How to use Google Drive: secrets

Google Drive is one of the most popular products created by the tech company. Giving you access to a wide variety of handy features, from the access to an effective word processor to the ability to back up or restore your data from the Cloud, this utility can definitely help you boost up your productivity and keep your important files always at your fingertips.

Still, many of its built-in advantages aren't right out in the open. Google Drive is basically a suite of tools, each with its own set of useful features and hidden capabilities. You have Google Drive's backup and sync utility which helps you keep all of your documents within your grasp, Google Slide for creating stunning presentations, Google Docs which is a handy word processing tool, and Google Sheets for making spreadsheets with minimum effort.

In this article, I will teach you about some of the most practical hidden features that can be found in the aforementioned Google products.

Search filters

Google is now making it easier for you to search and locate documents, collaborators or even emails using its services. It supports natural-language processing which means that you can type keywords like "show me presentations from Anne". This search filter feature is lying in plain sight. Simply log into your Google account on the Google Drive homepage and click the down arrow from the search bar. You will reveal various search filters which you can use to quickly find the data you need.

Google Drive Search Filters

Attach Google Drive files to emails

If you're already using Google Drive, the chances are you're also working with Gmail for managing your emails. There might come a time when you need to immediately share a document that's being stored in your Google Drive account to a co-worker or client. Instead of downloading the file from Google Drive and attaching it to your email, you can do this: start composing an email from your Gmail account, click the Google Drive icon from the bottom side of the window, and upload the document in question.

Uploading Google Drive File To Email

Back up your smartphone data

This characteristic is something I didn't know about Google Drive until recently and proves to be of good use to anyone who downloads work data on a smartphone. With Google Drive's help, you can now create a copy for all of your important data from your phone and save it to the Cloud. Simply open the Google Drive app on your smartphone and swipe right to access the Settings page. Choose the Backup option, select the files you wish to copy to Cloud, and tap the "Start Backup" button.

Google Docs formatting

This feature definitely comes in handy when pasting text content from various online sources into a Google Docs file. There are 3 ways of clearing the formatting of your text:

Main menu option

Paste the text content in your document and select it for processing. Go to the main menu of the Google Docs tool -> Format and select the Clear Formatting option.

Normal text format

Paste the text content in your document and select it for processing. Go to the main toolbar of the tool, access the text format panel, and choose the Normal Text option.

Shortcut Key

After you copy the text content to your clipboard, go to Google Docs, and hit the Ctrl+Shift+V keys.

Other hidden features include the ability to use a great variety of shortcut keys (from the Google Drive website, click the gear icon from the upper-right side of the interface and select the Keyboard Shortcuts option to check out the available hotkeys), the support for drag-and-drop actions (you can back up files to Google Drive by dragging and dropping files from File Explorer over your web browser, on the Google Drive page), the option to convert document to Google Docs formats (right-click a file you backed up to Google Drive -> Open With -> Google Docs), and many others.

Google Drive Keyboard Shortcuts

Conclusion

As you can see, Google Drive is filled with many hidden gems that help you boost up your productivity while using its built-in tools. So, what do you think? Who will win the battle of the office suites: Microsoft Office or Google Drive? Let us know in the comments section below.