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IT Help and Support

University Information Services
 

Google provides 2 ways to store files in your Google Workspace:

  • personal file storage in your My Drive area
  • shared drive storage intended for team use 

Working with your personal Google Drive

By default your files are stored in your personal My Drive area and count against your personal storage quota of 20 GB (storage quotas are being introduced from September 2023). You can share your personal files with anyone you choose to and work collaboratively on them. However, when you leave the University after a grace period your filespace will be reclaimed and any files held in your personal My Drive area will be deleted. Find out more about sharing files from Google Drive.

Change ownership of Google Workspace files or folders

Follow these steps to transfer ownership of individual files.

See which Google Workspace files and folders have been shared with me

You can view the files available in your Drive sorted by whether they are held in your personal My Drive area, a shared drive, or have been shared with you by someone else using the left-hand sidebar.

 

 

Check who owns a Google Workspace file or folder

You can check the ownership of any file in Google Workspace by opening the file and selecting File > Details. This will open a popup window that displays file details.

 

Similarly, you can check the ownership of any folder that has been shared with you by selecting it in My Drive and choosing 'View Details' from the hamburger menu (the 3 parallel lines) on the right-hand side. 

 

Stop sharing Google Workspace files or folders

If you decide you no longer want to share a file or folder with someone follow these steps to withdraw sharing permissions.

Working with shared Google Workspace drives

Shared drives and the files within them are owned by the team that creates them. Google places a limit of 400,000 items for each shared drive and from September 2023 each shared drive will have a quota of 20GB. Consider using shared drives to host any files that are used for collaboration as these are not subject to deletion when an individual leaves the University. You can request shared drives for any University Business reason using the Request for a Google Shared Drive form on the IT Support Portal.  Find out more about Google Workspace shared drives.

Move a Google Workspace file or folder to a shared drive

  1. Select the file or folder you wish to move in your Personal My Drive.

  2. Choose 'Move to' from the hamburger menu (the 3 parallel lines) on the right-hand side.

  3. Use the popup box to select the desired shared drive.

     

     

  4. Select the 'Move' button.

  5. You will be asked to confirm the change of ownership to a shared drive. Select 'Move' to continue.

     

     

  6. The file is immediately moved to the chosen shared drive.