How to Edit a Document with Google Drive. 2
How does the service work?
Sharing files is an ancient practice that has evolved over time in line with IT innovation. Consider, for example, floppy disks first and then CDs; these media were used to quickly and easily share files from one computer to another. Today, the situation is even easier to manage; all you need is a good internet connection and you’re good to go.
Today, there are a variety of platforms to choose from that offer users a cloud service for storing files and documents , and Google certainly couldn’t help but be a part of this. In fact, it created its own platform that offers a cloud storage service and called it Google Drive .
The project is still relatively new, having been introduced in 2012 and has since enjoyed considerable success thanks to its practicality and ease of use. For those unfamiliar with the industry and still unclear about Google Drive, let’s look at a practical example: imagine a large hard drive containing all your files . In this space, you can access them whenever you need them, not just from your computer, but also from other devices and wherever you are.
To access the service, you’ll obviously need a Google account . Once you’re logged in, you can access all your files, download them from anywhere, and share them with others as needed. If you use this tool for work, you can also edit files in real time while others collaborate.
Each user has 15 GB of space to share their files and documents , which can be used without any limits other than the size of each file uploaded. The maximum size must not exceed 5 TB. However, if Google Drive is used for professional purposes or in a school context, the maximum limit is 30 GB.
If you need more space, you can purchase it as part of a plan developed by Google that includes various pricing options. Prices range from about $2 per month for 100 GB to $ 10 per month for 1 TB of space . In extreme cases, you can spend around $300 for 30 TB of space .
Google Drive allows you to save files to remote servers , but it also allows all registered users to share files , making it easier to collaborate on the same spreadsheet. Any document can be uploaded and shared with one or more people , who can then view, download, and edit the file with the owner’s permission.
Google Drive offers all users a package containing all the editing tools needed to modify files , such as Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, and OpenOffice . This allows one or more users to connect to view the same file, edit it, and even view the changes made by others in real time, a very convenient feature. The service also offers a chat feature for conveniently coordinating group work.
Google Drive was designed to integrate seamlessly with the Android platform and Chrome OS . The service connects directly with your Google account, making it possible to access files on servers remotely and sync any backups with your smartphone and tablet .
Google Drive also works very well with iPhone and all iOS devices, but it’s not yet fully compatible with Windows Phone. If you decide to use Google Drive via the app, you can use the touchscreen with the same functionality as the desktop interface, although the traditional mouse and keyboard inputs are missing.
The app can be downloaded for free directly from Android’s Google Play Store and the Apple Store. Content is automatically synchronized via a remote server, and by launching Chrome apps, you can add Google Drive buttons directly to the app bar.
How to Edit a Document with Google Drive
In addition to saving documents with Google Drive, you can also edit individual files. To edit a file, you must first click on the file you want to open, or you can create a new one by clicking “New” from the menu on the left side of the interface.
If you use Google Drive on your smartphone or tablet , these functions are separate from the main Drive app; Google has separated the three sections, dedicated to Docs, Sheets, and Slides. You can also create fillable forms, manage vector drawings, and create custom maps for users.
Google Drive Work
For those who need to use this service for work, Google has created Google Drive Work, a system with unlimited space that allows you to save files and provides users with an effective reporting system . The goal of this service is to spread the use of this platform within work environments to manage documents in complete security thanks to the use of modern encryption, useful both for data center transfers and for transmissions between different servers.
The service costs €8 per month for each account , and any company interested in exploring its features can request a free 30-day trial. There are many formats compatible with Google Drive, and the list is constantly updated. Currently, the formats that are definitely compatible are:
- Formats (Documents, Sheets, Presentations, Forms
- images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, RAW),
- video (WebM, MPEG4, 3GPP, MOV, AVI, MPEG-PS, WMV, FLV, OGG, MTS);
- audio (MP3, MPEG, WAV, OGG);
- text (TXT);
- markup and code (CSS, HTML, PHP, C, CPP, H, HPP, JS)M
- Microsoft Word (DOC, DOCX);
- Microsoft Excel (XLS, XLSX);
- Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX)M
- Adobe (PDF);
- Adobe Illustrator (AI);
- Adobe Photoshop (PSD);
- Apple Pages (PAGES);
- Autodesk AutoCad (DXF):
- Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG);
- PostScript (EPS, PS);
- Font (TTF);
- XML Paper Specification (XPS);
- archives (ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP)
Office and Google Drive
For a long time, Google Drive was considered by many to be the anti-Office, as the possibility of Google Drive replacing the Office suite quickly emerged. However, this didn’t happen, and the challenge to Office remains ongoing, with the only difference, perhaps, that Google Drive relies on the cloud as the service’s core productivity tool.
Online editing, on the other hand, represented a significant shift and immediately proved to be very convenient for users. To edit a file, you don’t need to actually own it , and especially in the case of shared documents, documents aren’t exclusively owned.
When it comes to cloud services, it’s natural to ask questions about privacy and security. Files are transferred to a remote server and are constantly stored online, but they’re protected by a password-protected authentication system that requires access to documents.
In any case, Google itself recommends some fundamental behaviors to further protect your privacy and the security of documents shared online. The first fundamental recommendation is not to install a client on public PCs , or in any case on a workstation also used by other people.
The second is to regularly check all file sharing options ; in particular, it’s important to always ensure that file access is enabled only for those who have authorization.
Google Drive certainly has several advantages. If you’ve decided to use it, or at least try it out to see what it can do, we’ll summarize its main strengths .
It’s free
Unless, as we explained earlier, you need a lot of storage space, you can store a good amount of archive files without paying anything.
It’s simple to use
All the options of the Google Drive service are simple to use and, even if there is something you don’t immediately understand, the service is very intuitive.
It provides a real archive
In fact, Google Drive even replaces the traditional hard drive. Available space can be organized using a folder system, and each folder can be easily distinguished by color.
It is a synchronized service
With the Google Drive app, you can sync the folder on your PC; everything you do on your computer also appears on your smartphone or tablet, and so on.
It is integrated with other products offered by Google
All Google services, including Google Drive, work seamlessly together. This means a document, for example, can easily be attached to Gmail.
