Goodbye Drive app for Mac/PC. Hello Drive File Stream.

Support for the Drive app for Mac/PC, the Google Drive folder that allowed one to sync files with their Google Drive account through a folder on their computer is ending. It will no longer function after March 12, 2018. Not to fret though, Drive File Stream, which was released in late September, will serve as the replacement to the Drive app for Mac/PC.

Download Drive File Stream (requires you to log into your Lafayette Google account to access it) to take advantage of some of its new features:

• Quickly see all your Google Drive files in Finder (Mac)/Explorer (PC).
• Browse and organize Google Drive files without downloading all of them to your computer.
• Choose which files or folders you’d like to make available offline so you can access them when you’re not connected to the Internet since Drive File Stream does not keep a local copy of files on one’s computer. Google provides instructions for making files and folders available offline.
• Open files in common apps like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.

It is important to note, one can continue to use the Backup and Sync app Google released to serve as a replacement for Google Drive consumer customers using the Drive app for Mac/PC. However, Lafayette users wishing to sync their Google Drive files with their computer, should download and install Drive File Stream. To help understand the difference between these two sync apps, Google provides a side-by-side comparison of both Backup and Sync and Drive File Stream.

The Google Drive app for iOS and Android are unaffected by this change.