How to Add Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox to Files App on iPhone

By default, the Files app on iOS will present your two storage areas – iCloud Drive and On My iPhone. When you utilize third-party storage apps like Google Drive in your iPhone, you may also browse information that you’ve got saved on these storage companies instantly inside the Files app. 

In this put up, we’ll clarify how one can hyperlink different cloud storage companies to the Files app in your iPhone, which apps assist this performance, and what you are able to do by including a storage app to the iOS Files app.  

Which third-party cloud apps are supported by the iOS Files app?

The native Files app on iOS doesn’t simply present the information saved in your iPhone however you may also use it to entry information that you simply’ve saved on third-party storage apps that you simply’ve put in on iOS. Currently, the Files app helps a handful of cloud storage and you will have to obtain the app whose storage you wish to add as a location contained in the Files app. 

You can use the next third-party cloud storage apps and hyperlink them to the Files app:

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How so as to add Google Drive, OneDrive, or DropBox to the Files app

Although linking a cloud storage app to Files is an easy course of, you’ll want to make sure that the cloud storage you wish to add is put in as an app in your iPhone. In case you haven’t, you possibly can obtain these apps from the App Store from the hyperlinks offered above. 

1. Once you’ve downloaded and put in the specified app, you need to first open the mentioned app no less than as soon as and set it up in order that the Files app can present the cloud storage app inside its display screen. While doing so, you’ll be required to register to your account for the storage app you’re planning to make use of in your iPhone. 
2. When the cloud storage app is put in and arrange, open the Files app in your iPhone. 
   
3. Inside Files, choose the Browse tab on the backside proper nook. 
   
4. On this display screen, you must see two storage areas by default – iCloud Drive and On My iPhone. To add a cloud storage app to the record of choices, faucet on the 3-dots icon on the high proper nook. 
   
5. In the overflow menu that seems, choose Edit. 
   
6. When the Browse display screen goes into Edit mode, you must be capable to see all of the apps that have been beforehand hidden on this display screen.
   
7. You can allow any of those apps to make them seem contained in the Files app by merely switching the toggle adjoining to every of the companies. In this instance, we’ll add Google Drive to the Files app by turning on the Drive toggle below “Locations”. 
   
8. You can repeat this for different cloud storage apps you wish to add to the Files app in order that it seems contained in the Browse display screen. 
   
9. When you add a number of storage areas contained in the Files app, you possibly can re-arrange the record of choices below “Locations” in order that those you like to entry usually are on the high adopted by different storage areas. To re-arrange your storage areas, long-press the 3-lines icon on the right-hand facet of the chosen storage after which drag it upwards or downwards as per your choice. 
   
10. If you’ve an current storage service/app that you simply not wish to see contained in the Files app, you possibly can hide it from the “Locations” part by turning off the toggle next to the chosen app. 
    
11. Once you’ve added your account from Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, or one other app to the Files app, you possibly can verify the adjustments by tapping on Done on the high proper nook. 
    
12. The newly added storage choices will now be seen below “Locations” on the Browse display screen. 
    

When you add apps like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox as extra storage areas contained in the Files app, you possibly can entry the information you’ve beforehand saved on every of these apps in the identical method as you’d when opening information saved in your iPhone. You can even carry out a number of different actions on them like renaming, compressing, creating a brand new folder, including tags, sharing, deleting, and more.

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How to maneuver information inside a storage location on Files

The Files app means that you can transfer stuff inside the actual storage location however you’ll solely be capable to copy information and folders throughout a number of storage areas at any time. If you utilize the Move motion to maneuver information from, let’s say, Dropbox to your iPhone, iOS will use the Copy motion as a substitute and a reproduction of the chosen file or folder can be created on the vacation spot location. 

1. To entry the information you’ve saved on a storage location, open the Files app, choose the Browse tab, and faucet on the storage app whose information you wish to open. In this instance, we’ll open Dropbox.
   
2. Inside the chosen storage location, you’ll see all of the folders and information you’ve uploaded to the chosen cloud storage till now.
   
3. If there’s a file or folder you wish to transfer inside the chosen storage location, you are able to do so by long-pressing on the file and choosing Move from the overflow menu that seems. 
   
4. If there are a number of information you wish to transfer across the identical storage app, faucet on the 3-dots icon on the high proper nook. 
   
5. In the overflow menu that seems, faucet on Select. 
   
6. Now, choose the information/folders you wish to transfer in bulk. When you choose the gadgets you wish to transfer, they are going to be marked with a blue tick icon. With the information you want to transfer chosen, faucet on the Folder icon from the underside toolbar. 
   
7. The Files app will now open a brand new popup window to allow you to select a vacation spot location for the file/folder you’re shifting. If you see the “Copy” possibility on the high proper nook, it means you’re in a special storage location, aside from the place you’re shifting the file or folder. If you solely wish to transfer the chosen file, faucet on Browse (or Back in case you’re inside a folder) on the high left nook to get to the Browse display screen. 
   
8. On the subsequent display screen, select the storage location (the identical one the file is from). In this instance, we’ll choose Dropbox since that’s the place we select the information we wish to transfer. 
   
9. When the chosen storage opens, go to the situation the place you wish to place the file/folder. Once you’re within the location you wish to transfer the information/folders to, faucet on Move on the high proper nook. 
   

The chosen information/folders can be moved to the vacation spot folder and can be faraway from their unique folder. 

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How to repeat information throughout the identical or a number of storage areas

If you’ve a number of storage areas, you could wish to copy a few of your information from one storage to a different to clear house on certainly one of them. The Files app allows you to copy information throughout a number of storage areas or to a special folder inside the identical storage by creating a reproduction and protecting the unique file in its current location. You can do that using the Copy operate however the Move operate can be employed when copying information throughout a number of storages. 

Before you utilize both of those actions, you will have to entry the folder from the place you wish to copy information and choose them from this location. For instance, we’ll attempt to copy contents from Google Drive to Dropbox however the course of stays the identical even in case you want to copy contents from one folder to a different inside the identical storage app. 

Method 1: Using the Copy motion

1. Open the Files app, go to Browse > Drive, and find the information/folders you wish to copy.
   
2. To copy a single file or folder, long-press the merchandise from the storage location.
   
3. In the overflow menu that seems, choose Copy. 
   
4. If there are a number of information and folders that you simply wish to copy to a special location, you will have to pick out them first. For that, go to the folder from the place you want to choose a bunch of information and folders to maneuver. Inside this folder, faucet on the 3-dots icon on the high proper nook. 
   
5. In the overflow menu that seems, faucet on Select. 
   
6. Now, choose the information/folders you wish to copy in bulk. When you choose the gadgets you wish to copy, they are going to be marked with a blue tick icon.
   
7. With the information you want to copy chosen, faucet on the 3-dots icon on the backside proper nook to get more choices. 
   
8. In the overflow menu that seems, choose Copy Items. 
   
9. the chosen information will now be copied and you’ll now have to get to the folder the place you wish to paste them. For that, faucet on the Browse tab on the backside proper nook. 
   
10. Since we’re copying information from Google Drive to Dropbox, we’ll choose Dropbox below “Locations” however you possibly can choose every other location from the apps you’ve added to the Files app. 
    
11. Inside the chosen storage, open the folder you wish to copy the chosen information. When you arrive on the vacation spot folder, long-press on an empty house on the display screen. 
    
12. When you try this, you’ll see an overflow menu. On this menu, choose Paste. 
    

All the information and folders you copied from the supply location (Google Drive) will now be copied over to the brand new location (Dropbox). You can use the copy motion to create a reproduction of the gadgets from one storage location to a different or put it aside inside a special location inside the identical storage app. 

Method 2: Using the Move motion 

You can even use the Move possibility to repeat contents between totally different storage areas however this gained’t work while you wish to copy information inside the identical storage.

1. Open the Files app, go to Browse > Drive, and find the information/folders you wish to copy.
   
2. To copy a single file or folder throughout a number of storage apps, you are able to do that by long-pressing the merchandise from the storage location. 
   
3. From the overflow menu that seems, choose Move.
   
4. If there are a number of information and folders that you simply wish to copy to a special location, you will have to pick out them first. For that, go to the folder from the place you want to choose a bunch of information and folders to maneuver. Inside this folder, faucet on the 3-dots icon on the high proper nook. 
   
5. In the overflow menu that seems, faucet on Select. 
   
6. Now, choose the information/folders you wish to copy in bulk. When you choose the gadgets you wish to copy, they are going to be marked with a blue tick icon. With the information you want to copy chosen, faucet on the Folder icon from the underside toolbar. 
   
7. The Files app will now open a brand new popup window to allow you to select a vacation spot location for the file/folder you’re shifting. To choose a storage location to repeat to, faucet on Browse (or Back in case you’re inside a folder) on the high left nook to get to the Browse display screen. 
   
8. On the subsequent display screen, select the storage location the place you wish to copy the chosen gadgets. This location ought to be totally different from the one the place the gadgets are copied. In this instance, we’re choosing Dropbox. 
   
9. When the chosen storage (Dropbox) opens, go to the situation the place you wish to place the file/folder. Once you’re within the location you wish to copy the information/folders to, faucet on Copy on the high proper nook.
   
10. All the information and folders you copied from the supply location (Google Drive) will now be copied over to the brand new location (Dropbox). 

What occurs while you add a cloud storage app inside Files?

When you hyperlink a cloud storage app to the Files app, you will note it listed alongside the default storage areas contained in the Browse display screen. You can view or hide totally different storage areas at any time based mostly in your utilization and choice and re-arrange them in your method.

All the information you created or saved on the cloud app will seem in the identical method as these saved natively in your iPhone. Similarly, any adjustments you make to the storage location from inside the Files app may even be mirrored on the cloud storage account on different gadgets and the net. 

What you CAN do by including a cloud storage app

You can open any of the information from a storage location using Quick Look and if the chosen file is supported, it would open up inside the Files app. When a file from Google Drive or every other third-party app is opened contained in the File app, you’re going to get the identical instruments to share, search markup, or add captions from the underside toolbar as you’d when interacting with a file in your iPhone storage.
You can carry out any folder actions that you’d usually do on the Files app like sorting, grouping, and creating a brand new folder. The Files app additionally means that you can scan paperwork out of your iPhone and save them instantly on any of the cloud storage areas you add to the app. If you’re inside a folder with a bunch of information, you possibly can simply seek for information inside them using the search bar current on the high. 

When it involves fast actions on long-pressing, you possibly can carry out all of the features that you simply’d usually do with information saved in your iPhone together with renaming, compressing, duplicating, including tags, copying, shifting, sharing, and deleting. The identical actions may even be relevant when coping with folders. The Files app means that you can do all the pieces on an exterior cloud storage location as you’d in your native storage or your iCloud Drive. 

Other than that, you possibly can obtain information from the net on to your Google Drive account earlier than saving them in your iPhone. You can even clear house from one storage location by shifting information to a different cloud storage as has been defined above on this put up. 

What you CAN NOT do by including a cloud storage app

While there’s loads you are able to do by linking your Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, or Creative Cloud accounts to the Files app on iOS, there are nonetheless a number of issues that you simply gained’t be capable to carry out from inside the Files app. 

• You can not view which folder is being shared with you or by you and examine who else has entry to such folders. 
• You can not handle settings for shared folders because the native Files app doesn’t supply such an possibility. 
• Collaboration wouldn’t work while you’re modifying a file that’s saved on a cloud storage. If two folks edit the identical file concurrently, conflicted copies of the file could also be created. 
• For some cloud apps, the Files app gained’t be capable to inform which folders have been beforehand marked as “Favorites” within the cloud app. 
• You can not touch upon information such as you would normally do on Google Drive, Dropbox, and different cloud companies. This means you gained’t additionally be capable to view current feedback on a file inside the Files app. For that, you’ll have to open the respect cloud storage app or its internet shopper on a browser. 
• Some cloud storage apps wouldn’t be capable to open folders with a lot of information. For instance, Dropbox units a restrict of 10,000 information or folders, exceeding which the folder with these information gained’t be accessible from the Files app. 
• The information you deleted from a cloud storage app by way of Files gained’t be seen contained in the Recently Deleted part of the Files app and thus, gained’t be recoverable from this app. For that, you’ll have to make use of the iOS app of the involved cloud storage or entry its service on the internet.  
• Sometimes, you gained’t be capable to transfer gadgets to some folders inside a storage location until the folder was opened no less than as soon as earlier than making an attempt to maneuver contents inside it. 
• Accounts supported by passwords like on Dropbox gained’t be accessible contained in the Files app. 
• You can’t entry information from a cloud storage app when offline. 
• Sometimes, information or folders marked by tags or colours might not get synced on the Files app. 

If your utilization of the popular cloud storage service is restricted as a result of these restrictions, we advocate using the iOS app of the cloud storage to entry all of its unique options. 

That’s all you have to find out about including Google Drive, OneDrive, or DropBox to the Files app on an iPhone.