Starting with Windows 10, you can seamlessly access your files on OneDrive cloud storage right from File Explorer. What if you could do the same with Google Drive? Google Drive for desktop makes that possible, and this tutorial shows you how to use this app to add Google Drive to File Explorer.

Also read:How to Troubleshoot OneDrive Sync Issues

Why Use Google Drive for Desktop

• It eliminates the need to launch a web browser to access your files on Google Drive. Instead, you can do so from your local system using Finder on macOS or File Explorer on Windows.
• It enables file/folder selection and synchronization between your device and Google Drive.
• You can directly backup your photos, including screenshots and RAW images, to Google Photos with Drive for desktop.
• You can simultaneously sign in to up to four different Google accounts, giving you access to their respective files and configuration options and increasing your computer’s virtual storage capacity.

Now let us look at how to install Google Drive to File Explorer using the Google Drive for desktop app.

Also read:How to Delete Files from Google Drive on Mobile and PC

How to Add Google Drive to File Explorer

1. Download and install Drive for desktop.

2. Follow the on-screen prompts to sign in to your Google Drive account from the browser and confirm that you downloaded the desktop app from Google. If your Google account has 2-Step verification enabled, you might have to approve the sign-in from your smartphone.

Google notifies you that “You’ve signed into Google Drive” once it verifies your identity. You can then begin using Google Drive for desktop on your Windows computer.

Open File Explorer. You should see Google Drive listed as a regular drive in the “Device and drives” section of “This PC.” Google Drive also appears as a drive partition in the “Quick access” section of the sidebar. Use either of these links to access your files stored in Google Drive.

Also read:How to Open ZIP and RAR Files in Google Drive

How to Add a Google Drive Shortcut to File Explorer’s Sidebar

If you want Google Drive to appear as a distinct, non-removable entry similar to OneDrive and Dropbox in the File Explorer sidebar, follow the steps below.

The folder path structure in this method contains double backslashes and not a single backslash.

1. Back up your Windows registry to ensure that you can restore the registry to its last functional state in case something goes wrong unexpectedly.
2. Access the Google Drive in Windows Explorer script page on GitHub through a web browser and download the script’s ZIP archive; press “Code,” then select “Download ZIP.”

3. Locate the ZIP file you downloaded and extract its contents. We’ll need the “Google Drive.reg” file from this set in step #6.

4. Locate the Google Drive app on your PC using File Explorer. To do so, go to “C:Program FilesGoogleDrive File Stream” and open the folder with a numerical name, such as 60.0.2.0. This number corresponds to the version of the installed app.

5. Next, copy the full path to this folder from the right-click menu of the path bar.

6. Open the “Google Drive.reg” file from step #3 using Notepad or any other text editor.

7. Replace every instance of “C:Program FilesGoogleDrive File Stream49.0.9.0” with the full path you copied above.

8. Change every instance of the “TargetFolderPath” value to “G:\Google Drive.” If you have installed Google Drive on a different drive, replace “G:” with the relevant drive letter.

9. Save the “Google Drive.reg” file and quit Notepad.
10. Run the file by double-clicking on it. When the UAC prompt appears, select Yes to allow the new data to be added to your Windows Registry.

11. The Registry Editor informs you that the new keys have been added to your Windows Registry. Now press OK.

12. Open File Explorer. If you followed the steps correctly, you should see Google Drive listed as a separate entity in File Explorer’s sidebar.

Also read:Can’t Upload Files to Google Drive? Here Are Some Fixes

Frequently Asked Questions

Image credit: Google

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