With Google Drive on the web, you can view things like videos, PDFs, Microsoft Office files, audio files, and photos.
Important: If you try to open a suspicious file, you may get a warning message. Use caution if you open the file.
View a file
- Go to drive.google.com.
- Log into your Google account with your username and password.
- Double-click a file.
- If you open a Google Doc, Sheet, Slides presentation, Form, or Drawing, it will open using that application.
- If you open a video, Microsoft Office file, audio file, or photo, it will open in Google Drive.
Tip: You can choose how PDF files open by default in Drive. You can:
- Open PDFs in a new tab: This opens the PDF file in a separate browser tab.
- Open PDFs in preview mode in the same tab: This displays the PDF directly in the Drive interface.
To set your preferred default behavior, go to your Google Drive Settings.
Open a file using a different app
You can open a file using web apps or apps installed on your computer. To open files with apps installed on your computer, you need the most recent version of Google drive for desktop and the Application Launcher by Google.
- Go to drive.google.com.
- Log into your Google account with your username and password.
- Right-click a file.
- Place your cursor over Open with.
- Choose an app.
Learn how to set a default app for opening certain file types.
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