Make the most of your holiday gifts and time at home with Google Drive

Chances are that many of you lucky readers will be unwrapping new computers, mobile phones, and tablets this holiday season. Here are a few quick tips on how you can smoothly transition all of your stuff from old devices to new ones using Google Drive.

For laptops & desktops 
First, you’ll want to get all your files from your old computer into Google Drive. To do this, download Drive for Mac or PC on your existing computer. To upload your files to Drive, simply drag-and-drop all your files and folders (up to 5GB free) into the new Drive folder on your desktop. Then you’ll be able to access everything on the web from any computer, including your new one. Or you can download Drive again on your new computer to sync your files and automatically store them on your new computer.

For mobile phones & tablets
Upload all of the photos and videos on your old device with the Drive mobile app for Android or iOS. Install the Drive mobile app on your new device and all your stuff will be there -- and also available to you on the web from any device.

More holiday tips & tricks 
For those of you planning to do any holiday cooking, here are a few other ways Drive can help you in the next few weeks:

• Scan or snap a photo of a classic family holiday recipe and upload it to Drive for safe keeping and sharing. 
• Search for recipes that you’ve already stored in Drive. You can even search for keywords inside PDFs and photos. 
• Jot down a new delicious recipe right from the kitchen with Docs in the Drive mobile app for Android and iOS. 
• Use Sheets for your grocery shopping list. Create it on your computer at home, then pull it up on your phone at the grocery store and cross of items as you go. 
• Create a quick form to invite friends to your holiday get together and figure out who’s coming, what they’re bringing, etc. 

Happy holidays!

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

Edit spreadsheets on the go with the Drive mobile app

You’re making your list, you’re checking it twice—and now you can do it from anywhere.

Just in time for this year’s holiday season, you can edit Google Sheets on your mobile device, just like you can with Google Docs. From the Drive app on your iPhone, iPad or Android device, you can create a new spreadsheet or edit an existing one. You can switch fonts, resize columns, sort data, and more. And just like on your computer, you’ll be able to see other people’s edits in real time as they’re made.

Beyond spreadsheets, you may notice a few other tweaks to the Drive app, including better text formatting when you copy and paste in a Google document. And if you’re using an Android device, you can now edit text within tables in documents and add a shortcut on the homescreen of your device to any specific file in Drive.

Whether it’s holiday recipes, shopping lists, or just your family budget, the Drive app on your mobile device makes it easy to get stuff done wherever you are.

Get the Google Drive app today from Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Posted by Shrikant Shanbhag, Software Engineer

One click to Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Google Drive is a place where you can create, share, collaborate and keep all your stuff. Of course, there are times you want to start a new document right away–say, to take notes in class or prepare a last-minute presentation for your boss.

To make it even easier for you to create stuff quickly, Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations–now called Docs, Sheets, and Slides–are available as apps in the Chrome Web Store. Once installed, shortcuts to these apps will appear when you open a new tab in Chrome.

If you use a Chromebook, you’ll see Docs, Sheets, and Slides in your apps list by default following the next update to Chrome OS in a few weeks.

Posted by Jonathan Rochelle, Director of Product Management