Google Drive is a quick and easy way to move files between your personal computer and ArgoApps, as well as a way to archive your work once a class ends. This page will talk specifically about using Google Drive for your GIS classes. If you would like to learn more about Google Drive in general, please visit the Google Drive and Installing Google Drive for Desktop on personal devices pages.
Get Started with Google Drive
For more Google Drive tutorials, visit Google Drive and Docs by GCFGlobal
Accessing Google Drive
1. Download Google Drive for desktop on your own computer
This step is recommended but is not mandatory. This will aid you in transferring files from your personal computer to ArgoApps, and vise versa.
Go to Google Drive and follow the instructions provided by Google to download and sign in. It is highly recommended to use your student UWF Gmail account as you have virtually unlimited storage.
2. Sign in to Google Drive on ArgoApps
The first time you sign into the GIS Desktop on ArgoApps, you will be prompted to sign in to Google Drive. Again, it is highly recommended to use your student UWF Gmail account. View the Installing Google Drive for Desktop on personal devices for a detailed walkthrough on signing in.
3. Sign in to Google Drive from anywhere
Google Drive is available from any computer-based web browser as well. From your UWF Gmail account, look to the top right of your screen. Next to your name, you should see a button that is made up of 9 dots, and hovering your mouse over it reveals the text 'Google Apps'. Clicking it will reveal a new menu with several options. Clicking Drive will open a new tab. Here you can see files saved to your Google Drive, files shared with you, as well as share files with others.
Moving Files To and From Google Drive
Google Drive is a great way to move files around. However, it is strongly recommended that you do not actually do GIS work from Google Drive. Working from Google Drive in ArcGIS can be very slow. Using the S Drive to work from is highly recommended.
1. Moving Files to Google Drive
There are two main types of files you will use in your GIS courses: GIS files(Shapefiles, Geodatabases, ArcGIS Pro Projects, etc.) and Microsoft files (Word Docs, Excel Sheets, Powerpoints, etc). Make sure you practice good file management with Google Drive.
To move GIS-related files, you should create a ZIP folder containing all the components you need. You can then copy/paste the ZIP folder in Google Drive or upload the ZIP folder to Google Drive.
To move Microsoft Files, you can also put them in a ZIP folder, or you can just copy/paste or upload it to Google Drive. Additionally, you can Save As to Google Drive.
2. Moving Files from Google Drive
To move files from Google Drive, you can copy/paste from Google Drive or download from the browser-based Google Drive.
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