UW-Madison Google Workspace - Getting started with My Drive and Shared drives
Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service. Access files across multiple devices. Seamlessly collaborate with colleagues using Google Drive.
Google Drive
Google Drive offers two types of file storage to manage files:
- My Drive
- Shared Drives
View and print a quick start guide on Google Drive.
My Drive
My Drive is your personal storage where you can upload and store all of your files online. You can share these files with your team and access them from any computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Note: Google also has offline editing capabilites. Learn more about Google Drive using offline.
Shared Drives
Google Shared Drives are shared spaces where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device.
Learn more about Shared Drives.
Note: UW-Madison Google administrators cannot move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive on behalf of a user as described here: https://support.google.com/a/answer/7374057?hl=en#zippy=%2Cmove-drive-folders-to-shared-drives-as-an-admin .
We are unable to offer this option because this process breaks the folder's original folder/file structure and file permissions. Once a folder is moved from My Drive to a Shared Drive, the user will need to recreate the folder structure and reassign permissions again.
We are also unable to grant users admin permissions to their Google account to move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive as noted as another option in the same article. The admin role grants the individual access to the entire university's Google Drive settings.
Individuals who need to move folders from My Drive to Shared Drive will need to do so manually. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Comparison
Learn more about the differences between My Drive and Shared Drives.