Move Files to a Shared Drive

Audience

• All individuals who have files to share with their department/group in Google Drive and want to avoid members losing access.

 

Any file that is shared with you, even in a folder you own, is at risk of deletion when the owner leaves UC Berkeley, unless it is stored in a Shared Drive. Files stored in Shared Drives remain accessible to the group and are not affected by individual account changes.

Moving Files

You can move files you own or that are shared with you into a Shared Drive to ensure continued access for your department or group. Ownership transfers to the Shared Drive/UC Berkeley.

Follow the walkthrough for Changing Ownership with Shared Drives, or follow the steps below.

1. Make sure you are an Owner or Editor of the files, and at least have Contributor access to the Shared Drive.
2. Create a Shared Drive if you do not already have one.
3. Select the file(s) you want to move, then either:
   • Drag and drop them into the Shared Drive (or a subfolder) in the left sidebar, or
   • Right-click the files and select Organize > Move, then choose the Shared Drive and click Move.

Moving Folders

Follow the walkthrough for Changing Ownership with Shared Drives, or follow the steps below.

1. Make sure you are an Owner or Editor of the files, and at least have Manager access to the Shared Drive.
2. Create a Shared Drive if you do not already have one.
3. Make sure all files in the folder are owned by berkeley.edu accounts, or the move may fail. If needed, create a new folder in the Shared Drive and move only files owned by berkeley.edu accounts.
4. Select one folder at a time, and use the steps described above for moving files.

Troubleshooting Issues

If your upload failed:

• Your folder may contain too many files. 
  • Create a new folder and select/move files in batches until complete.
• Your folder contains files owned by non-berkeley.edu accounts. 
  • Create a new folder and select/move files in batches until complete.
• You are trying to move a Google Form with a file upload field.
  • Google Forms with file uploads cannot be moved to a Shared Drive. Best practice is to keep these forms in your SPA’s My Drive.

If you run out of storage space:

• You may need to request an increase of your storage capacity. 
  • Submit the Expanded Shared Drive Request Form. 

Refer to the listed error codes from Google to work through issues you may have during the moving process.

Read the Move your organization's content to shared drives page for more information on managing Shared Drives.