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Originally Posted On: https://collavate.com/7-tips-to-successful-google-drive-document-management/

 

7 Steps to Successful Google Drive Document Management

Is your Google Drive a chaotic mess? Don’t worry; your Google Drive will quickly become easy to navigate with these document management tips.

Keyword(s): document management

Google Drive has over 1 billion active users worldwide! Despite this, so many people do not know how to use its service to manage documents properly.

It is a great way to store and share your documents. But, it can be challenging to keep track of everything if you have a lot of files. That’s where our tips come in – we’ll show you how to manage your Google Drive like a pro!

Once you’ve mastered the tips in this guide, you’ll be able to find anything you need quickly and easily. You’ll never lose another document again! Read on to learn how to organize Google Drive and how document management software can help you.

1. Keep Your Folders Organized

It may seem obvious, but keeping your Google Drive folders organized is crucial. Otherwise, it can quickly become a cluttered mess. Create folders for each project or client, and then sub-folders as needed.

There are a few different ways that you can create a folder in Google Drive. The first way is to click on the “New” button in the top left corner of the main screen. Then, select “Folder” from the drop-down menu. This will create a new folder in your root directory.

If you want to create a folder inside of another folder, first open the folder that you want to contain the new folder. Then, click the “New” button and select “Folder” from the drop-down menu. This will create a new folder inside the selected folder.

Also, you can create a new folder by right-clicking on any blank space in Google Drive. Then, select “New Folder” from the resulting menu. This will create a new folder in your root directory.

If you want to simplify finding specific folders, you can create shortcuts for each folder. ‌You can do this by dragging a file to My Drive from the sidebar, or right-clicking and choosing add a shortcut. Once done, you can put the shortcut folder anywhere in your Google Drive.

You can also use a document manager to help better organize your files. ‌Below we will look at some reasons why you should use a document management system with Google Drive.

2. Use the Google Drive Search Function

If you didn’t know anything about creating folders and subfolders before reading this post, you might have files in Google Drive that now seem lost forever. If this is the case, you can use Google’s Drive search function to find your missing file.

The best thing about the search function is that it gives you three ways to look for a file. You can search by file name, type, or even content.

Let’s start by using the file’s name with the search function. To do this, open Google Drive and click on the search bar.

Then, type in the name of the file you’re looking for. If the file exists, it will appear in the search results. You can then click on the file to open it.

First, open the drive to find a specific file type on Google Drive. Then click on the “More” option at the top of the screen.

A drop-down menu will appear. Select “Search by Type.” This will take you to the search page, where you can enter the file type you are looking for.

For example, if you are looking for a PDF, enter “.pdf” into the search box. If you’re unsure of the file type, you can also try searching for a part of the file name. You can organize the document you’re looking for into your preferred file.

3. Make Use of a Document Management System With Google Drive

Google’s products are sometimes difficult to use without other software. There are some downsides to using Google Drive all on its own. Below are some of these downsides:

• Security concerns
• Limited control
• Dependence on the internet
• Pricing

If you use Google Drive to manage documents, you are essentially handing them over to Google. This can be a problem if you need to have strict control over who can access and edit your documents.

The free version of Google Drive gives you a good deal of storage. But, if you need more storage space, you might need to upgrade. Paid plans can be expensive, depending on how much storage you need.

With Collavate, you can easily avoid these problems with Google Drive. ‌Using our document manager, you can streamline your team’s workflow to assist in making better project decisions.

4. A Document Manager Can Help You Share Your Documents With Others More Easily

Google Drive’s biggest downside is people’s struggle to share files with others. ‌Recently,‌ ‌Google‌ ‌updated its policies for its cloud storage services.

If specific files violate Google’s policies, they will be prohibited. ‌The company is trying to fight against cybercrimes like‌ ‌malware hosting‌ ‌and‌ ‌phishing. ‌They‌ ‌also attempt to guard against copyright abuse, hate speech,‌ ‌etc.

However, the company’s updates have led to ‌negative results. The policies make it more difficult for people to share their files with others.

This is especially true for those in universities and workplaces.  In some cases, people are locked out of their Google Drive accounts after sharing files with others.

Our document management systems can avoid this ever happening to you and your team members. You can add those who you want a part of a project, so they can easily go into the folder and start working. When using a document management system, you never worry about being locked out of your GoogleDrive accounts.

5. A Document Management Can Help You Store Your Files Securely and Access Them From Anywhere

One of the key issues with using Google Drive for document management is security. Because Drive offers cloud-based hosting, there are always risks of data breaches and hacks. If Drive is hacked, sensitive or confidential information could be compromised.

Security is why Google updated its policies, but as you can see, the updates are no use. By using document management, you can store sensitive information securely. Allowing you not to worry about someone hacking into your account.

Also, Google Drive requires an internet connection to work properly. This can be an issue if you work in an area with poor or no internet connectivity.

Once again, a document management system comes to save the day. You can access your files from anywhere, despite connection issues.

6. ‌Enhance Collaboration Among Team Members With a Document Management System

By allowing access to the files from anywhere, using a document manager makes sharing files easy for everyone. If you never notice, Google Drive makes it harder for team members to view projects quickly.

Google Drive on its own makes it harder for team members to access files and slows down the work process for everyone.

The document management system provides the opportunity for team members to work together at the same time. Everyone can share ideas, make comments, and make corrections in real-time. This allows the collaboration to flow much easier than just using Google Drive on its own.

7. A Document Manager Offers Solutions to Backup and Disaster Recovery

Data backup and disaster recovery are essential components of any document management system. ‌Digital archiving protects against fire, flooding, and other disasters to paper documents.

A document management system makes files traceable and can be tracked based on various parameters. ‌Tracking documents reduces the risk of losing or misfiling them after viewing.

But, doesn’t Google Drive offer this on its own?

Yes, it does, but once again, there are downsides to using Google Drive on its own, especially for backup and recovery. Below are the downsides:

• You have to do it manually
• If there are many files and they are large, it may take some time
• Restoring files to Google Drive can be time-consuming if you lose your data
• You need a large enough external hard drive for backup recovery

As you can see, Google Drive makes the backup and disaster recovery process harder than it has to be. A document management system can store your data on cloud-based and quickly access files you might have lost.

Allow Collavate to Make Document Management Easier for You in Google Drive

If you’re looking for an easy way to keep your documents organized and accessible, we recommend trying our document management tool. Our system is designed specifically for Google Drive users and makes it easy to keep all your essential files in one place.Plus, our 7-day trial gives you plenty of time to test the features and see if our system is a good fit for your needs. So, what are you waiting for? Start your 7-day trial today!