What is Google Drive? Definition, Function, and How to Use It

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Google Drive has become one of the commonly used tools or applications today to help manage users’ files or data. Google Drive has been widely utilized in the fields of education and work.

Due to its widespread use in various fields, users need to understand Google Drive. Although it has been utilized extensively, not all users have grasped this Google-made application.

So, what is Google Drive? If you’re interested in learning about it, here is a summary from KompasTekno of some basic knowledge about Google Drive, which includes its definition, the types of files that can be stored, its functions, and how to use it.

What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage service from Google that allows users to store files online. This cloud file storage service from Google has been available since 2012.

In storage technology, Google Drive is classified as cloud storage, also commonly referred to as online storage. It is important to note that “cloud” is a term that refers to the server technology owned by a service on the internet.

Files saved through the Cloud will be located on internet servers. These files will be stored online. So, when saving a file in Google Drive, the file will be saved on the server, not in the physical storage of the user’s computer or phone.

With Google Drive, users can store files online and access them at any time. Files stored in Google Drive can be accessed through various devices, whether mobile or computer, as long as they are connected to the internet.

Google Drive makes it easy for users to manage files or data. Google Drive provides 15 GB of free storage space for each user account, which can be used to store various types of files.

That is the explanation regarding the definition of Google Drive. As an online storage service, what types of files can be stored in Google Drive? For more details, here is an explanation of the types of files that can be stored in Google Drive.

Types of files that can be stored in Google Drive.

Google Drive can essentially be used to store various types or formats of files. In Google Drive, users can save text documents, videos, audio, images, and various other types of files.

Files stored in Google Drive can also be displayed or previewed. According to the official Google website, here is the complete list of types that can be stored in Google Drive and previewed:

  • Archive files (.ZIP, .RAR, .tar, .gzip)
  • Audio files (MP3, MPEG, WAV, .ogg, .opus)
  • Image files (.JPEG, .PNG, .GIF, .BMP, .TIFF, .SVG)
  • Programming code files (.CSS, .HTML, .PHP, .C, .CPP, .H, .HPP, .JS, .java, .py)
  • Text files (.TXT)
  • Video files (WebM, .MPEG4, .3GPP, .MOV, .AVI, .MPEGPS, .WMV, .FLV, .ogg)
  • Autodesk AutoCAD files (.DXF)
  • Illustrator files (.AI)
  • Photoshop files (.PSD)
  • Portable Document Format files (.PDF)
  • PostScript files (.EPS, .PS)
  • Scalable Vector Graphics files (.SVG)
  • Tagged Image File Format files (.TIFF) – best used with RGB .TIFF images
  • TrueType files (.TTF)
  • Excel files (.XLS and .XLSX)
  • PowerPoint files (.PPT and .PPTX)
  • Word files (.DOC and .DOCX)
  • XML Paper Specification files (.XPS)
  • Password-protected Microsoft Office files
  • Editor files (.key, .numbers)

Those are some types of files that can be stored in Google Drive. Besides storing files, Google Drive actually has other functions as well. So, what is the function of Google Drive? For a more comprehensive understanding, here is an explanation of the functions of Google Drive.

The functions of Google Drive.

Google Drive makes it easy for users to manage files or data. In general, the main function of Google Drive is to store files online. In addition, there are several other functions that it offers. Here are some of the functions of Google Drive:

  1. Storing files

Google Drive allows users to store various types of files, including documents, images, videos, and more. Google Drive storage can be used when the physical storage on the user’s device starts to fill up.

  1. Proposing data or files

The next function of Google Drive is as a place to back up data. Data on a device’s memory can be deleted or corrupted. To ensure that data can be recovered, users can save a copy or back up their data on Google Drive.