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Google Shared Drive Guidelines

Modified on: Fri, 19 Jan 2024 3:58 PM

Introduction

This article was written to provide recommended practices for using Google Shared Drives (formerly Team Drives) on the ualberta.ca domain. 

 


Applicability

This article is intended for anyone looking for information, or answering questions, regarding the usage of Shared Drives on the ualberta.ca domain. 

 


Details

As a member of the UAlberta community, you are entrusted with using and managing the information technology resources responsibly, respectfully and in a manner that reflects high ethical standards, mutual respect and civility, in accordance with the University’s Information Management & Information Technology Policies

Storing Information

UAlberta Google Drive is approved for storing and sharing the university's business, academic, research and administrative information and records. Files in UAlberta Google Drive have built-in information rights management (IRM), so you can share files and information securely. To help your team manage information effectively, always consider whether the information needs to be kept and how it is described, organized and stored.

Note: Extremely sensitive information such as identifiable patient and health care information, social insurance numbers, and passport information, is not to be stored in or shared through UAlberta Google applications, including Shared Drives.

 

Setup and share

  • Anyone with a UAlberta Google account can create a Shared Drive, add members, and set permissions. An account or Google Group can be a member of multiple Google Shared Drives. 
  • There are limits to the number of items, members, and daily uploads you can have in shared drives. It is recommended to keep well below these strict limits. Note, change coming to Google Storage policy.
  • There are five levels of permissions that can be assigned to members: Manager (full access), Content Manager (can edit, reorganize, and delete content but not modify the Shared Drive membership or settings), Collaborator (edit access), Commenter and Viewer. Learn more about setting permissions for a Shared Drive.
  • It is recommended to always have two members with Manager access to the Shared Drive (for Faculties or Departments one of these can be a secondary CCID). This will ensure someone always has access to add / remove members to the Shared Drive in the case of absence.
  • It is recommended to not provide every member Manager access permission to the Shared Drive, unless required for their tasks. Begin with the lowest access (Viewer) then increase permissions as required.
  • A Google Group can also be assigned as a member to a Shared Drive (for Faculties or Departments only). Note, every member of the Google Group will inherit the same permissions as provided to the Google Group for the Shared Drive (e.g., a Google Group has 10 members and has been permissioned Collaborator access for the Shared Drive, all 10 members will also have Collaborator access).
  • When members are added to a Shared Drive, they can access all files and folders based on the access levels assigned to them. This helps with transparency, predictability, and scalability. File and folder permissions can only be expanded, not reduced or be more restrictive, within the shared drive.
  • Specific files and folders within a Shared Drive can be shared directly with non-Shared Drive members. When this happens, the file or folder will appear in the ‘Shared with me’ section of Google Drive. A shortcut of the shared file or folder can be added in My Drive or to another Shared Drive.
  • Shared Drive members with Manager access can limit sharing outside of the team. They can specify if files can be:

 

    • Shared with people who are not in the same domain (UAlberta.ca).
    • Shared with people who are not members of the Shared Drive.
    • Downloaded, copied, or printed by commenters and viewers. 

Migrate 

  • Moving files from My Drive to the Shared Drive changes ownership from the individual (user) to the Shared Drive (organization). 
  • Folders cannot be moved from My Drive to a Shared Drive, only files. However, multiple files can be moved at one time. Note, to select multiple files, hold down Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and click each file.
  • Only team members with Manager, Content Manager, or Collaborator access to the Shared Drive can move files they own from My Drive to a Shared Drive. 
  • It is important to note that users with ‘editor’ access to files from another user’s My Drive can move those My Drive files into a Shared Drive. This is possible as long as both users are members of the Shared Drive and the              member moving the My Drive files has Manger, Content Manager or Collaborator access to the Shared Drive.
  • File permissions and links do not change when moved to a Shared Drive. People who are not Shared Drive members can still access the file with the previously granted permission.
  • To prevent converting Microsoft Office files when uploading into Google Drive, uncheck the option “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format” in the Google Drive settings.

Delete and restore 

  • Each Shared Drive has its own trash, and only members with Manager or Content Manager access can delete files and folders. 
  • Team members who have Manager, Content Manager or Collaborator access can restore files.
  • Files and folders in the Shared Drive Trash are automatically deleted forever after 30 days.

For additional information on: 

Google’s best practices to get the most out of Shared Drives.

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