Adding Shared Files to Drive

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated December 5, 2013)

1

The collaborative aspects of Google Drive are quite enticing. Someone can create a document or a spreadsheet and then give you access to it with nothing more than your e-mail address. Then, depending on what the person allows you to do, you can read, change, and update information in the shared file.

Normally you can see what people have shared with you by logging into Drive and then clicking Shared with Me at the left side of the Drive screen. You may, however, want a file to be copied to your actual Drive space rather than simply being available as a shared file. Here's how you can accomplish this task:

  1. Log into your Drive account as you normally would (drive.google.com).
  2. Click Shared with Me at the left side of the screen.
  3. Locate the file you want to copy to your Drive space.
  4. Select the check box at the left of the file's name.
  5. Click Add to My Drive in the toolbar area above the file list. (This option is available only after you select a check box in step 4.)

That's it; you can see the file in your Drive space by clicking My Drive at the left of the screen. Note, too, that the file is notated as "Shared" in the file listing. This means that even though it is in your Drive space, any collaborative work done on the file is still shared with those who have access to that file.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is one less than 4?

2015-06-08 15:03:28

Susan Trovas

If a file has a W symbol, is that a read only file unless you open it in Google Docs?

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