15 Third-Party Google Drive Apps to Optimize Your Workflow

Looking for workflow hacks to maximize your efficiency? Try third-party Google Drive apps! Whether you want to organize your digital files like a pro, automate repetitive tasks, or boost your team's collaboration, such Google Drive apps are the ultimate solution. This guide explores 15 apps whose Google Drive integration can simplify your workflow and make your work fun. Let's dive in.

How does the Google Drive app work

Google Drive is available as a web-based, desktop, and mobile app. You can access it online, install the Google Drive app for Android from Google Play, or install the iOS version of Google Drive from App Store.

It supports multiple file formats, including videos, images, text, Markup files, and more. You can use the Google Drive app to store, access, and share files across devices.

To get started with the Google Drive app, you need to create a Google account first. Once you do, your Google Drive is automatically created. Below are its key features:

1. Cloud storage
2. Google Drive app gives you 15GB of free online storage upon signing up. Others, like Mega, offer 20GB free, while Dropbox provides 2GB. Google Drive restricts upload file sizes to 5TB. However, it limits data transfer to 750GB per day, and only one file that breaks this limit can be uploaded in a day.
3. In comparison, other cloud providers like Dropbox and Sync have an unlimited file limit. Google Drive also provides encrypted access to files and can proactively scan and remove files shared with you that contain malware, spam, ransomware, and other malicious data.
4. File sharing and collaboration
5. You can create, modify, and share files and folders with anyone on Google Drive, including those without a Google account. It lets you control who can access the file and whether they can comment, edit, or only view it. You can share with a specific person, people, or group of people, or even allow general public access. A single file can be shared with up to 600 individual email addresses. Google Drive also allows up to 100 people to collaborate in real-time on a Google Docs, Sheets, or slides file.
6. Integration with other Google services
7. Google Drive offers smooth integration with other Google apps and services such as Google Sheets, Docs Slides, Forms, and Gmail, which, by default, store data on it. It is also integrated with Google Marketplace, Calendar, Keep, etc. This integration lets you store or back up data from these services to Google Drive seamlessly.
8. Integration with third-party tools like CapCut online editor

Google's integration with third-party tools allows you to streamline your workflow. For example, integrating CapCut online video editor with your Google Drive allows you to upload videos from your Drive directly to CapCut-Web for editing. You do not need to download the clip to your device first! This integration means you can work on files stored on your Google Drive app without switching platforms.

1. How to upload files to Google Drive

1. Open your browser, then go to drive.google.com. If you haven't signed in to your Google account, you will have to sign in first.
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3. In the top left, click New, and in the pop-up floating window, select File upload or Folder upload.
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5. Select the file you want to upload from your device and click open. The upload progress and complete notification will display at the bottom right of your screen.
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2. How to sync files & folders to Google Drive

To sync folders on your computer to Google Drive, you need to install the Google Drive for Desktop app.

1. Launch Google Drive for Desktop and click Settings, then select Preferences.
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3. Click My Laptop or My Computer and then Add folder to browse your device storage for the folder you intend to sync with G Drive desktop app.
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5. Select Sync with Google Drive, hit Done, then Save in the next window.
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3. How to download files from Google Drive

Looking to view or repurpose your files offline — try Google Drive download! You can download files stored on Google Drive via the Google Drive desktop app, mobile app, or browser version. However, if the file doesn't belong to you, its owner can deny you access to download the file. In addition, the Google Drive app on desktop gives you a warning message if you try to download a suspicious file.

4. How to share files from Google Drive

Google Drive lets you share files by adding the email address/addresses of individuals or by copying and sending the file link to those you want to access it. You can control how people access and interact with the file.

If you are a frequent Google Drive user, you can integrate your Google Drive with other third-party apps to streamline the workflow for you and your team. Take a look!

15 Best third-party Google Drive apps you shouldn't miss

Below is a comprehensive list of the best third-party Google Drive apps for productivity, business, and education.

Productivity

1. CapCut Web editor

CapCut-Web editor is a free, browser-based video editing suite that allows you to create visually appealing videos with ease. It is integrated with Google Drive, allowing you to select videos to edit directly from your Google Drive storage. CapCut is available on all major browsers such as Linux and Chrome, and provides a wide collection of editing tools such as trim, crop, transcript-based editing, speed curve, background removal, etc.

How to edit Google Drive videos directly on the CapCut Web editor

Step
1. Install CapCut-web Google Drive extension
2. Open your web-based Google disk app, select any video you want to edit, and click the three dots on the far right of the video or use the right-click button. Select Open with, then click Connect more apps.
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4. The Google Workspace Marketplace window will pop up. Type CapCut Web into the search bar.
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6. Click the CapCut Web search result, then click Install. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the quick installation.
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8. Right-click on the video again > Open With, and choose CapCut-Web. This will redirect you to the CapCut web editor.
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10. Edit your video
11. From the CapCut web editor, you can access a vast collection of media resources to enrich your video. There are lots of preset video templates, stock music and videos, sound effects, filters, transitions, text templates and effects, and animations.
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13. If you want to perform basic video editing, use the toolbar at the top of your video or the one between your video and the timeline. You can split, delete, reverse, crop, or duplicate your video easily You can also change the background color or blur it, depending on your needs.
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15. But that's not all. The CapCut-Web editor also offers advanced video editing features such as masks, speed curves, transcript-based editing, overlay, keyframes, etc. There is also a split scene to auto-split a video into several short clips. You can then download each clip separately if you're repurposing the video for YouTube shorts, TikTok, etc.
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17. Fortunately, the CapCut-Web editor also provides free AI tools to simplify your video editing process. It has a one-click auto background removal feature that will detect your subject and remove the background. Also, it has a retouching tool to enhance beauty highlights in various visual aspects and auto-reframe to auto-adjust your video into different aspect ratios.
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19. Export

Once you are done editing, click Export. Save the video to your device by hitting the Download button. You can adjust the resolution, quality, frame rate, and format before downloading it.



In addition, the CapCut web editor enables you to post the video directly to social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram Reels, and Facebook. No need to or exit the editor!



Lastly, you can share the video as a presentation to platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Tumblr, X, etc., or send it as a link or via email so others can review and comment on it. If you use the latter option, you can choose to allow or disallow comments and downloads and also turn on password-protected sharing.



Moreover, you can always come back to CapCut online video editor to edit and improve your videos. It runs smoothly on all browsers and offers different video-uploading options, like device storage, CapCut cloud space, Dropbox, Google Drive, smartphone by QR code, etc. Below are some key features of the CapCut online video editor:

• Cloud-based storage
• CapCut offers free online storage, perfect for those who are always on the move or creators who work across multiple devices. You do not need to carry a computer everywhere you go to continue with your editing. Instead, you can pick up where you left off while ensuring data privacy and security.
• Team collaboration on the cloud
• By creating a team space on your CapCut online video editor, you and your team can work on a larger project. For example, for students working on a school project, transferring files for each member to work on their part is tedious, and hard to get everyone's feedback. Luckily, the CapCut online editor streamlines the process by allowing you to share permissions and invite comments for smooth collaboration.
• Share instantly with one click
• Just finished editing a tutorial or an ad commercial on CapCut? Feel confident to post it directly on your TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Or, you can share the final video for review if it is your class work or company meeting presentation on WhatsApp and other platforms.

2. MindMup

This is a free online mind-mapping tool that offers a structured way to capture and arrange ideas and information. It helps you focus when brainstorming and then enables you to create presentations and document outlines from your mind maps. MindMup also provides free cloud storage.



3. DocHub

DocHub is a PDF editing and document signing solution. It is web-based and integrates seamlessly with Gmail, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc, for a seamless workflow. This tool supports many document file formats, including DOC, DOCX, PPT, XLS, TXT, and others. You can also send a document sign request.



4. Time Tracker

Time Tracker is a Google Calendar plug-in that enables you to track your time usage. It can allow you to improve how you spend your days and provides a convenient way to bill clients depending on time spent on a project. You can categorize time into various projects and then export your Calendar data to Google Sheets. Time Tracker is also integrated with Google Drive.



5. Swit

Swit is a task management and communication platform that enhances collaboration through seamless connection and communication. It is multilingual and provides a powerful task card, a customizable project dashboard, and the ability to add tasks to a chat, among others. Swit also uses color tags to keep your communication clear.



Business

6. ZipBooks

ZipBooks is a free, cloud-based accounting and invoicing solution. It is designed for small businesses to perform core accounting tasks like online invoicing, financial reporting, expense tracking, credit card processing, auto-billing, and more. ZipBooks also provides actionable data-driven intelligence.



7. Salesforce, Hubspot, Asana CRM data

This is a CRM connector that connects customer relationship management tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Asana, enabling you to organize your customers, sales, leads, and more into a Google Sheet. You can then schedule automatic report updates, build charts and dashboards, etc, without signing into multiple dashboards. This tool is free to use.



8. Zoho Analytics

Zoho Analytics is a business intelligence tool that allows you to analyze large amounts of data from various sources. It then enables you to create charts and dashboards for informed decision-making. Zoho Analytics offers a smart AI assistant, supports collaboration, and runs on an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It also has a robust set of APIs to enhance customization.



9. BP Simulator

BP Simulator is a business process simulation modeling tool that enables business analysis and event simulation. It is web-based and helps you analyze business processes. BP simulator is free and multilingual. This tool can identify performance bottlenecks, offer activity-based costing, and calculate employee utilization. In addition, it enables collaboration through cloud storage.



10. Perfode eReviewz

Perfode eReviewz is a talent management system that manages employee performance reviews and objectives. It works through an automated web-based solution that can be added to your browser from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Perfode eReviewz is integrated with Google Drive and offers templates to streamline the review process.



Education

11. Translator for all languages

This software offers translation for written text from one language to another. It is a multilingual machine translation service and works with common languages in the world. Translator for all languages is connected with Google Drive and lets you select and translate text from files stored in this cloud storage.



12. Flat for Education

Flat for Education is a web-based music learning platform that offers a user-friendly and collaborative environment for learners. It is designed to help music teachers optimize their teaching routines. They can organize, issue, and track assignments through the software seamlessly. Flat for Education also enables teachers to comment and give feedback in real time.



13. eBook Viewer and Converter

eBook Viewer and Converter is a web-based eBook & CHM file viewer and converter. It is integratable with Google Drive and runs well on Chrome and Firefox browsers. This tool supports eBook files such as Amazon KF8, Microsoft eBook, and FictionBook 2.0, among others. It can also open MS Compiled HTML Help, WPS, plain text files, etc.



14. Kami

Kami is an interactive learning software that promotes student interaction through text, videos, documents, and other learning materials. It offers a cloud-based library for users to store files but also allows you to open files from Google Drive, OneDrive, or your computer. You can use its text recognition feature to convert scanned documents or mix and merge existing files to create new resources.



15. Assessment Tracker

Assessment Tracker is a Google Workspace add-on that integrates with Google Sheets and Google Drive. It streamlines the process of collecting assessment data into a Google Shared Drive for analysis with Google Looker Studio. However, it doesn't build the assessment tracker dashboard; it only facilitates data collection. You will have to build the dashboard.



Conclusion

By now, you must have noted there is an endless list of third-party apps you can integrate with your Google Drive app to transform how you work. Some automate the little mundane tasks, while others, like the CapCut web editor, revolutionize your workflow entirely. The collaboration between CapCut web editor and Google Drive brings together your favorite cloud storage platform and the most comprehensive video editing utility.

Editing your videos on the Google Drive app is just a click away! The CapCut web editor offers many media resources such as video templates and sound effects, as well as basic, advanced, and AI editing features, free of charge. Try it now to take your video editing to the next level!

FAQs

1. How to set up the Google Drive app on a desktop?
2. Setting up the desktop Google Drive app is easy. First, open the Google Drive application download page to access it and install it on your computer. After installation, sign in to Google Drive on your web browser, and just like that, your Google Drive desktop app is ready.
3. You can always access it as part of your computer's storage drives or using the desktop shortcut. If you want to improve any video stored on the Google Drive application on your desktop, upload it to the CapCut online video editor and edit it like a pro.
4. Does the Google Drive application notify me when my file is opened?
5. No, Google Drive does not send notifications to a file owner when a file is viewed. A file owner only receives notifications when someone requests file access, leaves a comment, or makes changes.
6. But if you want to edit videos on your Google Drive, you can directly open them via the CapCut-Web editor. It offers different video editing features, including basic ones like crop, cut, etc., advanced ones like keyframes, color curves, etc., and AI tools like auto reframing, retouching, etc.
7. How to access the Google Drive app store?
8. iPhone and iPad users can download the Google Drive app from the Apple Store. It is free to install and works flawlessly. However, your iPhone must run iOS 15 or higher, your iPad iPadOS 15 or later, and your iPod touches iOS 15 or above.
9. All in all, should you have a video on your Google Drive account that needs refinements, the CapCut-Web editor is your solution. It is free of charge with premium video editing features and AI-powered tools to transform your video editing into an awesome experience.