days):

IMPORTANT

Requires at least Contributor access

  1. On the left, click a Team Drive.
  2. At top, next to the Team Drive name, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down > View trash.
  3. Click the file > Restore history.

Search for files

Search in a Team Drive or folder:

  1. Right-click a Team Drive and click Search within Team Drive name.
  2. In the Search box, enter your search term and press Enter.

Share files

IMPORTANT

Requires at least Contributor access

NOTE

Folders in Team Drives can’t be shared.

Just like in Drive, there are different ways to share files in Team Drives with people who aren't members of the Team Drive.

NOTE

Your ability to share files might be limited by your organization. Ask your G Suite admin for more information.

Share files with individuals or groups:

  1. In a Team Drive, click the file you want to share.
  2. At the top, click Share person_add.
  3. Add names, email addresses, or groups from Google Groups.
  4. (Optional) To change the permission from Edit, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down and choose another permission.
  5. (Optional) Add a message.
  6. (Optional) If you don't want to send notifications, check the Skip sending notification box.
  7. Click Send or Add.

To limit sharing options, see Restrict sharing options on sensitive Drive files.

Share a link:

To make a file widely accessible and avoid managing access in your organization, you can share the file with a link. Anyone in your organization who gets the link can access the file. Optionally, you can let other users share the link with people that are not in your organization.

  1. In a Team Drive, click the file you want to share.
  2. At the top, click Share person_add.
  3. Click Who has access.
  4. Next to Link sharing off, click the Down arrow expand_more.
  5. Next to Link Sharing, click Turn on slider-off to make the link accessible to anyone in your organization.
  6. Under the URL, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down and select a permission level.
  7. (Optional) To allow sharing the link outside of your organization, check the Allow external access box.

    Note: If you don't see this option, it could be turned off by your G Suite admin.

  8. (Optional) To make the document searchable in Drive, check the Findable in search results box.
  9. Click Copy to copy the link.
  10. Click Done.
  11. Paste the link in an email, on a website, or wherever you need to share it.

Unshare files

Unshare files with your organization:

  1. In a Team Drive, click the file you want to unshare.
  2. Click Share person_add.
  3. Click Who has access.
  4. Next to Link Sharing, click Turn off slider-on.
  5. Click Done.

Unshare files with individuals:

  1. In a Team Drive, click the file you want to unshare.
  2. Click Share person_add.
  3. Click Who has access.
  4. Next to the person, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down > Remove.
  5. Click Done.
NOTE

Group settings can override individual settings. So, if you try to unshare a file with a person who belongs to an organization or group with access to the file, this person can still access the file.