Accessing Shared Drives

Last updated October 20, 2021 by MB

This document addresses how to access the contents of Google Shared Drives from your Windows PC or Mac computer. In the screenshots below, "StaffWork" is the example used, but the steps are the same for any of the shared drives (as of this writing, that includes "Communications", "Books", "Board", "Health", and "SnapsArchive" in addition to "StaffWork".) You will only see the shared drives that you are allowed to see.

Accessing Shared Drives from your Windows PC

Open a new file browser window and go to "This PC" -> "Google Drive File Stream (G:)" -> "Shared drives":

If the G: drive is inaccessible, the Google Drive app is probably not running. Click in the search and type "Google Drive" and click the result:

Then wait a few moments for it to get up to speed, and try again.

For a shared drive that you use frequently, you can right-click on one and select "Pin to Quick Access":

From then on, it's one click away:

Accessing Shared Drives from your Mac

Open a new Finder window and go to the sidebar -> "Google Drive" -> "Shared drives" -> "StaffWork", like so:

For a shared drive that you use frequently, you can carefully drag it into the "Favorites" section of your sidebar, until you see a little blue horizontal line, then let go:

From then on, it's one click away:

Accessing Shared Drives from other (non-school) computers

If you want to access something in a Shared drive from a computer other than your usual school one:

For just a one-time need, log in to the Chrome browser with your crossroadsacademy.org credentials and navigate to Drive -> Shared Drives -> [the drive in question], find the folders/files you need, download them, and open/edit them. Remember to UPload your changes afterward.

For routine use on a Windows PC or Macintosh, install the Google Drive desktop app on your computer and follow the prompts. (You do NOT need to uninstall Backup and Sync, ignore that.) Log in with your crossroadsacademy.org credentials and give it a few minutes to sync, then you will be able to access the shared drives as described above.

On an iPad, install the Google Drive app (free) and log in with your crossroadsacademy.org credentials, then go to Drive -> Shared Drives. Because most files are Microsoft Office or PDF files, your editing options will be very limited, however. We recommend using a Windows PC or Macintosh computer for editing.

On a Chromebook, log in with your crossroadsacademy.org credentials and go to Drive -> Shared Drives. Because most files are Microsoft Office or PDF files, your editing options will be very limited, however. We recommend using a Windows PC or Macintosh computer for editing.

General/FAQ:

Members of a shared drive share ownership of any files and folders.

If someone leaves the shared drive, any files they added will stay.

You can still share files with a link or invite.

For any given Shared Drive, these are the possible member roles:

Managers can manage members, and upload, edit, move, or delete all files.

Content managers can upload, edit, move, or delete all files.

Contributors can edit all files and upload new files, but can’t move or delete files.

Commenters can only comment on all files.

Viewers can only view all files.

Additional info: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/7286514