macOS File Provider support in Google Drive 58.0 not migrating

[corentin2]

Hi,

I saw in https://support.google.com/a/answer/7577057 that Google Drive 58.0 should now support the new macOS File Provider scheme in Monterey. I checked on my Mac and it doesn't look like anything was migrated to ~/Library/CloudStorage.

• Is the new scheme restricted from certain types of accounts? (I use a University account).
• Is there a way to trigger the migration??

Corentin

[JasonTM1]

FWIW, I do not see the change in v58 either. The article did mention 'over the next few releases' so may it is not fully implemented yet.

[corentin2]

Thanks for letting me know Jason. I hadn’t noticed that subtle detail in the phrasing. We’ll see what happens………

Corentin

[JasonTM1]

@corentin2 Has File Provider support been rolled out for you yet? I still do not have it. After searching for more info today I came across this thread which indicates that some people have had this feature for nearly 2 months. Maybe it is being rolled out by account as opposed to the version of Drive for Desktop they're running?
File Provider thread 

I also found this WWDC2021 video explaining how the MacOS feature works and thought it was pretty interesting.
File Provider framework video 

[JasonTM1]

It occurred to me that there may be a difference between the Apple Silicon versions of Drive for Desktop, which I run, and the Intel version. I just looked at an Intel Mac and things got more confusing. Their Google Drive shows up under Locations, instead of Favorites, which is where it should be if using the File Provider framework. But under preferences it still allows me to change the cache location which is supposed to be handled by the OS when using File Provider. Of course there may also be differences between MacOS on Intel vs Apple Silicon.

I made a folder from one of our Shared Drives available offline and those files were then locatable using a Spotlight search. That is great news since my machine does not index files on mounted drives, even when they are set to available offline.

[JasonTM1]

I double checked the Intel Mac and it is still running Big Sur. This may be why File Provider is working a bit differently than a more modern Intel machine capable of running Monterey.

[corentin2]

Yeah, I'm not sure Big Sur deals with File Streaming quite the same way.

I checked again today on my Monterey machines (all Intel)  and none had the storage migrated to ~/Library/Cloud Storage. 😕

[JasonTM1]

I am now on v60.0.2.0 (Apple Silicon) but still nothing. What about on your end?

[corentin2]

Same version, and nothing here either. OneDrive made the jump — Dropbox is still in the same situation as Google Drive: no migration at this point.

Corentin

[Seanpmgallagher]

Any update on whether yours have updated? We have both Apple Silicon and Intel processors but no one has migrated to file provider yet. 

[JasonTM1]

None of our workspace accounts have been switched over yet. I am not in front of my machine right now but its an Apple Silicon iMac running the latest version of MacOS and I think v63.xx of Drive for Desktop.

[JasonTM1]

Many of our Workspace accounts were migrated as of this morning. I have not heard back from everyone but it's not just me. Here is the message I received.

[cryptochrome]

Can confirm. My two accounts have been switched over as well. 

[corentin2]

Same here. And Spotlight is re-indexing everything.

The original folder in ~/ has been replaced with an Alias posting to the Google Drive.

The drive is now showing up in Locations on the sidebar of the windows of the Finder and so far everything seems to be working just fine.