Introduction This article is intended to provide information on Google Drive for Desktop for UAlberta Google (Workspace for Education) accounts.      Applicability This is intended for any user looking for information on Google Drive for Desktop to be used on PC or Mac computers.     Details Google Drive for desktop lets you easily manage and share content across all your devices and the cloud. You can use Drive for desktop to keep your files in sync between the cloud and your computer. Syncing is the process of downloading files from the cloud and uploading files from your computer’s hard drive. After syncing, the files on your computer match the files in the cloud. If you edit, delete, or move a file in one location, the same change happens in the other location. You can also make Drive files available for offline access. These cached files sync back to the cloud when you're online, so the latest version is available on all your devices. With Google Drive for desktop (Windows or macOS) you can: Choose specific files and folders to make available offline, including shared drives. View and organize your files in your computer’s file system without using storage space. Open files in common applications such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. Avoid version conflicts when editing Microsoft Office files in Google Drive. This real-time presence feature will check to see if someone else is viewing or editing a Microsoft Office file while you have it open. It’ll alert you and them to help avoid version conflicts. Google Drive for desktop includes the ability to mirror cloud files or folders locally onto your computer hard drive. This is not recommended by IST and we would suggest using the stream option instead. Note, the Contributor role/permission for Shared Drive, provides read-only access to files when using Drive for desktop. Assign the Content manager role/permission for accounts that require the ability to edit files using Drive for desktop. To get started with Google Drive for Desktop go to the Google Drive Help Center here or the Google Workspace Learning Center here to find out more.   Additional Information   What it means to mirror or stream your files https://support.google.com/drive/answer/10838124 Download & install Google Drive for desktop https://support.google.com/drive/answer/7329379#zippy=%2Cdownload-install-google-drive-for-desktop Known Issues https://support.google.com/a/answer/7491144 Google Drive for desktop release notes https://support.google.com/a/answer/7577057     Keywords: Google Drive for Desktop, Google Drive File Stream, Google Drive for Mac/PC, Google Backup and Sync