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Google Drive on the web lets you store, access, and edit your files anywhere — on the web, on your hard drive, or on the go. Here are some of the ways that you can use Google Drive on the web with a screen reader:

  • Download, upload, create, store, and edit files.
  • Share files and folders with family, friends, classmates, or colleagues.
  • Organize files into folders.
  • Store files so that you can get to them from any device.

When Google Drive opens, the focus is in the main area of the interface, called the list view. You'll hear the first folder or file in the list. To navigate through the files and folders, press the up and down arrows. To open an item, press o or Enter.

Google Drive has a number of keyboard shortcuts to make navigation faster and easier. One of the most common shortcuts is the "Go to" action. This shortcut lets you move your focus to a specific part of the interface by pressing g followed by another key. Here are a few of the most common "Go to" actions in Google Drive:

  • G then N: Go to the navigation pane. In the navigation pane, you can choose the way that your files and folders are displayed. The navigation pane contains My Drive, Shared with Me, Recent, Starred, and Trash. You'll learn more about each of these views in the "Google Drive views" section below.
  • G then L: Go to the list of files and folders. The contents of the list change depending on what you've selected in the navigation pane.
  • G then D: Go to the details pane for a selected item. The details pane contains information about the item that's selected in the list view. For example, if you've selected "Budget spreadsheet" in the list view, the details pane shows information such as the owner, the size of the file, and when it was last modified.
  • G then T: Go to the top buttons and menus. These buttons and menus enable you to take actions like creating new files or folders or sorting the list view.

2.1 Top-level buttons and menus

The Google Drive buttons and menus enable you to perform a variety of actions on your files and folders. Most of these buttons have keyboard shortcuts for quick access, and you can also use Tab and Shift + Tab to navigate between them.

Here's a list of Google Drive buttons and menus that you can access at any time:

  • Create: Press c. Use this menu to create a new folder or file.
  • Folder actions: Press F. Use this menu to take actions on the currently displayed folder.
  • Grid or list view: Press V. Press this button to switch between displaying items as a list or a grid.
  • Sort: Press R. Use this menu to sort items.
  • Details: Press D. Press this button to expand or collapse the details pane.
  • Settings: Press T. Use this menu to change your Drive settings or to navigate to Help information.

The following additional buttons and menus are available when you've selected a file or folder:

  • More actions: Press a to open this menu and choose from a list of all available actions for the selected item.
  • Share: Press . (period) to open Sharing settings for the folder or file.
  • Move: Press Z to move items to a folder.
  • Remove: Press # (pound) to move an item to Trash.

2.2 Views

A view is a way of displaying the items in Google Drive. Each view contains the files and folders associated with that view. The following views are available in Google Drive:

  • My Drive contains every folder and item that you've created or uploaded in Google Drive.
  • Shared with Me shows the files and folders that have been shared with you.
  • Starred shows all the items you've marked with a star.
  • Recent shows all the items that you've opened.
  • Trash contains everything you've deleted. After you move an item to Trash, you can restore it by moving it back to My Drive.

To change your Google Drive view, follow these steps:

  1. Press G then N to focus on the navigation panel.
  2. Use the down or up arrow to navigate through the views and folders. If a folder contains sub-folders, use the right arrow to expand the folder, then continue using the up arrow and down arrow to explore the sub-folders.
  3. Once you've selected the view or folder where you want to navigate, press Enter to select that view and focus on the list of items in that view or folder.
  4. From here you can scan through the list by pressing the down or up arrow.

A few additional notes about Google Drive views:

  • A file or folder can be in multiple views. For example, a starred document that you opened recently appears in both the Recent view and the Starred view.
  • Within each view, items can appear as a grid or a list. To change between grid and list view, press V.

As you navigate through Google Drive, your screen reader tells you information about folders and files as you select them.

  • In the navigation pane, you'll hear the name of the folder followed by "Google Drive folder," whether it's selected, and the order in the list (such as "two of five"). If the folder contains sub-folders, you'll hear whether it's currently collapsed or expanded.
  • In list view, you'll hear the name of the file or folder, the owner, who last modified it, and when it was last modified.
Next Module 3: Working with Documents and Folders