Design & Functionality
By Tristian Dedinas
No complaints so far! Been using Google Drive on the web for a long time, and decided to try out their mobile app. Unlike other apps, this doesn’t become finicky and slow when used on older Apple devices running iOS 12. The transitions when switching between folders and menus are snappy, even better than the website! They don’t have to take time to load, they’re just ready when you are. I also like the ability to open pages like Sites and Forms through the in-app browser, instead of redirecting to another app. With that being said, I have a couple of suggestions.
When I want to edit a file, it doesn’t appeal to me that you have to download separate apps and switch between them. It would be nice if it could all be done in one app, like the new Office app by Microsoft.
Secondly, native support for editing plain text files. When working with small amounts of data, I commonly use .txt files. To edit those on the web, I use a separate add-in. But I have no way of editing those files on the mobile app, like other cloud services can. Please consider adding these features!
It won’t index a directory tree or show you files without them being fully synced.
By Hangglide for fun
I purchased the 2 terabyte plan and assumed it would behave like one drive. It doesn’t. One Drive will index the directory tree and all your files almost instantly. Then even while those files are still uploading to the cloud, you other devices know they have been shared and will be available soon. In fact, it you try to open one the one drive will prioritize it and grab it first for you. You can also see all of the files available in the cloud on your desktop without having to take up space on your hard drive by actually downloading them all.
So I purchased the 2 tb plan, dropped in about 500 FB of files and waited. 4 days later and my second computer still can’t even see a list of all of my files. I need some of these files to build designs. I had to get a thumb drive and copy the stuff I needed. Because Google lacks a working index of files and won’t let me see or select files from that index to prioritize I just have to wait for weeks for my slower internet connection uploads all 500 gb of files before I can get the ones I need. It’s a bit of a joke. One drive was much better. Too bad my work blocks one drive on their system. I would switch back immediately.
Google Rocks!
By CurlyQTina
Google’s versatility and full functionality have made so much of what I do easier. Previously I used three or four different online services. One service could store images. Another could store text. A third and fourth were used to take notes for research and compose files. When I needed to compile all of the information between those different sources. I would open content in one environment, copy and then paste the content into a completely different environment. Then have to worry about trying to remember which platform my final continent was stored on. Many times I would recreate content because I couldn't find the last version of my file. Or forget where a part of what I had created was located.
With Google’s amazing features and tools, I now know that everything is stored in one location. I can easily work on my files in a single seamless environment. You have made my processes faster and allowed me to cut unnecessary time.
Almost GREAT
By painthorsebaby
I love Google Drive!!! It is a very valuable tool. I use it hourly during the work week. I am able to jot down an idea on my phone, turn it in to a project at home, present it at work, assign it to my students, have them finish it on their computers and grade it all through Google Drive (and Google Classroom). It is impossible for me to forget my thumb drive, cd, or any other archaic storage device, because Google Drive is always there from any of the devices (my phones, iPads, Chrome Books, and generic school desktop computer, or another business computer). I rarely have trouble with formatting issues from one computer to another system and if I do, it’s minor. Where Google Drive fails a five star, in my opinion, is organization... especially when sharing files. I have files shared with me that I have no idea what is in them and if I tried to organize all of it, someone else could unorganize it. I rely on the search bar MOST of the time. But, that means I have to remember what I labeled something three years ago! Then, I will likely find something else equally good from a shared file I didn’t know existed that could have been used LAST week.
Has become the essential tool in my office
By Papa Teter
In my previous office we used Microsoft Office, Outlook and Box for file storage, sharing and editing. Box edit works but is super clunky and hopeless for real time document editing. Google Drive just works better across a shared workspace environment, with Google docs for group editing, commenting, comment resolution, taking, etc. Perhaps even more importantly, Google Drive and Docs and Sheets are a great way to collaborate across operating systems. My office is half Apple and half Windows environment in HQ, and about 30-70 in our international offices. Google is platform agnostic - I use Drive and their office suite from my iPhone, iPad, Windows desktop and iMac. It just works.
The one area where I still prefer Microsoft is for email. Gmail is just not sophisticated enough for enterprise use. We are stuck with it in my office and all use different workarounds. I’ve been waiting for a decade for gmail to have half the functionality of Outlook!
Great App
By Maliikm
This app makes it really easy for me to manage and create documents. I save a lot of time by having all of my important documents for business in one place, and I never have to hunt for anything. The app does nearly everything Google Drive does on a computer so I never feel like I’m missing out on anything.
I really like that this app allows for some level of interoperability with iCloud, which I use to save files from the Microsoft Word app. Once I finish with a document in the Word app and save it to iCloud, I just share the document to Google Drive. If I have any complaints, it’s that there’s no option to save to Google Drive from the Microsoft Word app!
Other peripheral functions like search and quick access are also useful and help save time. File management works well with the right folder structure, and there’s a good level of detail included in the document information summary. Overall a good app 👍🏾
Hate the app. Love cheap extra storage.
By Cameron0208
I absolutely love how cheap Google Drive is. It’s wonderful to have the option to offload files from my various devices for practically nothing.
That being said, this app, just like many other google apps - both desktop and mobile - is absolutely awful. It suffers the same fate as most of their other apps - terrible navigation, not intuitive, convoluted processes to do anything, and a host of other issues. I’m not sure who’s making the UX decisions at Google - it seems like it may be Helen Keller - but they should be canned. Nothing is where it should be, or where one would think it is. I’ve had this app for years and I still can’t navigate through it without making multiple errors. There is no rhyme or reason to 99% of the design choices in this app, or if there is, I’d love to know what those rhymes and reasons are.
Maybe it’s some conspiracy where Google makes their apps really difficult to use so that people then have to do a google search so that they can figure out how to work google’s abysmal apps.
Navigation
By Patches RN
Everyone must remember, I’ve never worked on a computer in my life. I’m a “real newbie” at anything to do with a computer. I promise i will get better. At this point I am “learning on the fly”. I have to learn as I go, you just have to because everything is done via the computer and internet. I can’t even fill out an application on paper anymore, it all has to be done online. Anyway, just wanted to say that I am beginning to pick up a few things along the way and this app has honestly helped me so much, especially when it comes to importing my resume. I was lost before on this, but I’m a big girl now and can do it all by myself without having to have my kid show me how to do it EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! My kid is also appreciative of this app, just for that alone.
Again, thank you so much for making at least one thing in my life easier. I am having a very tough time right now but this app does relieve at least a little bit of stress knowing I can at least do one thing by myself.
Best storage and Access ever!
By MJZ810
I recommend the Google drive to everyone and anyone. It is so versatile. I found it Stream Lee useful when I was handling an estate and needed documents repeatedly. Whether I was dealing with insurance companies and banks or lawyers, all I had to do was tap on a file I had scanned and stored on the drive and I easily emailed it over to them while sitting in front of them. I have told others to scan anything and everything they can to be able to access it when needed. I also love doing crafts and keep patterns on the drive. Rather than carrying around papers that can easily be misplaced, I pull up a pattern on my phone or tablet to zoom in an see things clearly and easily. Naturally, it works great for my work files. I can update files without being in front of my laptop. I can back up all of my files and know that they are safe. A difficult question would be why wouldn’t you use Google drive?
glitches and annoyances
By The huge big fat update
it’s really annoying that you can’t upload files in the background, you can only continue uploading while your in the Google Drive app and it still doesn’t even do it when your phone is on sleep. and sometimes it randomly has to retry for no reason, and you should let us share multiple files with people at once instead of doing them individually, also even if you just go out of the app and to another app or even just to the home screen, then when you come back to Google Drive even if you’ve only been gone for literally one minute then it’ll either say “waiting” on your already previously partially uploaded file and sometimes it’ll start back at where it was but some very unfortunate times it’ll restart the entire upload for no reason, please fix this and most of all let them upload in the background, please!
