In the edtech world, we are notorious for having numerous Chrome tabs open in our browser. I have a friend who actually reached the limit of open tabs. It's a symptom of multitasking. One issue with multiple Chrome tabs open is that it can negatively affect the performance of your computer. You computer will not work as efficiently with too many tabs open.
Often times, we have files from Google Drive open in many tabs. We leave them open because it's a pain in the butt to go back into Drive and find the files. One way to have easy access to often-used files, and to minimize the amount of open tabs, is to use Google Drive Workspaces.
Have you ever noticed the "Priority" button just below "New"? (If you are working in a personal Gmail account, you will not see this. It's only available in GSuite for Education and Enterprise accounts.) When you open it, you'll see an option for Workspaces. Workspaces allows you to pin and group often-used files for easy access without having to always go fishing through Drive or leaving too many Chrome tabs open.
Take a look at the screenshots below to learn how to start using Google Drive Workspaces.
Step 1: Go to Google Drive and click on the Priority button on the left side panel.
Step 2: Click the Create button next to Workspaces and give it a title.
Step 3: Once you name it, click Add files to begin inserting files you want easy access to.
Step 4: Add to Workspace panel will appear on the right side. It will allow you to go through your Google Drive files to select the ones you want available in the Workspace.
Step 5: Click on the file(s) you want in the Workspace and click Insert when ready to add. If you have other files not currently in view, located in a different folder, you will have to repeat steps 3-5.
Step 6: Once inserted to a Workspace, when you go to Priority, you'll see your Workspace(s). Click the one you want then, select the files you want to open.
You may want to include files such as templates for lesson planning, activities, etc. When done manipulating these files, don't leave them open as a tab in Chrome, close down to save CPU power. Simply leave Google Drive open as its own tab and you'll have quick, easy access to these files. A good rule of thumb is to leave tabs open that aren't files in Drive. This will help you minimize the amount of Chrome tabs open at once.
Below is an screenshot of an actual Workspace I use everyday. (Note: You have a limit of 25 files you can add to a Workspace.)
Google Sites is also an excellent way to arrange your most used files. In fact, it can organize your entire companies important document providing an easily accessible front end complete with any instructions needed to access and use the files. That is one thing the priority tab can't do.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this was a great article. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I understand it much better now.
DeleteSites is a great way to curate files. I do this often within departments. Thanks for the feedback. Have a great rest of your week.
ReplyDelete