Google Drive is one of the widely used cloud storage by Google. It comes with all features that any cloud storage should have. You can upload, download, and organize files easily from the Google Drive app. Google Drive has a rich support for all platforms, you can access it on browser, via android app or through native Desktop app. Method of uploading files in all three version of Google Drive is a little different, and we are going to see them all today in this article.
Things to consider before bulk uploading multiple files in Google Drive
1. Storage Limit
Google Drive has a storage limit of 15 Gigabytes for free users. Once the limit exceeded, you can either buy extra storage or delete old files to make room for the new one. Before uploading multiple files to Google Drive, please check that the collective size of all files must not exceed 15 GB.
If you have Google Business or Enterprise account, your storage limit is way more than individual users. You can check the storage limits for each type of Google Account in the following image or read about them here.
2. File Type
Although Google Drive doesn't have any strict guidelines for file type, yet there are some file type that should be avoided. For example, storing unsigned executable(.exe) files can harm other files in your Google Drive storage if it contains any malicious code. Google Drive present a list of non-harmful file types that you can store without any risk. Check them here.
3. File Size
Even if you buy extra storage to increase the capacity of your Google Drive space, you cannot upload files that exceeds the maximum limit set by Google. For example, you cannot upload documents having more than 1.02 million characters, or Google Docs with size more than 50 MB. Similarly, Google has defined limit for some of the most use file type. Check them all here.
4. Daily Limits:
If you are using shared Google Drive, there are some limits defined by Google for maximum number of items, max upload size etc. Here are few limits you should consider before uploading multiple files in Google Drive.
- A shared drive storage can contain maximum of 400,000 including files, folders, and shortcuts.
- You can go up to 20 levels of folder nesting in shared drives.
- An individual member of a shared drive can upload a maximum of 750 GB of data in one day.
- A Google Drive storage can be shared to maximum of 100 Groups, or 600 total members or 50,000 individual accounts.
If you want to know about shared drive limitations, check out the Google documentation here.
Considering all limits of Google Drive in your mind, let's move to the steps to upload multiple files in Google Drive.
Steps to Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive in Browser
The web version of Google Drive provides a clean, minimal interface for uploading files. If you are familiar with any native file manager app, then you will get use to Google Drive very easily. In web version, you can upload multiple files via two methods.
- Using Google Drive Drag and Drop feature.
- Using New file upload button.
Bulk Upload Files in Google Drive using Drag and Drop Feature
Google Drive drag and drop feature is too handy to use. You can just drag and drop all files you want to upload directly to the browser window and Google Drive will start uploading all those files simultaneously. Let's understand the steps to take it.
Steps to Upload files in Google Drive using Drag and Drop
- Login to Google Drive using your Google account email and password.
- Select all the files you need to upload to Google Drive. If you are on Windows PC, use shift+click to select multiple files in a row, or press Ctrl+A to select all files in a directory.
- Let all files be selected. Now drag your files by holding down your mouse cursor and release it in your Google Drive main interface somewhere in empty space.
Tip: If you want to store all the selected files inside a specific Google Drive directory, then you should release the mouse hovering over the desired directory.
As soon as you release drop the files in Google Drive, it starts bulk uploading files to your drive storage. Depending on the file size, it may take long to upload all the files. You can check the status of file uploads in the bottom right corner of Google Drive main interface.
2. Bulk Upload Multiple Files using New file upload button
For those who find it hard to drag and drop files to upload them in Google Drive, you can go for the second method of few button clicks. This method of uploading files to Google Drive is similar to traditional way of uploading files used across the web.
You just have to browse and select the files you want to upload, and Google Drive take care of the rest. It is as easy as it sounds. Follow the steps below to understand the steps to take so.
Steps to Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive using New file upload button
- Login to Google Drive account.
- Tap on the New button at the top of the left sidebar. This will open a small context menu.
- Choose File Upload from the list of options in context menu.
- This will open your native browse file window. Select the files from the desired location on your hard drive. You can select multiple files using shift +click, CTRL+click or pressing Ctrl+A on Windows PC.
- Once selected all files, click on Open button to start the file uploading progress of Google Drive.
Tip: If you want to upload your files in specific Google Drive folder then first enter inside your desired folder in Google Drive then start uploading files using above steps.
Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive Desktop App
Google Drive recently introduced its native Desktop app for Windows and Mac. This app will create a Google Drive remote directory inside your file explorer. You can use this directory like any other directory of your PC, i.e., you can perform cut, copy, paste, delete, rename, zip, unzip and other file operations in this directory.
What makes Google Drive directory different from other directories in your hard drive is that every file or folder you place inside this folder will directly be uploaded to your Google Drive cloud storage. This make the upload process faster and easier for daily base users.
Steps to Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive Desktop App
- Go to drive.google.com and download Google Drive desktop app for your operating system.
- Once you install Google Drive app in your PC, It will ask you to log in with your Google account.
- After logging in, you will find a Google Drive folder or network drive in your file explorer. It acts as a remote hard drive.
- For uploading multiple files using Google Drive desktop app, you just have to copy and paste files in to the new drive/partition/ or folder created by Google Drive.
- As soon as you add files to the drive folder, the Google Drive app will start uploading those files to the cloud. You can check the upload progress in notification panel or in the task bar.
Tip:While uploading multiple files using Google Drive desktop app, make sure you have reliable Internet connection, otherwise your files may be at risk of getting corrupted.
For now, we have seen how to upload multiple files in Google Drive via web browser and native desktop app. But, most of rely on our smartphone to access Google Drive cloud storage, for such people uploading files can be easily done on Google Drive smartphone app.
Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive Android App
Google Drive app comes pre-installed in most Android smartphones. If you don't have it installed in your smartphone, go to play store and download the latest version of Google Drive app. Once you are ready with the app, move to the steps to upload multiple files in Google Drive android app.
Steps to Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive using Android App
- Open Google Drive android app in your smartphone.
- Tap on the Plus(+) button in the bottom right corner. This will show you a set of options.
- Choose Upload from the given options, and you will be taken to your default file browser.
- In File Browser, press and hold files to select multiple files.
- Once you are satisfied with the selection, tap on Done or tick mark in the top left corner to start the upload process.
Tip: For uploading multiple files in to specific folder in Google Drive, first move inside to that folder and then follow the above steps.
Bulk Upload Files in Google Drive iOS App
Google Drive app for iOS is almost similar to the android version. If you haven't installed Google Drive iOS app, you can download it from Apple Store here. Once downloaded and installed, follow the steps below to upload multiple files to Google Drive using the iOS App.
Steps to Bulk Upload Multiple Files in Google Drive iOS App
- Open Google Drive app on iPhone.
- Tap on Add to go to file browser.
- Select single or multiple files by pressing and holding
- Tap on Done to start the upload process.
Wrapping Up
Hope you have understood well all the methods of uploading multiple files in Google Drive. Google Drive is one of the most reliable, fast and easy to use cloud storage. It is widely adopted by various big names in the industry. If you are charm of IT industry, you must have skills to work on G-Suite apps, and I hope this article helped you accomplish that to some extent.
If you have any question, feel free to ask me in the comments. Stay connected to Mr Pumpkins Tech Blog for more interesting tutorials and how to guide.