Overview
This guide covers some questions we frequently get about using Google Drive for file storage and backup at USC.
If you're looking for information specifically about administering Google shared Drives, please see our guide, "Managing Google shared Drives."
Google Drive at USC
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Quick access: Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and log in using your USC NetID
- Available to USC faculty, staff, and students; not available to affiliates (iVIPs)
- Storage limit: 100GB
- Data storage permitted: Approved for storing public and internal use only data; not approved for storing confidential data
Types of Google Drive accounts
USC Google accounts
The best way to ensure you're signed into your USC Google account rather than a personal Google account is to sign in via https://usc.edu/googledrive rather than the generic Google login page. Using your USC NetID, you have access to both your USC Google Drive as well as any USC Google shared drives that others have added you to.
Non-USC Google accounts
University work should be stored not on a personal Google account but on a USC Google account, so it's important to ensure that when you're working in Google Drive, you're logged into your USC Google account rather than a personal Google account.
If you often switch back and forth between using a personal Google account and using your USC Google account, you can use different browsers to help keep your personal and professional streams separate—for instance, using FireFox for your personal Google account and using Chrome for your USC Google account. In general, you should avoid using a USC computer to check personal accounts.
Using Google Drive or "My Drive"
When you sign into your account at https://usc.edu/googledrive, Google will direct you to your Google "My Drive" page. Files and folders that you create or upload to your Google Drive account show up here. Use the options in the left-hand menu to navigate to other parts of your Google account, including:
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My Drive (selected by default): Files and folders you create or upload to your Google Drive account show up here
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Shared drives: Any shared Drives that you create or that others create and add you to appear here (see the next section, "Using Google shared Drives")
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Computers: Any computers that you have synced to your Google Drive via Google Backup and Sync appear here
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Shared with me: Any Google Drive files you have accessed but which belong to others appear here
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Trash: Any files that you delete from your "My Drive" appear here and are deleted permanently 30 days after they were initially deleted (i.e. moved to Trash)
Sharing files with individuals
You can share individual files or even entire folders with others both within and outside USC.
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to the file (or folder) you want to share.
- Right-click on the file, and select Share.
- By default, sharing is set to "Restricted": only people that you add to the file can access the file. To add a person:
- Type in an email address.
- Use the dropdown menu to select the access level you want to grant (otherwise Google defaults to Editor).
- Click on Send.
- You can also change the sharing setting from "Restricted." To do so:
- Click on Get link.
- Click on Restricted. Use the dropdown menu to change the access level:
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University of Southern California: Anyone logged into Google Drive with an @usc.edu account who is given the file link can access it.
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Anyone with the link: Anyone who is given the file link can access it, including non-USC individuals.
- To change the access level, click on Viewer. Use the dropdown menu to select the access level you want to grant.
- Click on Copy link to copy the link to share with others.
- Click on Done.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to the file (or folder) you want to share.
- Right-click on the file, and select Share.
- By default, sharing is set to "Restricted": only people that you add to the file can access the file. To add a person:
- Type in an email address.
- Use the dropdown menu to select the access level you want to grant (otherwise Google defaults to Editor).
- Click on Send.
- You can also change the sharing setting from "Restricted." To do so:
- Click on Get link.
- Click on Restricted. Use the dropdown menu to change the access level:
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University of Southern California: Anyone logged into Google Drive with an @usc.edu account who is given the file link can access it.
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Anyone with the link: Anyone who is given the file link can access it, including non-USC individuals.
- To change the access level, click on Viewer. Use the dropdown menu to select the access level you want to grant.
- Click on Copy link to copy the link to share with others.
- Click on Done.
You can go back at any time and revise your sharing settings for a file or folder.
Transferring file ownership
Within the sharing settings, you can also transfer ownership of a file to another individual.
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive. Navigate to the file (or folder) for which you want to revise the sharing settings.
- A quick visual way to see if a file or folder is currently being shared: shared folders display a person icon to the left of the folder name, while shared files display a two-person icon to the right of the file name.
- Right-click on the file, and select Share.
- Click on the individual's access level.
- A dropdown menu displays and you can select a different access level or choose one of these additional options:
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Give temporary access: Gives you the ability to set an expiration date, after which the individual will no longer be able to access the file.
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Make owner: Transfers file ownership so the file no longer lives in your Google account.
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Remove: Removes the individual's access to the file. Note, however, that this is only effective if you have "Get link" set as "Restricted"; otherwise, as long as the individual still has the link to the file, they will continue to have access to it.
- Click on Save.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive. Navigate to the file (or folder) for which you want to revise the sharing settings.
- A quick visual way to see if a file or folder is currently being shared: shared folders display a person icon to the left of the folder name, while shared files display a two-person icon to the right of the file name.
- Right-click on the file, and select Share.
- Click on the individual's access level.
- A dropdown menu displays and you can select a different access level or choose one of these additional options:
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Give temporary access: Gives you the ability to set an expiration date, after which the individual will no longer be able to access the file.
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Make owner: Transfers file ownership so the file no longer lives in your Google account.
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Remove: Removes the individual's access to the file. Note, however, that this is only effective if you have "Get link" set as "Restricted"; otherwise, as long as the individual still has the link to the file, they will continue to have access to it.
- Click on Save.
USC Google Drive access after you depart USC
Bear in mind that your access to Google Drive at USC is tied to your USC NetID account. When you depart USC, your account is disabled by ITS as part of standard operating procedure. At that point, not only will you lose access to your files, but even other active USC members will no longer be able to access files that you shared with them from your USC Google account.
Our recommendation is to prepare in advance as much as possible: for instance, if you have important University work saved on your USC Google account, you may want to transfer ownership of those files to another active USC member or to your department's Google shared Drive (see the next section, "Using Google shared Drives").
If you are not departing USC but are changing your status to USC affiliate (iVIP)—for instance, you are switching from faculty to emeriti—you will not regain access to Google Drive at USC. This is because affiliates do not have Google Drive accounts but must use Microsoft OneDrive. For instructions on migrating from Google Drive to Microsoft OneDrive, please see our guide, "Migrating from USC faculty access to USC affiliate access."
Using Google shared Drives
Your department, research group, or team may have a Google shared Drive set up for file sharing and collaboration.
Access a shared Drive
To access shared Drives that you were granted access to, simply go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and click on Shared drives in the left-side menu.
Create a shared Drive
The ability to create shared Drives in Google has been disabled by ITS due to Google-imposed storage limitations. DTS recommends requesting and using a Microsoft SharePoint site instead for document and project collaboration:
If you have a business purpose that requires the use of Google shared Drives, email DTS at ts@dornsife.usc.edu with further details, and we will reach out to ITS to submit a shared Drive request on your behalf.
Manager access to shared Drives
If you aren't just a member of the shared Drive, but will be in charge of it, you may find our instructional guide helpful:
Member access to shared Drives
The manager(s) of a shared Drive must grant access to you before the shared Drive will appear in your USC Google Drive. They may set your permissions level according to the following roles:
- Manager: Can manage members, and upload, edit, move, or delete all files and folders.
- Content manager: By default, can upload, edit, move, or delete all files.
- Contributor: Edit all files and upload new files, but can’t move or delete files.
- Commenter: Can only comment on all files.
- Viewer: Can only view all files.
(Source: Google's official documentation)
Viewing, commenting, and editing functionality in shared Drives is the same as in your individual USC Google Drive, the only difference is that your ability to perform these functions just depends on the permissions level that the shared Drive's manager(s) assign to you.
Customizing file sharing settings
By default, files in a shared Drive are available only to members of the shared Drive, but you can still share files with additional non-members (see "Sharing files with individuals" under "Using Google Drive or 'My Drive'" above).
Transferring a file from My Drive to a shared Drive
As of this writing (July 2021), it is possible to move files but not folders from My Drive (your individual USC Google account) to a shared Drive.
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on the file and select Move to.
- Click on the left-facing arrow in the top left corner of the window that appears. Continue clicking on the left-facing arrow until the list of options displays Shared drives.
- Double-click on Shared drives.
- Select the name of the shared Drive. Or, if you want to target a specific folder within the shared Drive, double-click on the name of the shared Drive to select the folder. Once you've selected it, click on Move.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on the file and select Move to.
- Click on the left-facing arrow in the top left corner of the window that appears. Continue clicking on the left-facing arrow until the list of options displays Shared drives.
- Double-click on Shared drives.
- Select the name of the shared Drive. Or, if you want to target a specific folder within the shared Drive, double-click on the name of the shared Drive to select the folder. Once you've selected it, click on Move.
Syncing Google Drive with your computer
The Google Drive website (https://usc.edu/googledrive) is just one way to access your USC Google Drive account and shared Drives. You can also set up Google Drive to sync with your computer:
Setting up Google Drive for desktop on your computer takes less than 10 minutes. Once you're done, when files are updated in your Google Drive, the files will update both on your computer and at https://usc.edu/googledrive.
Setting up Google Drive for desktop on your computer allows you to sync your computer folders onto your Google Drive. This is extremely useful because, if you later lose or damage your computer, you can simply log into https://usc.edu/googledrive from another computer and recover an up-to-date copy of your computer folders.
File version control in Google Drive
At times you may need to revert to an earlier draft of a file—for instance, if you accidentally changed the design/layout of some presentation slides and want to return to a previous design/layout, or if you're collaborating on a document with other people and want to compare the wording on the latest version with an earlier version.
Google native file formats
If you create or edit a file in one of the following formats, Google will automatically keep track of its editing history:
- Google Docs (similar to Microsoft Word)
- Google Slides (similar to Microsoft PowerPoint)
- Google Sheets (similar to Microsoft Excel)
To view the version history for your Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets files:
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive. Navigate to your file and open it.
- At the top of the open file, click on File and select Version history, then select See version history.
- The version history view displays. Use the right-hand panel to select and display earlier versions of your file.
- To revert from the latest version of your file to an earlier version you've selected, click on Restore this version.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive. Navigate to your file and open it.
- At the top of the open file, click on File and select Version history, then select See version history.
- The version history view displays. Use the right-hand panel to select and display earlier versions of your file.
- To revert from the latest version of your file to an earlier version you've selected, click on Restore this version.
Non-Google file formats (Microsoft etc)
Google Drive keeps old versions of your non-Google files for up to 30 days or 100 versions before auto-deleting those older versions (the most current version of your file is always kept).
Version control with automatic syncing
If you already set up Google Drive for desktop on your computer, Google Drive automatically keeps track of past versions even for non-Google file formats—for instance, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. The most up-to-date version is always accessible from your computer with an Internet connection, while older versions can be accessed by navigating to Google Drive in your browser:
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on your file and select Manage versions.
- Click on Upload new version to select a file from your computer to upload.
- The file you upload becomes the new "Current version."
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on your file and select Manage versions.
- Past versions of your file display. Select the three dots icon to the right of the file version which you're trying to access:
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Download: Download a copy of the selected past version
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Keep forever: Save the selected past version to Google Drive (otherwise, older versions are deleted automatically once either 30 days has elapsed or 100 versions are stored)
Version control with manual uploads
If you are not syncing Google Drive with your computer but are instead uploading your documents through https://usc.edu/googledrive in your browser, you must manually set up version control:
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on your file and select Manage versions.
- Click on Upload new version to select a file from your computer to upload.
- The file you upload becomes the new "Current version."
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://usc.edu/googledrive and navigate to your file.
- Right-click on your file and select Manage versions.
- Click on Upload new version to select a file from your computer to upload.
- The file you upload becomes the new "Current version."
Offline access and Google Drive
File backup and storage
If you're primarily using Google Drive to back up your computer with the Google Drive for desktop application, interruptions to your Internet connection just mean that file updates aren't syncing live to Google Drive but will resume as soon as you are reconnected to the Internet.
File access, collaboration, and editing
If you're using Google Drive to collaborate on or edit files, particularly files in native Google formats such as Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, there are still ways to work on those files without an Internet connection. We would however urge caution when working on shared files offline, due to the risk of sync conflicts.
If you would still like to proceed with gaining offline access to files in native Google formats, review our guide, "Using Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offline."
USC organizational accounts
Many Dornsife departments/units have an organizational account administered by multiple people. If you have direct login access for the org account (aka you log in using the org account's NetID and password), you can log into the org account's Google account. If you only have delegate access for the org account, however, you will need to request direct login access: please contact us at ts@dornsife.usc.edu and we will forward your request to ITS for processing.
We should note that typically, it's a lot easier to handle viewing/editing permissions if you set up a Google shared Drive with multiple members or owners rather than have everything located on an org account's Google account. You can also set up a Google shared Drive and add your org account as a member.