Google Team Drive FAQ
Where do I find Team Drive and what’s stored there?
When you go to https://drive.google.com/, now you will see a “Team Drives” icon below “My Drive.” Once you click on the small, blue arrow to the left, you will see all of the folders housed under “Team Drives.” At a minimum, you will see the All Employee Drive and your Department Drive. Individual folders can be found by clicking on the blue arrow to the left of a specific folder.
How is Team Drive different from the All Employee Drive?
Team Drive is hosted on Google Drive and enables departments to create and share files without one specific owner. Example: if Ida creates a Google Doc in the ARC Team Drive, the entire ARC team owns it and can collaborate on it automatically. Ida doesn’t have to share it with specific collaborators. When a member of the ARC Team clicks on “Team Drives” and selects “Academic Resource Center,” this is what she or he will see:
How is Team Drive different from my Marlborough Google Drive?
Team Drive is owned by everyone in your department. When new Folders, Docs, Sheets, Slides or Forms are created in Team Drive, the entire department will automatically have editing rights, so the creator doesn’t have to worry about sharing it. If you need to share files and folders beyond your department, you can still do that too.
Your personal Marlborough Google Drive is owned by you. You can share these files with individuals or classes that you teach and decide who has access and what level of access they have (editing, commenting, or view only).
What happens when I delete something in Team Drive?
You shouldn’t delete anything in your Team Drive without checking with your department first.
Are my files backed up in Team Drive?
If you accidentally delete a file, or realize that you need a file you deleted previously, can recover it from the Trash folder in Drive.
Can I add Team Drives to the Google Drive for Mac/Win app?
Currently, Team Drives are not compatible with the Google Drive for Mac/Windows Application.
What if I realize I need something from the All Employee Drive that wasn’t migrated?
We are keeping the existing All Employee Drive, but after your department migrates to Team Drives, you will no longer have access to it. All new files should be created in Team Drive. However, if there is an urgent need for a file, the ARC team can help you retrieve it.
I’m still confused. Can someone walk me through the changes?
Yes! Please reach out to Shauna. She is happy to answer any questions that arise!