How To Download Files To Google Drive On Mac And Windows
Mac and Windows are the most popular operating systems for any user. Although there is a never ending war between Mac and Windows according to some people, they love both because both of the operating systems are useful in their track. Besides that, let's assume that you are an avid Google Drive user and want to backup everything to Google Drive. There are different ways to backup different things to Google Drive on Mac and Windows. However, if you want to download files to Google Drive on Mac or Windows, here is a simple guide.
Download and install the Google Drive app to your Mac if you haven't already. Once you've installed and added it to your applications, a Google Drive folder should appear in your Finder. Access Google Drive with a free Google account (for personal use) or G Suite account (for business use).
Let's presume that you have a laptop that comes with only 128GB of SSD. Obviously, you always need to delete unnecessary files from your computer to make more space and store necessary data. In case you need to download a lot of heavy weight files to your computer and you do not want to use an external hard disk to store them, you can use Google Drive for sure. But two things you should remember e.g. those downloaded files need to be uploaded to Google Drive correctly. Otherwise, it may damage your file. Secondly, you must have Google Drive app on your Mac or Windows computer. Otherwise, you cannot select the location where you need to save your downloaded files. If you can cope with those two conditions, you can head to the following steps to get it done.
How To Download Files To Google Drive On Mac And Windows
What mentioned in the following paragraphs is two different methods for two different browsers, i.e. Google Chrome and Apple Safari. You can use any of these tutorials based on your preference. For example, if you use Google Chrome more often than Safari, you can head over to Google Chrome tutorials and vice versa.
Apple Safari
At first, open Apple Safari browser on your Mac computer. Following that, click on the Safari button and select Preferences. Alternatively, you can press Command + comma sign (,). On the General tab, you can find an option called File download location. Click on the drop-down menu and select Other.
Now, you need to select Google Drive as your download location. That's it! From now on, all the downloads will be saved in Google Drive.
Google Chrome
If you do not use Apple Safari on your Mac or use Windows computer, you can follow these steps that are compatible with Chrome. The steps are same for Mac and Windows, but the following screenshot belongs to Mac's version of Google Chrome.
At first, open Google Chrome and respective Settings page. Now, click on the Advanced button to expand the advanced settings. Among all the settings, you can find Downloads option. Under that, click on the Change button.
Therefore, you need to select a location where you want to save your newly downloaded files.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is one of the best browsers for Windows 10 users. If you do not want to spend time in developing websites, Microsoft Edge is probably the best option for you. It has the speed, smoothness, usability, etc. that a standard user needs. Therefore, if you are using Microsoft Edge on a Windows 10 computer, and you want to use Google Drive as your download folder, you need to follow these steps.
At first, open the Microsoft Edge browser. After that, click the three-dotted menu button, and select Settings. In the General section, you can find a label called Downloads. You need to click the corresponding Change button, and choose Google Drive as your default download location.
That's it! It is as simple as said.
Chromium-based Microsoft Edge
Microsoft recently launched a Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, which will replace the standard Edge browser in coming days. The previous Edge browser doesn't support a lot of extensions those are quite important to enrich the user experience. Although the stable version is still under development, you can install Dev or Canary version to test the browser. If you have already installed the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, and you want to use Google Drive as your default download location, these following steps would be helpful for you.
At first, open the browser, and click the three-dotted menu button, which is visible on your top-right corner. Click the Settings button from the list. After that, switch from Profiles tab to Downloads tab. Alternatively, you can enter this in the URL bar – edge://settings/downloads and hit the Enter button.
Click the Change button and select Google Drive.
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox tops the list of most secured web browser for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc. It is the nearest competitor of Google Chrome. If you want to change the download location and use Google Drive as the default download folder, these following steps would be helpful.
At first, open the Firefox browser and go to Options. You should find it in the Menu list. In the General tab, find out Downloads tag. Make sure the first options aka ‘Save files to' option is selected.
After that, click the Browse button and select Google Drive.
That's all! Hope these simple steps would be helpful for you.
Need to uninstall Google Drive from your computer? Perhaps you don't want to use Google Drive anymore or need to reinstall it to fix a problem.
Don't worry! We'll show you how to remove Google Drive from your Windows PC or Mac. In case you don't need this nuclear option, we'll also cover disconnecting and pausing Google Drive.
How to Disconnect Google Drive From Your Computer
Before you delete Google Drive from your computer, you should disconnect your system from your account. This is also a useful step if you don't want to fully remove Google Drive yet.
To disconnect Google Drive, you'll need to click the Backup and Sync from Google icon. It looks like a cloud with an upward-facing arrow.
On Windows, you'll find this in the System Tray at the bottom-right of your screen; you may need to click the arrow to show all icons. On a Mac, you'll see the same icon in your menu bar at the top of the screen. Once the Google Drive panel opens, hit the three-dot Menu button and choose Preferences.
In Google Drive's preferences panel, switch to the Google Drive tab on the left. Uncheck Sync My Drive to this computer to stop syncing everything. You can also check Sync only these folders to pick and choose certain directories to sync.
If you do this, you can always come back into this settings panel to start syncing again or make changes to what syncs. Anything that's not set up to sync will stay on your computer and you can access it, but changes you make won't replicate to the cloud. Your local folders also won't update when you make changes elsewhere.
To completely disconnect your Google Drive account from your current computer, go to the Settings tab.
Click Disconnect Account to sign out of Google Drive on this machine—just one of the important Google Drive settings you should know about.
After you do this, the Google Drive app won't do anything until you sign in again. You'll still have access to the files in your Drive folder, but they won't sync with the cloud.
How to Uninstall Google Drive
Google Drive For Desktop Mac
Decided you don't want Google Drive or need to reinstall the software? Here's how to delete Google Drive on your machine.
Note that removing the Google Drive app prevents your files from syncing, but it doesn't delete your existing files. You can delete or move them as needed after uninstalling, which won't affect the copies in the cloud.
Uninstall Google Drive on Windows 10
At first, open the browser, and click the three-dotted menu button, which is visible on your top-right corner. Click the Settings button from the list. After that, switch from Profiles tab to Downloads tab. Alternatively, you can enter this in the URL bar – edge://settings/downloads and hit the Enter button.
Click the Change button and select Google Drive.
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox tops the list of most secured web browser for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc. It is the nearest competitor of Google Chrome. If you want to change the download location and use Google Drive as the default download folder, these following steps would be helpful.
At first, open the Firefox browser and go to Options. You should find it in the Menu list. In the General tab, find out Downloads tag. Make sure the first options aka ‘Save files to' option is selected.
After that, click the Browse button and select Google Drive.
That's all! Hope these simple steps would be helpful for you.
Need to uninstall Google Drive from your computer? Perhaps you don't want to use Google Drive anymore or need to reinstall it to fix a problem.
Don't worry! We'll show you how to remove Google Drive from your Windows PC or Mac. In case you don't need this nuclear option, we'll also cover disconnecting and pausing Google Drive.
How to Disconnect Google Drive From Your Computer
Before you delete Google Drive from your computer, you should disconnect your system from your account. This is also a useful step if you don't want to fully remove Google Drive yet.
To disconnect Google Drive, you'll need to click the Backup and Sync from Google icon. It looks like a cloud with an upward-facing arrow.
On Windows, you'll find this in the System Tray at the bottom-right of your screen; you may need to click the arrow to show all icons. On a Mac, you'll see the same icon in your menu bar at the top of the screen. Once the Google Drive panel opens, hit the three-dot Menu button and choose Preferences.
In Google Drive's preferences panel, switch to the Google Drive tab on the left. Uncheck Sync My Drive to this computer to stop syncing everything. You can also check Sync only these folders to pick and choose certain directories to sync.
If you do this, you can always come back into this settings panel to start syncing again or make changes to what syncs. Anything that's not set up to sync will stay on your computer and you can access it, but changes you make won't replicate to the cloud. Your local folders also won't update when you make changes elsewhere.
To completely disconnect your Google Drive account from your current computer, go to the Settings tab.
Click Disconnect Account to sign out of Google Drive on this machine—just one of the important Google Drive settings you should know about.
After you do this, the Google Drive app won't do anything until you sign in again. You'll still have access to the files in your Drive folder, but they won't sync with the cloud.
How to Uninstall Google Drive
Google Drive For Desktop Mac
Decided you don't want Google Drive or need to reinstall the software? Here's how to delete Google Drive on your machine.
Note that removing the Google Drive app prevents your files from syncing, but it doesn't delete your existing files. You can delete or move them as needed after uninstalling, which won't affect the copies in the cloud.
Uninstall Google Drive on Windows 10
To remove Google Drive from Windows, you'll just need to uninstall it like any other program. Open Settings (using the Win + I shortcut if you like) and browse to Apps > Apps & features.
Use the search box or scroll down to find Backup and Sync from Google, which is the new name for the Google Drive app.
Click Uninstall and walk through the steps to remove it from your computer. Once this is done, you'll need to reinstall the app if you want to start syncing files to this computer again. Your Google Drive folder will stick around, but it's cut off from your account.
Uninstall Google Drive on macOS
The process to remove Google Drive from your Mac is just like uninstalling any other macOS app. Open Finder and navigate to the Applications folder. If you don't see it on the left sidebar, it's also available under the Go menu or by using the shortcut Shift + Cmd + A.
Inside Applications, find the Backup and Sync from Google app and drag it to the Trash on your Dock. This deletes the app from your system.
How to Pause Google Drive
If you just want to stop Google Drive from syncing for a short time, you don't need to disconnect or uninstall it. Both the Windows and Mac apps let you pause Google Drive if needed.
To do this, click the Backup and Sync icon again, as described above. In the three-dot Menu at the top-right of this panel, select the Pause option. This will stop Google Drive from uploading and downloading until you repeat the steps and choose Resume. Once you resume, it will sync all the changes made while it was paused.
You can also stop Google Drive from syncing by choosing Quit Backup and Sync from this menu. This closes the software, so it won't sync until you start it again.
Controlling Google Drive
Now you know how to remove Google Drive from your computer, as well as disconnecting it. In general, you should only uninstall the app for troubleshooting or if you're sure you don't want to use it anymore. Disconnecting is sufficient if you want to make changes to the local files without changing what's in your Drive.
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Google Drive Mac Desktop Icon
Read the full article: How to Uninstall and Remove Google Drive From Your PC or Mac
