Google shared drive - Some questions

[Swede81]

Hi!

This fall, we are planning to migrate our Windows-based file server to Workspace and Shared Drives. I have a few questions I’ve been thinking about:

1. Can we use email groups to manage access permissions on folders, or should we create separate groups specifically for folder permissions? What is recommended?

2. Folder permissions don’t work quite the same way as in a Windows environment, where you can have a main folder with many subfolders, each with individually assigned permissions for different groups or individuals. How should we approach this when working with Shared Drives in Workspace? Should I create a new Shared Drive for every folder that requires unique permissions? That could result in quite a lot of Shared Drives, to say the least.

[sinigur · Accepted solution]

1.) Yes and Yes; either or both are options. If you already have email groups that nicely align with permissions on folders, I say go ahead and use them for group-based permissions on folders.
2.) You are correct in that by default, all sub-folders inherit the permissions of members from the Shared Drive top level. However, you can now/soon override individual sub-folder permissions via features described in this blog post: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/02/updating-access-experience-in-google-drive.html

I would not recommend creating a new Shared Drive for every folder that requires unique permissions. Instead, rely on the aforementioned blog post + a combination of solo- and group-based permissions.

[Swede81]

Thank you very much! This works really well – it's basically the same solution as a Windows share, where you can lock down folders under the top levels