Drive FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Drive.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Drive Overview.
Setup
Does Drive need any configuration before people can use it?
No. Once a business admin enables Drive from the Apps Marketplace, every user gets a personal “My Drive” automatically the first time they open the app, and every workspace gets its own Shared Drive. Versioning, notifications, and file-content embedding are all on by default. The only setting you may want to review early is Allow External Share Links (on by default) — if your policy forbids sending files outside the organization, turn it off before users discover the link button.
Who can manage Drive settings, branding, and analytics?
Business admins (admin or above) and anyone you have added as a Drive App Admin. Both roles see the Admin section in the left sidebar with Branding, Analytics, and Settings.
Permissions and access
What sharing roles exist, and what can each one do?
Drive has four sharing roles, from least to most privilege: Viewer (browse and download), Commenter (add comments), Editor (upload, rename, move, trash, and upload new versions), and Manager (all of the above plus share, create external links, and manage memberships). Roles are granted per file, per folder, or per drive, and permissions on a folder are inherited by everything inside it.
Why can’t someone see a Shared Drive I set up?
A user sees a Shared Drive in the sidebar when at least one of these is true: the drive is tied to a workspace they belong to, they have been granted a direct drive-level membership, or they are a business admin or Drive app admin. If none apply, the drive does not appear. Grant them a membership from the drive’s share drawer or add them to the workspace.
How does the admin override work?
Business admins and Drive App Admins automatically receive Manager access on every drive in their organization. This means they can browse, upload, share, and manage settings across all personal and shared drives without an explicit membership.
Day-to-day
How does version history work, and how many versions are kept?
Re-uploading a file with the same name — or saving through the Office add-in — creates a new version. Each version stores its own author, size, content type, and an optional change summary. You can view, download, or restore any prior version with one click. By default Drive keeps the latest 20 versions per file. The admin can change that number in Settings under Versions to Retain Per File, or turn Keep Prior Versions of Files off entirely — in that case each save simply replaces the current file and no history is kept.
How do external share links work?
A user with Manager access on a file or folder can create a tokenized public link. The link can optionally be password-protected, given an expiration date, and given a download-count limit. If the admin leaves the link’s expiration date blank, it defaults to the Max External Link Lifetime setting, which is 30 days by default. Any date further out than that cap is automatically clamped to it. Admins can require passwords on all external links by enabling Require Password on External Links in Settings, and can disable external links entirely with Allow External Share Links.
How do file requests work?
File Requests let you invite an outside recipient to upload files into a folder you choose. You can set an expiration date, a maximum file count, a recipient email, and a branding profile. If no expiration is specified, the request defaults to 14 days. The admin-configured Max File Request Lifetime (default 60 days) caps any date further out. When a recipient uploads files, the requester is notified. Non-admin users see only the requests they created; admins see all.
What notifications does Drive send, and can I turn them off?
Drive sends in-app notifications in four situations, each controlled by its own toggle in Settings (all on by default):
- Notify Users When Files Are Shared With Them — fires when a membership is granted.
- Notify Users When a New Version Is Uploaded — fires for all members who can see the file.
- Notify Recipient When Invited to a File Request — fires when the recipient email matches a user.
- Notify Requester When File-Request Uploads Arrive — fires when external files land.
Drive also sends automatic reminders when a share link or file request is approaching its expiration date. Those reminders are always on and cannot be toggled separately. Individual users can opt out through their personal notification preferences.
Can other apps store files in Drive?
Yes. Drive doubles as the platform’s file backend. Apps like Broadcasts and Workspace attach files into a per-business system drive so those attachments inherit versioning, sharing, and the full audit trail automatically.
When something looks wrong
“I uploaded a file but it replaced the old one instead of creating a new version”
Check whether the admin has turned Keep Prior Versions of Files off in Settings. When versioning is disabled, each upload replaces the current file and no history is kept. Turn the setting back on to start retaining versions going forward — the previously overwritten content cannot be recovered.
“I can’t create an external share link”
Three possible causes: (1) the admin has disabled Allow External Share Links in Settings, (2) the admin requires a password and you did not enter one, or (3) you do not have Manager access on the file. The error message in the share drawer tells you which.
“I trashed a file and now I can’t find it to restore it”
Trashed items live in each drive’s Trash view (in the left sidebar). Items can be restored for 30 days after deletion. After that window the item is no longer restorable. If a name collision exists when you restore — because someone created a new item with the same name — the restored item is automatically renamed (e.g. “report (1).docx”).
“I restored a folder but its contents are still in the Trash”
When a folder is trashed, all its descendants are trashed with the same timestamp. Restoring the folder automatically restores descendants that were trashed at that same moment. Items that were trashed individually before the folder was trashed (they carry a different timestamp) stay in the Trash and must be restored separately.
“Search only matches filenames, not what’s inside the document”
Two things to check. In-app content search requires the Embed File Contents for AI Search setting to be on (it is by default). When it is, switch the search bar mode to Contents to search inside documents. Platform-wide Global Search only matches Drive item filenames, not document content — that is by design.
“I can see a file in Recent but not in Shared Drives”
A file can show up in Recent because you accessed it through a direct share (item-level membership) even though you are not a member of the drive it belongs to. That file will appear in your Shared with me list but not in the Shared Drives sidebar section, because the sidebar only lists drives where you have drive-level access.
Licensing and limits
Does Drive require a licence?
Yes. Drive requires a licence and is turned on per business by an admin from the Apps Marketplace. It is not enabled by default. There is no separate per-file charge.
What are the limits I should know about?
| Limit | Default | Configurable? |
|---|---|---|
| Max file upload size | 500 MB | Yes — Max File Upload Size (MB) in Settings |
| Versions retained per file | 20 | Yes — Versions to Retain Per File in Settings |
| External link max lifetime | 30 days | Yes — Max External Link Lifetime (days) in Settings |
| File request max lifetime | 60 days | Yes — Max File Request Lifetime (days) in Settings |
| File request default expiry (when left blank) | 14 days | No |
| Trash restore window | 30 days | No |
| File/folder name max length | 250 characters | No |
| Drive name max length | 200 characters | No |
| Stale-content governance review interval | 120 days | No |
More help
- Drive Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Drive questions from these articles.