Today, any type of organization, or simply an individual, we should have some type of backup or backup . Undoubtedly, having a solution that is responsible for keeping all our files safely to avoid any possible loss, as a result of a technical problem or loss, is essential. Otherwise, the consequences could be disastrous.
There are tons of storage services in the cloud, but few have the enormous possibilities that Google Drive offers us , with the permission of Dropbox. Not for nothing, the application has more than 800 million users in global terms.
The application has undoubtedly managed to penetrate deeply, and, today, it is the favorite when it comes to sharing files, creating Powerpoint documents and spreadsheets, or uploading documents to access them from anywhere with or without a connection to Internet .
In this article, we are going to detail how you can access your account to view your files without restrictions. Either from the PC, smartphone or tablet (both app and browser) or even if we do not have an internet connection. We started.
Preliminary considerations
As many of you will know, to access all the resources that Google Drive offers us, you must first have a Gmail email account . This would be the only requirement for any user to start enjoying all the possibilities that the application offers us.
Access can be made both through the computer and through mobile devices, as long as they have the unit application downloaded on these devices. What does this mean? Well, it will not be necessary to always use the same device to access your account and edit your files. Thanks to the synchronization of this tool, all the content is stored in one place, regardless of the device on which it was created . All you have to do is log in with your Gmail email and password.
Another consideration to take into account is that, since we are dealing with a cloud-based tool, the internet connection is vital to be able to use it. However, as we will see later, there are also solutions in the event that this last condition is not met .
Access from your computer
There are several ways to access your Drive account from your PC. Follow the steps that we indicate here for each of them.
Google Drive home page
- Open your web browser and type Google Drive in the search bar or click on the following link to go directly.
- Click on the blue button with the text «Go to Google Drive» to start the login process.
- Next, enter your email address or the phone number you used to create your Google account and click on «Next».
- Finally, you will have to enter your user password and click on «Next» again.
Gmail account
- Open your web browser and go directly to the blue button on the top right where it says "Login".
- Again, enter your email address and password, and click "Next".
- Once your account is open, you will see an icon located at the top right of the page next to your profile picture. If you click on it, you will display all Google applications, among which is our beloved Drive.
- Then, you just have to click on the application icon and you will automatically access your saved files.
Access from your mobile (Android or iOS)
All those mobile devices or tablets governed by the Android or iOS operating system have a native app. This translates into easier access and use of the Drive service.
In the case of Android, it is even simpler , since, remember, it is a mobile operating system developed by Google. Access and login in these cases is automatic. We just need to create an account to start using the tool.
The first thing will be to download the application from the Google Play Store or the App Store depending on each case. Once the installation is finished, we open the app by clicking on the icon. At first it will try to detect any account already started . If this is not the case, it will ask us for an email or a user's phone number. Come on, the usual. So we enter the data requested and click on the "Next" button.
Next, it will ask us for the access code. We fill in that field, and again click on "Next". Finally, we accept the policies of use and the conditions of service by clicking "Accept" and we are done.
Extra ball: access without internet connection
Yes, you read it right. You can see the files stored in Google Drive on your PC and Android or iOS mobiles without an Internet connection . We will tell you how.
To access Google Drive from our PC, first of all, we will first have to install the Google Docs Offline extension, which we will find available in the Chrome Web Store totally free .
Next, we access the Google Drive configuration section and mark the "Offline" option , in order to synchronize the files with our computer and be able to edit them without an Internet connection . Now, we have everything ready to access the files stored in our Drive just by putting its link address in the Chrome address bar.
In the case of mobile devices, we have to open the Drive application on the mobile. Next, we will select the files that we want to see without having to be connected to the Internet. We open the menu on each file and press «ON » on the switch for the option «Available offline » . Once activated, we must go to the home page of the Drive app, touch on the menu at the top left (the three horizontal bars) and activate "Offline".