I’m having trouble figuring out how to select multiple files so I can upload them all at the same time to Google Drive. I can only seem to pick one file at a time, which is really slowing me down. Does anyone know an easy way to select and upload several files together? Any help would be appreciated.
Juggling a Pile of Files? Here’s How to Send a Bunch to Google Drive
“Wait, I Can’t Just Drag & Drop Everything At Once?” (Spoiler: Kinda, Yeah)
So picture this: It’s Monday. You roll out of bed, check your downloads folder… and realize you still haven’t uploaded your photo dump from last weekend’s camping trip to Google Drive. It’s a mess—hundreds of images, maybe a few PDFs, all salted away in a dozen subfolders. You stare at your screen, coffee in hand, and wonder, “There HAS to be a better way than clicking one file at a time, right?”
Step One: Get to the Upload Zone
Fire up your browser, head over to Google Drive, and crack your knuckles. You’ll be staring at either the main “My Drive” screen or one of your subfolders (up to you). Just make sure you’re actually in Drive and not accidentally still in Gmail, like I do every. single. time.
Step Two: The “Click + Shift + Click” Power Move
Here’s the ancient wisdom passed down from office workers of yesteryear:
- Click the first file you want.
- Hold SHIFT, then click the last file in your row. Everything in between gets highlighted like magic.
- Want to cherry-pick files from all over? Hold CTRL (or CMD on a Mac) and click each file you want—no need for them to be next to each other.
Oh, one more thing: If you’re digging through a folder and want EVERYTHING inside, just tap CTRL+A/CMD+A and you’ll select the whole lot.
Step Three: Let the Upload Games Begin
Once your files are highlighted, drag them right onto the Google Drive window, or smash that big, friendly “+ New” button on the left and pick File upload (or Folder upload for the whole squad). Browsers will cough and chug as the transfer starts, but eventually, progress bars will pop up at the bottom-right. You know you’re winning when they turn green.
When the Built-in Tools Make You Want to Scream (Relatable Tech Frustration)
Let’s be totally honest—sometimes, the Drive web uploader is like a vending machine that eats your change: it hangs, drops connections, or refuses to select more than a handful of files at once—especially for big batches or especially fiddly folders. That’s when you start looking for alternatives that play nicer with the monster piles of media we all end up dealing with.
Enter the Outsider (aka What Actually Works)
If you reach that “I’m over this” point and need something more dependable, apps like CloudMounter exist for a reason. It basically lets your Google Drive act like a regular folder on your Mac—just drag, drop, and let it sync without all the page refreshing, pop-ups, or browser meltdowns. It supports a bunch of cloud platforms, too, so you can wrangle files across several drives like some sort of digital cowboy.
TL;DR for the Time-Crunched
- In Google Drive: Select multiple files using SHIFT/CTRL (or CMD).
- Drag, drop, or use the upload buttons.
- For huge jobs or recurring uploads, something like CloudMounter turns cloud management from a headache into an actual workflow.
For Anyone Still Struggling
If something’s still not working, drop a screenshot in the replies. Sometimes one weird folder refuses to show, or your browser’s playing tricks—someone else has almost definitely seen it before and can help you out.
Happy uploading, and may your bandwidth be ever in your favor.
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Okay, so here’s the deal: while @mikeappsreviewer’s got some solid tips with the ol’ SHIFT and CTRL moves (we ALL remember learning those in middle school, right?), honestly, Google Drive’s native upload still just feels… clunky sometimes. Like, if you’re on a Mac and using Safari, you might find out the hard way that drag-and-drop can bug out with big globs of files—or worse, crash mid-upload and you’re left guessing what actually made it and what didn’t. Nothing like thinking you uploaded everything, then logging in later to find half your files just peaced out on you. Facepalm.
Here’s what I’d throw into the ring, especially if you want to skip the whole “browser roulette” thing: Use Google Drive’s desktop sync app (now called Drive for Desktop). Drag your whole folder structure into your Google Drive folder on your computer, and it’ll sync up automatically in the background—no selecting, clicking, or praying to the upload gods required. You drop the files in, and poof, it pushes ‘em all up, keeping subfolders and everything intact. WAY faster for bulk dumps.
If you’re kinda over Google’s own tools (which, fair, their web uploader feels stuck in 2010), grab something like CloudMounter. Yeah, it costs a couple bucks, but it basically mounts your Drive as a hard drive—no browser, no muss, no random 50-file limit. Just drag your entire photo dump, docs, weird memes, whatever, and let it rip. Super helpful if you bounce between different cloud services and want them in one place.
Oh, and tiny PSA: don’t try mass uploading from a phone unless you hate yourself. Most mobile browsers and apps are even worse with batch jobs.
TL;DR: Google’s basics work…sometimes, but if you regularily upload tons of stuff or folders, skip the pain and use Google Drive for Desktop or go with CloudMounter for that “my cloud is just another drive” vibe. Honestly saves so much rage.
Honestly, been there, suffered through that. Everyone’s raving about Drive for Desktop and the ol’ shift/ctrl party (props to @mikeappsreviewer and @nachtdromer for covering that, I guess), but I’m gonna shoot straight: Google’s web uploader is sometimes just… not it. The weird browser limit on how many files you can pick at once? Annoying. Drag and drop into Drive SHOULD work, but sometimes if you’ve got folders inside folders, it’s like, “Nope. Not today.”
Here’s something else to consider: if you’re running into the “can only select one file at a time” problem, it might be a browser issue or just the weird way your file explorer is displaying stuff. On Windows, at least, the file picker dialog can be total trash if you’re not in the right view. Try switching to ‘list’ or ‘details’ view—makes multi-select way less janky.
But honestly, every time I’ve had to slam a couple hundred files up at once, especially with nested folders, CloudMounter comes in clutch. Unlike Drive for Desktop, it makes your Google Drive act like just another drive in Finder or Explorer—no sync lag, way less “are my files even moving?” anxiety, and you don’t have to go through all of Google’s install hoops. And yeah, it beats fighting with a browser that suddenly decides your upload failed for ~no reason~.
One last thing: weird as it is, sometimes just zipping your big pile and uploading the .zip is faster if all you care about is getting it up there—though obviously, not ideal if you want to access individual files from the Drive app later. Google’s own unzip-in-web options are… not great, but it’s an emergency hack.
tl;dr: Check your file picker, drag-and-drop when possible, but if you’re dealing with megadumps or repeating this a lot, CloudMounter will save your sanity and bandwidth. Skip mobile for bulk unless you hate happiness.
Let’s cut right to the chase: everyone’s got their workflow and (hot take coming) sometimes Google Drive’s native multi-select just doesn’t keep up, especially when you’ve got heaps of files or complex folder trees. While previous posters broke down shift-click, ctrl-click, and the CTRL+A basics, what’s barely touched is how browser or OS quirks can actually sabotage your mass-upload dreams. Chrome’s usually fine… until it isn’t. Edge and Safari? Good luck with large directories.
Now, CloudMounter: the real deal for anyone juggling Google Drive, Dropbox, and more as part of daily life. Pros? Native drive integration into Finder/Explorer, drag-and-drop is buttery, and you’re not stuck baby-sitting browser windows that time out or blink out whenever your connection hiccups. It’s seamless for dragging hundreds (or thousands) of files with real progress feedback—no phantom uploads or mystery “upload failed” dialogues.
Cons? It’s a paid product after the trial, and for those who just need one-off bulk dumps, the install might feel like overkill. Also—let’s be real—requires trusting a third-party with your cloud credentials (though it uses OAuth, not direct password storage, for better security). Still, far less sync lag than Google’s own Drive desktop client, and none of the weird half-synced ghost files you get in Google’s quasi-offline mode.
If you only occasionally bung up a big archive, try zipping your files and tossing just the archive into Drive—that trick is criminally underrated (alien concept to some, sure, but hey). If you need granular file access afterward or you’re working with more than one cloud platform, that’s when CloudMounter outpaces @nachtdromer’s and @suenodelbosque’s suggestions.
Oh, and mobile? Don’t even get me started. Bulk is desktop territory, unless you enjoy pain.
So: browser basics for small jobs, archive then upload in a pinch, CloudMounter for serious multi-cloud warriors. And if Google ever makes Drive upload less like rolling dice, I’ll eat my hat.