Desktop Google Drive update brings bandwidth limiter and sync status

If you are using Google's file synchronization and online hosting service Google Drive on the desktop, on PC or Mac, you may have installed the latest update for the service already that introduces a bandwidth limiter and sync status information.

If that did not happen yet, you can download the installer again from the official website to update the software this way to the latest version.

Changes become apparent once files are synced on the device the latest version of Google Drive is installed on.

You will notice that the software displays the sync status of files that are uploaded to the cloud or downloaded from it to the local PC or Mac.

Each successfully synced file is displayed with a checkmark and the status synced so that you know right away if the operating was successful.

From here it is also possible to launch files directly by clicking on them. The file path is highlighted when you hover over them and files are always opened locally unless they are files specific to Google Drive that cannot be opened on the local system but only online.

Another new feature is the share option that is displayed when you hover over a file. You can click on it to open a share prompt on the local device which can be used to share the selected file with others (entering names or email addresses) or to generate a share link right away for manual sharing.

Roles (edit, comment and view) can be assigned to users you share the file with.

Equally interesting, or maybe even more so, is the new bandwidth limiter that you find in the preferences.

You can open the preferences with a click on the Google Drive icon, a second click on the three dots in the interface, and the selection of preferences from the context menu.

Switch to the advanced tab in the preferences window to display the new bandwidth settings.

There you can limit the download and upload rate individually.

The option can be useful as a temporary bandwidth limiter if the bandwidth is required for tasks with a greater priority such as live streaming, online gaming or other downloads.

You can restrict bandwidth usage permanently as well if you want Drive to never cross a specific upload or download threshold.

The new features improve Google Drive on the desktop and are rolled out to all users as we speak.