Introduction to Team Drive

Team Drives are shared folders where team members can store their files and guarantee that every member has the most up-to-date information, no matter the time or place. Team members may be added individually or by district Google Groups. 

 What's the difference between a standard shared folder and a team drive?

Team Drives retain all files added to the collection even if members leave the team or organization. 

To get started with Team Drives:

1. Go to drive.google.com.
2. On the left, click Team Drives.
3. At the top left, click New.
4. Enter a name for the Team Drive.
5. Click Create.
6. At the top, click Add members Group contacts.
7. Add names, email addresses, or a Google Group.
8. Click Send.

A few notes about adding members:

1. By default, members can upload, edit, and delete files, and invite other members.
2. It is recommended that one member retain full rights and other members are given Edit Access to avoid any accidental deletion of files.
3. If the team member with Full Access leaves the team or organization the technology department can assign Full Access rights to a new team member.

There are 4 tiers of access for members:

Full Access – upload/delete/edit files

Edit Access - edit/upload files

Comment Access - view/comment on files

View Access - View files

Search for Files in Google Drive

As much as I like to be organized, sometimes it's hard to keep up with separating my piles of digital documents. I also know that not everyone loves organizing with folders. Google Drive's search feature makes it easy find your files and folders any time.

By clicking the drop-down arrow in the Drive search box, you have access to advanced search features. Search by keywords, file types, date modified, owner, shared with, and/or file location.

With the ability to search for files so efficiently, it is not necessary to use folders to organize all your files.




About a month ago, Google also added the option to search within a folder. To access this feature, highlight the folder you want to search. Right click to see folder options and select "Search with [Folder Name]."

To read more about searching within a folder, check out the G-Suite Update blog post:  https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2018/01/search-within-folder-in-google-drive.html