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How to make Google Drive your default documents folder

Streamline your cloud storage experience by making Google Drive the default save location for new documents.

Sharon Profis Vice President of Content, CNET Studios
As the Vice President of CNET Studios, Sharon leads the video, social, editorial design, and branded content teams. Before this role, Sharon led content development and launched new verticals for CNET, including Wellness, Money, and How To. A tech expert herself, she's reviewed and covered countless products, hosted hundreds of videos, and appeared on shows like Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and the Today Show. An industry expert, Sharon is a recurring Best of Beauty Awards judge for Allure. Sharon is an avid chef and hosts the cooking segment 'Farm to Fork' on PBS nationwide. She's developed and published hundreds of recipes.
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Sharon Profis

Google

Although the Google Drive desktop folder attempts to streamline access to your cloud storage space, it's easy to forget to save files there when it's not your default Documents folder.

People who count on Google Drive to back up and sync their documents can create a more seamless experience by changing the default Documents folder to Google Drive. After doing so, Windows will automatically choose Google Drive as the default save location when creating new documents. Here's how:

Windows: Right-click your Documents folder and select Properties. Select "Include a folder..." and locate your Google Drive folder. Then highlight Google Drive in the list above, and select "Set save location." Apply changes, and you're set.

Next time you save a document in a program like Microsoft Word, Google Drive will be selected as the default save location.

Mac: Open Terminal (search for it in Spotlight) and type cd Users/yourusername/Google\Drive. Hit Enter, then type ln -s ~/Documents /Documents. Hit Enter.

For more on Google Drive, check out our complete guide of tips and tricks for learning how to get started, how to use Google Drive keyboard shortcuts, and to see how to use Google Drive on Android.