Are you looking for storing your documents, photos, videos, etc on Google Drive and then accessing them easily from your Mac?
- Access all of your Google Drive content directly from your Mac or PC, without using up disk space. Learn more Download Backup and Sync for Mac Download Backup and Sync for Windows.
- Open Google Drive. Tap the Google Drive app icon, which resembles a blue, yellow, and green triangle on a white background. If you don't have Google Drive on your phone or tablet, first download it from the App Store.
In my future posts, I would be also uploading the installation process for other devices. To install Google Drive app or folder first you need to download Google Drive for PC. How to install Google Drive on PC? To start Google Drive download for PC follow the steps below. Step 1: Visit the Google Drive site to download.
Well, it's a piece of cake!
Once you have downloaded and installed the Google Drive application on your Mac, you can access it like you access any other folder.
It is that simple.
Just with a click you can access your Google Drive storage and view or make changes to it accordingly by adding Google Drive to Mac finder.
Google Drive is a great service that allows users to save their data online and then access it from any device with a username and a password.
It is also easy to sync your devices for easy access. And moreover, this service offers 15 GB of data completely free. Which is enough for many users.
But in case you need more space you always have the option to upgrade to a paid plan.
Sound's great, right!
If you are still unsure about how this service works, don't panic.
Go ahead and check out my guide on 'What is Google Drive and how it works'. Reading this article will make it easy for you to have a basic understanding of Google Drive. And how you can check your Google Drive storage.
So don't miss this piece of information!
Moving ahead let me brief you about the contents of this article.
In this article, I will be sharing a complete step by step guide on how to add Google Drive to Mac Finder. I will share all the details starting with how to download and install the application on your Mac.
But before that, it is also important to know about some of the basic features of Google drive.
So in this article, we will start with that!
How to Add Google Drive to Finder?
First, let's start with some basics!
Google Drive is a service that offers cloud storage.
Now this service has two plans.
- Personal. In this plan, you get 15 GB of cloud storage for free at first. But you always have an option to upgrade to paid Google One plans which offer additional storage from 100 GB up to 30 TB.
- Business. The business plan is best-suited to fro Enterprises in which the company pays only for the space used by the users. So the billing is different depending upon use.
How to access Google Drive?
There are two simple ways to access Google Drive.
- The first way is to through the web. Navigate to drive.google.com and enter the username and password for your Google account.
- The second one is through the Google Drive application on your device. Based on which device you are using, download, and install the Goole Drive application. And then access your drive storage. Google Drive available to download for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Features of Google Drive.
Google Drive is not just cloud storage but instead has many additional features that make it easy and useful.
- You can save documents, files, photos, videos, presentations, etc on Google Drive.
- The best part is that you can access your data no matter where you are and which device you are using. Until and unless you have the username and password of your account.
- It is easy to collaborate with friends and colleagues on Google Drive by giving them access to your files.
- Google Drive includes access to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Forms, Google Drawing, etc. This makes collaborating easy.
Here in this article, we are specifically talking about adding Google Drive to Mac Finder.
So let's get started with it!
1. Download 'Backup & Sync' from the web
The very first step on adding Google Drive to Mac finder is to download Google Drive on your Mac.
It is important to download 'Backup & Sync' from Google Drive.
This gives you access to Google Drive from your Mac.
- Navigate to Google Drive from your web browser.
- Next, you will find a 'Download' option under 'For Individuals – Backup & Sync'. Click on 'Download'.
- A small window will pop up requiring you to agree to the 'Google Drive Terms of Service'. Click on 'Agree and Download'.
- A file name with 'InstallBackupAndSync.dmg' will appear in the downloads.
2. Install Backup and Sync on your Mac
- Once your file has been downloaded go-ahead to the 'Downloads' in 'Finder' and double click on the file name 'InstallBackupAndSync.dmg'.
- After a few seconds, a new window will appear.
- Simply drag and drop the 'Backup And Sync From Google' file over the 'Applications' folder on the window.
- It will take a few seconds to copy the contents of the file automatically to the applications folder.
- When completed close the window.
3. Launch 'Backup and Sync from Google'
It is important to launch and set up Google Drive before having complete access to its features.
- Go to 'Finder' and then click on 'Applications' from the left menu on the window.
- Scroll down to find a file named 'Backup and Sync from Google'.
- Double click on it to run the program.
- A small window will appear seeking permission to open the application. Click on 'Open'.
- 'Welcome to Backup and Sync' window will open. Click on the 'Get Started' option on the window.
4. Set Up your Google Drive Account
- There are three basic steps to set up Google Drive account.
- First, enter your Email ID and Password of the existing Google account to log in.
- If you do not have one create a new Google Account easily first.
- Then, go ahead and click on 'Got It' on the window asking for choosing folders for continuous backup.
- Step two is to check the boxes next to the folders you want to synchronize and create a backup of. Adding to this you can also change the Quality of photos and videos uploads. You can either choose 'High Quality' or 'Original Quality' of photos and videos to be uploaded to drive.
- After selecting the folders click on the 'Next' option on the bottom-right corner of the window. These changes are not permanent. You can uncheck or add your choices anytime in the future.
- The third step to sync files from My Drive to a folder on the computer. Therefore click on 'Got It' to allow this action.
- The next part of the third step is to 'Sync My Drive to this computer'. Now you have two options here. You can choose to 'Sync everything in My Drive' as the name goes it will sync all the data on your drive. Or you can choose to 'Sync only these folders' which means you can select specific folders to sync only.
- Click on 'Start' to complete this step.
5. Access Google Drive on Mac
As soon as you have completed the process of installing and running the program on your Mac, the first thing you will notice is that the Google Drive icon is included in the Menu bar of your Mac.
Using this you get quick access to your Google Drive folder on your Mac as well as your Google Drive on the web.
This shortcut shows some of the most recent information related to your Google Drive account such as the files, pictures, videos or documents you added to your account.
And it also gives an update on the syncing of the items to your online account.
Now let us check out how it works.
- Navigate to the Google Drive icon on the menu bar and click on it. A drop-down menu will appear immediately.
- You will find the amount of storage used and how much is left here. And it also includes the number of recent uploads and sync status of the uploads.
- On the top right side fo the drop-down menu you will find a menu displayed by three vertical dots. Go ahead and click on it.
- Another additional menu will appear. Scroll down and click on the 'Preferences' option.
- This will open a new preferences window on the screen.
- On the left side of the window, you will find three main items, My Mac, Google Drive, and Settings.
- Clicking on each you can change your preferences related to each item.
- This gives you complete control over your Google Drive account.
6. Access Google Drive from Finder
- You can also easily access Google Drive from Finder.
- Simply click on your Finder on desktop.
- Now on the left side of the items, you will find Google Drive on the top.
- Click on it and you can access Google Drive folder from there.
That is all of it!
Note
I know there are small steps that seem a lot at first setting up the Google Drive account, but once it is set up, it is super simple to work with.
You can always add files, folders, photos, documents, videos, etc to the Google Drive folder. It can always be accessed by opening the Finder and then clicking on 'Google Drive' from the sidebar.
It is important to note here that when you copy or move anything to your Google Drive folder on your Mac, it can be accessed from the web using the same username and password.
If you are looking at getting the most out of your Google Drive account, I would suggest you download and install Google Drive application on all your devices.
This will make it very easy for you to access all your data and edit, add, change, collaborate, etc, easily from anywhere.
As already discussed Google Drive applications are available for iOS and Android devices as well.
So try to make the most use out of it!
Conclusion
I hope you found this article useful on 'How to Add Google Drive to Mac Finder'.
If you have any queries related to the topic you can write to us from the comment section below.
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Related Articles.
Introduction
Cloud Storage can be a very convenient way you can store your data (photos, videos, music etc.) remotely using platforms like iCloud and Google Drive. You can then access your data stored in the cloud via the internet using any of your devices (computers, mobile devices etc.).
As the demand for more and higher quality media increases, so too does the requirement for more space to store such media. Since the hardware (e.g. a hard drive in an iPhone) cannot keep up with this demand, people turn to Cloud Storage to store their data - this keeps space free on their mobile device.
Google Drive is Google's answer to the people's calls for cloud storage.
Get the most out of your Drive - get rid of duplicates to save yourself time and money.
How To Install Google Drive On Ipad
So, you've set up your Google Drive and have saved some files there. How do you download those files to your computer or to your phone?
Quick Jump to:
Method 1: Download files from Google Drive to PC
First, ask yourself whether you want to transfer certain files from Google Drive to your computer, or whether you would prefer to always keep your computer and Google Drive in sync.
The first option will do for those who only want certain files from their Google Drive, or who only rarely need Google Drive files on their computer.
For those who always want access to their Google Drive files from their computer, I would recommend using Google's 'Backup & Sync' app. Any files added, removed or edited on Google Drive will be reflected automatically on your computer, so you can keep all your up to date files in both locations at once.
Let's see how to download from Google Drive to PC:
- Open the Google Drive website (https://drive.google.com/).
- If you're not logged into your Google account already, click 'Go to Google Drive' and enter your details.
- Select all the files that you wish to download. You can hold the 'ctrl' key on your keyboard while clicking multiple files to select many files at once. Or after clicking a file, hit 'ctrl + A' on your keyboard to select all files in your Drive. If you are using a Mac, use 'cmd' instead of 'ctrl'.
- Click the menu icon in the top-right corner of the window to access More Actions.
- Click 'Download'.
- Your files will be downloaded from Google Drive to your computer as a zipped file. To access these files on your computer, you'll first need to extract them (you'll find an 'Extract' option when you open the folder in File Explorer).
Now let's see how to sync files from Google Drive to PC. The Backup & Sync setup wizard will take you through this process, but I've noted the steps below for you as well:
- Download Google's 'Backup & Sync' from https://www.google.com/drive/download/
- Click 'Agree and Download' to begin the download.
- Double-click the downloaded file to begin the installation.
- When the install is complete, click 'Get Started'.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- If you wish to also sync folders from your computer with Google Drive, check the relevant checkboxes (when you add, edit or remove files in these folders, they will also be reflected in Google Drive).
- Click 'Next' to continue with the setup.
- Click 'Got It' to proceed.
- Check 'Sync My Drive to this computer'.
- Choose to either sync all folders from Google Drive with your computer, or to only sync certain folders.
- Click 'Start' to download files from Google Drive to your computer.
Depending on how many files you have chosen to sync, the download may take some time. However, when the download is complete, you will be able to access your Google Drive files on your computer.
To do this, open File Explorer on your computer, then click 'Google Drive' from the left-hand column.
Method 2: Download from Google Drive to iPhone
Downloading files from your Google Drive to your iPhone is easy, but first, you'll need the Google Drive app on your iPhone.
If you've not already got the Google Drive app on your iPhone, you can download it from the App Store.
How to download files from Google Drive to iPhone:
- Open the Google Drive app on your iPhone.
- Tap the menu icon next to the file you wish to download.
- Tap 'Open In'.
- Select the app to open the file in, and it will be downloaded to your device.
How to download photos and videos from Google Drive to iPhone:
- Open the Google Drive app on your iPhone.
- Tap the menu icon next to the photo or video you wish to download.
- Tap 'Send a Copy'
- Tap 'Save Image' or 'Save Video'.
- The file will be added your iPhone Photos app.
Method 3: Delete Duplicates from Google Drive
So, we've seen how to download files and photos from Google Drive to your computer and to your iPhone.
However, you may find that in the process of transferring files from place to place or saving files from different devices; that you will accumulate duplicates of some of your files.
Not only are duplicate files annoying and messy, but they take up valuable space in your Google Drive. Since you only get 15GB free space with Google Drive, duplicates can eat away at this allowance and may eventually cause you to consider upgrading to gain more space even though you may not need to.
There's a simple remedy for this issue - Duplicate Sweeper.
Google Drive For Desktop Windows 10
Duplicate Sweeper is a handy tool for your Windows PC or Mac which scans your folders and deletes duplicate files based on your preferences. It can save you hours or even days of looking through folders and files to discover if files are duplicated and considering which ones to move.
Duplicate Sweeper can quickly scan multiple folder or drives to return your duplicates. Simply select whether to keep the newest or the oldest of each duplicate to remove them automatically, or manually select which to remove.
Find out more >How big is pubg. Like what you see? Get the full version:
Check out our guides on how to use Duplicate Sweeper to remove duplicate files from Google Drive, and how to delete duplicate photos in Google Photos.
Install Google Drive On Pc
