Switching from Microsoft OneDrive to Google Drive

Need Additional Help? If you need further assistance after reading this article, please contact the IT helpdesk via email at techsupport@baypath.edu or by phone at (413)565-1487.

This guide helps individuals switch from Microsoft OneDrive to Google Workspace. This guide is heavily based on the documentation that Google has created, but modified to include references and information that is specific to Bay Path University.

What you’ll need

🕑 About 15-30 minutes of time

👥 A Google Workspace account. Bay Path University uses Google Workspace as the main productivity platform

Directions provided in this guide are primarily web only. If you would like to access your files from your mobile device, please use the Google Drive app available via your mobile devices App Store.

Comparison at a glance

In OneDrive…	In Drive…
Upload files and folders	If you’re using the latest version of Chrome or Firefox, you can simply drag files directly from your computer to the Drive page on your browser. For more details, see Add files and folders to Drive.
Share files and folders and set permission levels	You can easily share files with specific people or with departments by using Google Shared Drives For more details, see Sharing files with Drive.
Set an expiration time on shared links	Open a file in Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides Click Share. Find the user you’d like to give access to If you haven’t shared the file with that person yet, you need to share the file with them first. Add the user’s email and click Send or Share. After the file has been shared, click Share again. Next to the person’s name, click the Down arrow → Add expiration. Next to Access Expires, click a date to set as the expiration date. Choose a date within one year of the current date. Click Save.
Search for files or folders	In the search box, enter a word or phrase. Click a file suggestion to open it, or click a search suggestion to see a list of results for that search term.
Sort files and folders	At the top of your files, click an option: Name: Order files alphabetically by name. Last Modified: Order files by the last time anyone changed a file, or the last time you changed or opened a file.
Track version history	In Drive, right-click a non-Google file and select Manage versions. You can download a specific version or upload a new version. In Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides, select File → Version history → See version history. You can name a specific version or make a copy of a version.
Make files available offline	Bay Path University requires that all files be edited while online. Offline file syncing has been disabled.