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One solution for synchronizing files between your Android tablet and a computer is to use Google Drive. It's yet another free service offered by Google, providing online, or cloud, storage. Files saved on Google Drive are available to all devices — computers, tablets, phones — that have the Google Drive software installed. The files can also be shared by visiting the Google Drive website on the Internet.

If the Google Drive app wasn't preinstalled on your tablet, you can obtain a copy from the Google Play Store. To make Google Drive truly synchronize files between a computer and your tablet, you also need a copy of the Google Drive software (it's free) on your computer.

After Google Drive is installed on a computer, it synchronizes files and folders on the Internet with your computer, duplicating them as necessary. Those files and folders are available to any computer or mobile device that has the Google Drive software or app installed.

After everything is set up, sharing files is fairly easy:

  1. On a computer, open the Google Drive folder.

    You'll find it in your account folder, along with other famous folders. It's named Google Drive, and you may find a shortcut in the notification area (in Windows) or atop the screen (in OS X).

  2. On the tablet, open the Drive app, found in the Apps drawer.

    If prompted, accept the terms of service. Eventually, you see a screen listing the files and folders on your Google Drive. Touch an icon to open a folder or view a file.

  3. To save information to your Google Drive, use the Share icon that's found in various apps.

    Some apps may even feature the Google Drive icon, which saves an extra step.

As an example of sharing (or saving) something to your Google Drive, view a full-screen picture from the Gallery, touch the Drive icon, or touch the Share icon and choose Drive. Fill in the Upload to Drive information, and then touch the OK button to place that image on your Google Drive.

Photos, music, and files saved to Google Drive are immediately available to all other devices that share your Google Drive. So you can share a photo with Google Drive and then instantly access that photo from a computer.

You can also access your Google Drive from any device that's connected to the Internet, such as a computer in the local library. Visit drive.google.com and log in to your Google account to access your stuff.

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