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Tips for your new departmental shared folder

Your Departmental Shared Folder has been set up in Google Drive and shared with your department. What should you do to find and access it?

Your Shared files are now stored in Google Drive and can be accessed from your new department or team folder in Google Drive. We recommend everyone in your department add this newly shared departmental folder to their My Drive so they can easily find and access it.

Once a folder is shared with you, you will receive a notification email by default.  The email looks something like this below image in your Gmail. In this specific example, the word “contribute to” means that you have been added as a collaborator, with editing permissions to the folder and all the items stored in it:

Email of shared folder

Instructions on how to add a shared folder into My Drive

  1. Click the Open button in the email to open the folder in Google Drive
  2. If you are already logged into your TMU Google account:
    1. Near the top of the page, you’ll see a drop down arrow beside the folder name. Click this, and select Add to My Drive

Adding folder to My Drive from Shared with Me tab

  1. The folder opens in a web preview mode, it doesn’t really look like the full Google Drive interface,  we recommend clicking the Add to Drive button in the upper right hand corner
    Image of add to Drive button
  2. Next, click the Open In Drive button in the upper right hand corner
    Image of open in Drive button
  3. This will open the folder in the familiar Google Drive Interface and this new shared folder is now located in your My Drive

This may seem like a lot of clicks, but these steps only need to be walked through once. Then you will always see it in the list of folders, and files in your “My Drive”. You can then begin working in this folder, adding content, and editing, depending on the permission that have been granted to you.

  1. In the Shared with me tab, in the left sidebar, navigate to the new departmental folder
    Shared with Me tab highlighted in left side bar
  2. Right click the folder, and select Add to My Drive to organize the folder
    Adding a star to a folder

Organizational Tips for My Drive

Your My Drive is your own space, but can contain a variety of your own personal folders and files, as well folders and files that have been shared with you too.  See this below image, the first two folders with the solid icons, indicates these folders are your own private folders, that only you can see and have access to. The folder icon with the person silhouette means it's a shared folder.

Two private folders and a shared folder

Some people find it useful to add a star to important folders, or current working files or folders they need to find and access quickly on a regular basis.  To do this, highlight the file or folder:

Highlighted folder

Right click and select Add star

Adding a star to a folder

Now when you use the Starred tab on the left sidebar, it will quickly filter only those folders or files a user has marked with a star.  This works similarly to the Gmail star feature for important emails. Starring is like bookmarking important folders and files that you access frequently in the Starred tab. You can remove the star if the bookmark is no longer needed.

Starred tab highlighted in left side bar

 

Managed Shared Folders in Google Drive

Some departments have arranged with the CCS department, to configure their shared folder to automatically switch ownership of files and subfolders to be “owned” by the department.  If this is the case, you’ll notice that any file or folder you create in this folder will switch ownership to a departmental account overnight. Speak with your manager, or admin if you are unsure.  

If your department is new to Google Drive, It’s recommended that departments speak with CCS to configure shared folders to ensure files are protected from loss if someone leaves the University.  For more information, please review documentation on:

What happens to the CFAPS Shared Drive?

If your department migrated from an existing CFAPS Share folder, your existing shared S:\ Drive was or will be scheduled to be put into read-only mode, meaning you can still see the files, but no edits to files can be made. Your department representative, or manager, will communicate this date.  Take some time to make sure all the important files are now in your Google Drive Folder.

Get additional help

If you have additional questions, contact the Computing and Communications Services (CCS) Help Desk at help@torontomu.ca (opens in new window)  or 416-979-5000, ext. 556806.