Download the SYnc app for Windows or Mac. Access, share and upload files from your mobile device. Access all your Box files directly from your desktop, without taking up much hard drive space. Box Drive is natively integrated into Mac Finder and Windows Explorer, making it easy to share and collaborate on files. Download Box Drive for Mac Download Box Drive for Windows (64 bit) Download Box Drive for Windows (32 bit). Automatically back up photos from your Mac or PC, connected cameras and SD cards. Windows 7 + Mac. MacOS 10.9 + Thanks for downloading Backup and Sync. Open the installer on your computer and follow the prompts to start backing up photos. Get help installing. For mobile devices. Get the Google Photos app to back up and view photos on. (Optional) Delete the Google Drive folder at /Google Drive. Note: Use caution deleting this folder, as it may contain content that has not yet been saved or synced. Drive File Stream comes packaged with Google Update (Windows) or Google Software Update (Mac) to automatically update Drive File Stream on your users’ computers. Google's Backup and Sync app. Google's Backup and Sync app for Windows or Mac will back up photos from your computer, camera or SD card to Google Drive and Photos, and the app will upload a copy.
- Download Google Backup Sync
- Sync Google Drive
- Install Google Drive For Mac
- Sync Google Drive To Windows
Are you looking for storing your documents, photos, videos, etc on Google Drive and then accessing them easily from your Mac?
Well, it’s a piece of cake!
Once you have downloaded and installed the Google Drive application on your Mac, you can access it like you access any other folder.
It is that simple.
Just with a click you can access your Google Drive storage and view or make changes to it accordingly by adding Google Drive to Mac finder.
Google Drive is a great service that allows users to save their data online and then access it from any device with a username and a password.
It is also easy to sync your devices for easy access. And moreover, this service offers 15 GB of data completely free. Which is enough for many users.
But in case you need more space you always have the option to upgrade to a paid plan.
Sound’s great, right!
If you are still unsure about how this service works, don’t panic.
Go ahead and check out my guide on “What is Google Drive and how it works“. Reading this article will make it easy for you to have a basic understanding of Google Drive. And how you can check your Google Drive storage.
So don’t miss this piece of information!
Moving ahead let me brief you about the contents of this article.
In this article, I will be sharing a complete step by step guide on how to add Google Drive to Mac Finder. I will share all the details starting with how to download and install the application on your Mac.
But before that, it is also important to know about some of the basic features of Google drive.
So in this article, we will start with that!
How to Add Google Drive to Finder?
First, let’s start with some basics!
Google Drive is a service that offers cloud storage.
Now this service has two plans.
- Personal. In this plan, you get 15 GB of cloud storage for free at first. But you always have an option to upgrade to paid Google One plans which offer additional storage from 100 GB up to 30 TB.
- Business. The business plan is best-suited to fro Enterprises in which the company pays only for the space used by the users. So the billing is different depending upon use.
How to access Google Drive?
There are two simple ways to access Google Drive.
- The first way is to through the web. Navigate to drive.google.com and enter the username and password for your Google account.
- The second one is through the Google Drive application on your device. Based on which device you are using, download, and install the Goole Drive application. And then access your drive storage. Google Drive available to download for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Features of Google Drive.
Google Drive is not just cloud storage but instead has many additional features that make it easy and useful.
- You can save documents, files, photos, videos, presentations, etc on Google Drive.
- The best part is that you can access your data no matter where you are and which device you are using. Until and unless you have the username and password of your account.
- It is easy to collaborate with friends and colleagues on Google Drive by giving them access to your files.
- Google Drive includes access to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Forms, Google Drawing, etc. This makes collaborating easy.
Here in this article, we are specifically talking about adding Google Drive to Mac Finder.
So let’s get started with it!
1. Download “Backup & Sync” from the web
The very first step on adding Google Drive to Mac finder is to download Google Drive on your Mac.
It is important to download “Backup & Sync” from Google Drive.
This gives you access to Google Drive from your Mac.
- Navigate to Google Drive from your web browser.
- Next, you will find a “Download” option under “For Individuals – Backup & Sync“. Click on “Download“.
- A small window will pop up requiring you to agree to the “Google Drive Terms of Service”. Click on “Agree and Download“.
- A file name with “InstallBackupAndSync.dmg” will appear in the downloads.
2. Install Backup and Sync on your Mac
- Once your file has been downloaded go-ahead to the “Downloads” in “Finder” and double click on the file name “InstallBackupAndSync.dmg“.
- After a few seconds, a new window will appear.
- Simply drag and drop the “Backup And Sync From Google” file over the “Applications” folder on the window.
- It will take a few seconds to copy the contents of the file automatically to the applications folder.
- When completed close the window.
3. Launch “Backup and Sync from Google”
It is important to launch and set up Google Drive before having complete access to its features.
- Go to “Finder” and then click on “Applications” from the left menu on the window.
- Scroll down to find a file named “Backup and Sync from Google“.
- Double click on it to run the program.
- A small window will appear seeking permission to open the application. Click on “Open“.
- “Welcome to Backup and Sync” window will open. Click on the “Get Started” option on the window.
4. Set Up your Google Drive Account
- There are three basic steps to set up Google Drive account.
- First, enter your Email ID and Password of the existing Google account to log in.
- If you do not have one create a new Google Account easily first.
- Then, go ahead and click on “Got It” on the window asking for choosing folders for continuous backup.
- Step two is to check the boxes next to the folders you want to synchronize and create a backup of. Adding to this you can also change the Quality of photos and videos uploads. You can either choose “High Quality” or “Original Quality” of photos and videos to be uploaded to drive.
- After selecting the folders click on the “Next” option on the bottom-right corner of the window. These changes are not permanent. You can uncheck or add your choices anytime in the future.
- The third step to sync files from My Drive to a folder on the computer. Therefore click on “Got It” to allow this action.
- The next part of the third step is to “Sync My Drive to this computer“. Now you have two options here. You can choose to “Sync everything in My Drive” as the name goes it will sync all the data on your drive. Or you can choose to “Sync only these folders” which means you can select specific folders to sync only.
- Click on “Start” to complete this step.
5. Access Google Drive on Mac
As soon as you have completed the process of installing and running the program on your Mac, the first thing you will notice is that the Google Drive icon is included in the Menu bar of your Mac.
Using this you get quick access to your Google Drive folder on your Mac as well as your Google Drive on the web.
This shortcut shows some of the most recent information related to your Google Drive account such as the files, pictures, videos or documents you added to your account.
And it also gives an update on the syncing of the items to your online account.
Now let us check out how it works.
- Navigate to the Google Drive icon on the menu bar and click on it. A drop-down menu will appear immediately.
- You will find the amount of storage used and how much is left here. And it also includes the number of recent uploads and sync status of the uploads.
- On the top right side fo the drop-down menu you will find a menu displayed by three vertical dots. Go ahead and click on it.
- Another additional menu will appear. Scroll down and click on the “Preferences” option.
- This will open a new preferences window on the screen.
- On the left side of the window, you will find three main items, My Mac, Google Drive, and Settings.
- Clicking on each you can change your preferences related to each item.
- This gives you complete control over your Google Drive account.
6. Access Google Drive from Finder
- You can also easily access Google Drive from Finder.
- Simply click on your Finder on desktop.
- Now on the left side of the items, you will find Google Drive on the top.
- Click on it and you can access Google Drive folder from there.
That is all of it!
Note
I know there are small steps that seem a lot at first setting up the Google Drive account, but once it is set up, it is super simple to work with.
You can always add files, folders, photos, documents, videos, etc to the Google Drive folder. It can always be accessed by opening the Finder and then clicking on “Google Drive” from the sidebar.
It is important to note here that when you copy or move anything to your Google Drive folder on your Mac, it can be accessed from the web using the same username and password.
If you are looking at getting the most out of your Google Drive account, I would suggest you download and install Google Drive application on all your devices.
This will make it very easy for you to access all your data and edit, add, change, collaborate, etc, easily from anywhere.
As already discussed Google Drive applications are available for iOS and Android devices as well.
So try to make the most use out of it!
Conclusion
I hope you found this article useful on “How to Add Google Drive to Mac Finder“.
If you have any queries related to the topic you can write to us from the comment section below.
If you wish to receive notifications on the latest topics, subscribe to our newsletter.
Related Articles.
Expand cloud storage on Mac
Google Drive is an online storage solution by Google. It allows you to store and sync data across your devices with its 15 GB of free storage space, while its integration with Google Docs for Mac gives your friends or coworkers access to the files or folders you designate for sharing.
There’s an official Google Drive app for Mac too — an upgraded 2017 version of which is called Backup & Sync and is sometimes referred to as the new Google Drive. Google Drive Backup and Sync download is free and you can expect to install it and have it running in no time and little effort.
Upgrade Google Drive with Setapp
Give Setapp a free test drive to unveil the Google Drive secret sauce. Pro-level hacks, tips, and extended Google Drive functionality in one pack.
Download Google Backup Sync
How To Set Up And Use Google Drive For Mac?
With Google Drive, you can create and edit documents online. But if you rely on Drive for files backup and sync, it’s much more convenient to use the app. To start using Google Drive on Mac, the first thing you need is a Google Drive account.
How to create a Google Drive account?
If you have an account on any of Google services, like Gmail, YouTube, or Google Play, then you actually already have a Google Drive account.
Simply log in to a Google Drive website or app with your existing credentials. Or create a Google account for free by following these steps:
Go to google.com/drive and click on the blue Go to Google Drive button
Click Create Account
Follow the onscreen instructions to create a new Google account (this will also serve as your new Gmail email address)
Sync Google Drive
How to install Google Drive for Mac?
Once you have a Google account, you can download Google Drive for Mac and use it. Here’s how you can do the Google Backup and Sync download:
Go to google.com/drive and click Download near the top of the page
Click on the Download button under Backup and Sync
Read and agree to the terms of service to start the download of Google Drive for Mac
The Google Drive Installer will be downloaded to your Mac’s Downloads folder
When the download is complete, double-click the installer (the file is called InstallBackupAndSync.dmg). Then click and drag the Backup and Sync From Google icon to the Applications folder. Boom, done!
How to sync Google Drive on Mac for the first time?
The first time you open Google Drive on Mac, you have to go through a few steps to get it set up properly. After that accessing Google Drive will be effortless. But to get things up and running:
Launch Google Drive from the Applications folder by clicking on Backup and Sync From Google
A warning sign will appear cautioning that Google Drive is an application you downloaded from the internet ➙ click Open
On the welcome to Google Drive window that appears click Get Started
Sign in to your Google account with your Gmail email address and password
The Google Drive Installer will display a number of tips about using the app and then add a special Google Drive folder to your Home directory on Mac ➙ click Next
You can designate items in your Google Drive folder to be shared with anyone ➙ click Next ➙ Done
The installer will finish by adding a Google Drive menu bar icon and a Google Drive sidebar icon to the Finder. This sets up the two key elements for you to work with Google Drive for Mac: Google Drive folder and Google Drive menu bar icon.
Install Google Drive For Mac
Most of the time you’ll use the Google Drive folder — to store items you want to save to the Google cloud as well as share with others. Google Drive menu bar icon is handy for quick access and configuring Google Drive settings.
How to use Google Drive menu bar icon?
The menu bar Google Drive icon gives you quick access to the Google Drive folder on your Mac, opens Google Drive in your browser, displays recent documents that you have added or updated, and tells you if the Google Drive sync has completed. But more importantly, the menu bar icon contains additional Google Drive settings. To set up Google Drive to your liking:
Click on the Google Drive icon in the menu bar and a dropdown menu will appear
Click on the vertical ellipsis in the top right corner ➙ choose Preferences from the menu
The Google Drive Preferences menu lets you configure your Google Drive settings with a three-tab interface.
My Mac tab allows you to decide whether you want to keep the default setting and have all the folders in your Google Drive folder synced automatically to the cloud or designate only specific folders for Google Drive sync.
Google Drive tab manages the connection between your Google Drive folder and the cloud. This is where you go in case of Google Drive not syncing. To sync Google Drive folder with the cloud, make sure you’re signed in to your Google account.
Settings tab gives you options to have Google Drive automatically launch when you log in to your Mac, show confirmation messages when shared items are removed from Google Drive, and upgrade your storage to another plan.
How to use Google Drive on Mac?
Now that your Google Drive setup is complete, you have access to this additional storage for you to do as you wish. However, one of the best uses would be to link your Google Drive to multiple devices — for easy access from all of them.
Also remember that Google Drive lets you create and work with others on documents in Google’s own versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in real-time (called Docs, Sheets, and Slides respectively). To enable collaboration on a Google Docs file, simply tap on Share in the top right corner and enter the names or email addresses of the people you wish to engage.
More tips for making Google Drive better
As convenient as Google Drive is, people often use more than one service for their personal and professional data storage. Some popular alternatives include Apple’s iCloud, Microsoft’s OneDrive, and Dropbox. Using a combination of cloud-based storages increases your Mac’s disk space to being virtually unlimited, as long as you have an active internet connection. But in truth, managing different cloud accounts can turn into quite a hustle.
Luckily, there are apps like CloudMounter that allow you to use all your storage solutions in one place, connecting them to your Mac as if they were your regular external drives.
Expand your storage with CloudMounter
Stop worrying about choosing the best storage solution. You can use all of them from one spot with CloudMounter. Give it a try!
This trick lets you deal with cloud data in the same manner as you’d with local one, and even move files between the clouds. Another great benefit of using CloudMounter is the latest encryption algorithm that guarantees the security of your cloud files. Plus, it allows encrypting sensitive data on the cloud and doesn’t share your login info with any third parties.
CloudMounter works perfectly with all major cloud services and could very well become your ultimate cloud manager if you’re constantly dealing with storage issues or feel there’s not enough free space on your Mac’s SSD.
Not even a bit less vital when dealing with loads of data is making sure you have a good backup of the most important files. Get Backup Pro is an elegant backup app just for that.
Get Backup Pro is fast, reliable, and offers a mix of four different backup methods: simple copy, clone, incremental, and versioned. With this app, you can back up folders or files that you think are important, cut the size of archives up to 60% by conducting compressed backups, effortlessly migrate data to a new disk with bootable backups via cloning, and schedule Stealth mode backups — with Get Backup Pro automatically closing once all scheduled processes are finished.
It goes without saying that cloud storage encourages collaboration and file sharing. If you work with different files online and often need to share links, Dropshare should be your app of choice for fast and secure file exchange.
Dropshare is a platform that works brilliantly with your favorite cloud services and lets you upload files in bulk with its easy drag & drop functionality, as well as securely share files, documents, and photos with password-protected expiring download links, and even set your own keyboard shortcuts to complete routine tasks faster.
If you’re still asking yourself how to use Google Backup and Sync — 15 GB of free storage space, excellent collaboration features, and ability to access your files from any of your devices will surely give you lots of ideas on how to make the most of it. With clouds come possibilities, but you‘re the one who really decides what is Google Drive going to be on your Mac.
Best of all, you can find CloudMounter, Get Backup Pro, and Dropshare mentioned above on a free 7-day trial through Setapp, a platform of more than 150 useful Mac utilities that could change the way you work day to day. Ready for action on cloud Google?
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
Read onSign Up