Why Can't I Open My Pages Document in Google Drive?

...because your Google Drive will only allow you to edit Google Docs from your Google Drive.  You can, however, save your Pages document in your synced Google Drive folder on your laptop and open and edit it just like it was saved in a different folder, like your Desktop.

Because it is in your Google Drive folder, it will be synced to your Google Drive.  So if you have moved your documents to your Google Drive folder, nothing about the process of creating and editing Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc. files changes besides which folder it is saved in.  You just have the added benefit of this new folder automatically backing up these files for you.

Lets take a closer look.



There are three things we might be talking about when referring to your Google Drive:

1. Your Google Drive - the 30GB of cloud storage associated with your Google account.  Any file type can be backed up here, but only Google Documents can be created and edited here.
2. Your Google Drive folder - the folder on your computer that syncs with your Google Drive.  Any file type can be saved, created, or edited here.
3. Your Google Drive App - the app on your computer which turns syncing on and off.  The app is found in your Applications folder, and you know it is on and syncing by looking at the Google Drive triangle icon in your menu bar.  By default, the app is turned on when you login to your computer.

It can be confusing that they are all loosely referred to as your Google Drive, but here is a graphic that helps illustrate how they work together.

GCFLearnFree.org


It is a little different way to think about file storage, but the benefits are numerous.

It might be a little scary at first, but once you've created your first Google Doc, getting familiar with where all of the buttons are, and then shared it with someone, you just might get hooked.  :)

Creating Google Docs

Sharing Google Docs