Google Drive is possibly one of the most useful tools that the search giant has. It offers us the option of, for a fairly adjusted price, having a very good storage capacity in the cloud for all types of files. So much so that it is already an almost essential tool for both private users and companies. Although the operation of Google Drive is quite simple, like any service it hides some details that are sure to make the user experience much more satisfactory. Today we want to tell you 5 tricks with which you will become a master of Google Drive .
Convert PDF to text file
We can upload any type of file to Google Drive, but its integration with Google's office applications has made it an ideal place to have work files.
In addition, Google has implemented very useful tools to get the most out of these types of files. For example, did you know that a PDF document can be converted to an editable text document directly from Google Drive ?
To achieve this, all we have to do is upload a PDF file to Google Drive, right-click on it and choose the option 'Open with' and 'Google Documents' .
We can also do the reverse option, that is, convert a text document into PDF . For this we will have to open the document in question and choose the option "Download as a PDF".
Automatic backup of computer files
This possibility has been around for a long time, but not all users are aware of it. Google has a tool called "Backup and Synchronization" that we can install on our computer. As its name suggests, it allows us to make backup copies of the content of our hard drive directly to Google Drive .
Once the application is downloaded, in the installation it will ask us which folders on the hard drive we want to synchronize with Google Drive. It is important that we choose the folders well because, unless we have an unlimited account, the Google Drive space is usually much more limited than that of our computer.
We can also tell you if we want you to upload the files that are photos with the original quality or in high quality (so they will not take up space). It is something really useful if, for example, we usually take photos with a camera and want to have a safe backup in the cloud.
Once installed in the lower right corner of the Windows taskbar, next to the time and date, you will see a new icon shaped like a cloud. From this icon we can see the space occupied in Google Drive and also configure the folders that we want to synchronize.
Create new documents using a web address
Another of the functionalities that Google implemented to increase user productivity is the option to create new documents by simply entering a web address in the browser .
For example, we can create a new document in Google Drive instantly by typing in the browser “doc.new”. This address will automatically open a blank text document in Google Drive, ready for us to start typing.
This trick not only works with the Documents app , but also with the rest of the Google Drive office applications. Here are the different URLs that you can use:
- //doc.new to create a new document
- //sheets.new to create a new worksheet
- //deck.new to create a new presentation
- //site.new to create a new website
- //form.new to create a new form
Maybe if you don't usually create documents in the Google office suite you don't need these shortcuts, but if you work a lot with documents in the cloud they can save us a lot of mouse clicks.
Save content from a web page to Google Drive
It sure has happened to you. You are browsing the net and you find an article that you want to read with more time. Or you see an image that you would like to save for the future. Well, although there are many applications that allow us to save this content, we can do it directly in Google Drive just by installing the extension " Save in Google Drive ".
It is an extension for the Google Chrome browser . Once installed, if we see something that we want to save from a web page, we can do it directly in Google Drive.
The extension offers several options. If we want to save an entire web page, we can click on the button with the Google Drive symbol that will appear at the top of the browser. In this way we will save the entire page , not just what we see on the screen. It will be saved in .png format.
It may also be that we do not want to save the entire page, but, for example, an image that appears on that website. For these cases we have a shortcut in the menu that appears when we press the right button of the mouse on the content. We will see a new option called "Save to Google Drive."
Use non-Google apps
The Google suite is really complete. We have applications for documents, presentations, spreadsheets, forms, drawings, notes, web page creation, and much more. All of them are directly connected to Google Drive. That is, when we open a document or file from Google Drive by default it opens with the Google application related to that type of file.
However, Google Drive allows you to change the default applications that it will use to open files. So, if you are used to using another application, you can "connect" it with Google Drive and open the files with it.
How to do it? You can click on the New button (upper left corner) or on My Unit (central area of the screen). In the menu that appears you will see several options, including one that says More. When passing over it, a second drop-down opens with other options. Here we must click on " Connect more applications ".
By doing so you will see the screen that you have on these lines. It is a kind of Store in which we will find several third-party applications that work like a browser application and are compatible with Google Drive . Here we have apps as interesting as Asana, DocuSign, Sketchboard or Adobe Acrobat among others.
And so far these 5 tricks that will help us get the most out of Google Drive . Do you know any interesting tricks? Share it with us in comments.