Google Drive -Please help.

Hi Basem,

I'm a little confused by your question.

Are you trying to set a default player on your phone or your PC to listen to these voice messages, or both? If phone, identify the type of phone you are using - Ie: Android? iPhone? etc.

Also, what are the "various" file extensions you are dealing with and what are the recordings being saved with? It could be that you can just adjust the app you're using to save the recordings to a more universal format.

Need more information here.

You can try to install VLC player which can play most audio files in your Windows PC.

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Source: https://www.lifewire.com/amr-file-2619620

Hi Andrew

The videos I had put on Google Drive from my PC at one point. The video extension is .mp4 real player recordings.
The voice recording were on my phone Samsung Galaxy Note 4 smn A910. Version Marshmallow and I saved them on my Drive from the phone it self. The extension .m4a
The recorded calls are backed up to Google Drive from the phone app it self. It is called "DRUPE" calling app. The audio extension is .amr

VLC Player can play most video and audio files.

Questions regarding the previous pictures:
1.The first image on the connected apps under options specifically Google Docs and Sheets do not have disconnect from Drive option neither were added by me. Are these 2 apps are added to connected apps by default? Is that why I am not able to disconnect them!

This is just an description of image 1 2. 3 and 4
2.The Music player appears in image 1 and the Video player appears in image 2. Those were added by me to connected apps.

3.When I click on the video description the open with menu appears with those options. Which none of them can play the video. If I click download it will save it to my pc then I am able to see it on my desktop.

4.How can I put the connected apps to use {Countdown timer and Radio player Live} as shown on Images 3 and 4.

The image [embed=file 1386294-I get this when I right click on the voice recording and I select open with apps on my PC.

The image - I get this when I click on apps on my PC . I am asked to download backup and sync. Do I have to do this backup and sync just one time? And if I did then will I be able to open audio or video files just by clicking them if I assign to open with VLC as an example to be default?

Jackie

"VLC Player can play most video and audio files". I know this already. My question how do you make it a default to open audio and video on Google Drive?

Hi Basem.

Thank you for posting the additional information as that makes your question somewhat clearer. I think you need to have a better understanding of the settings that you're adjusting and when they will take effect. Consider that in the case you are explaining here, there are two "defaults" that you can set. One is on your Windows 10 installation, the other is on Google Drive. Both often need to be different because Google drive may not support what your preference is on Windows 10.

If you download a file (be it Audio, Picture, Document or anything else) then that file is saved locally on your local machine. In that case, whatever app (or program) that you've told Windows 10 to use will kick in and manage the downloaded file.

If you just try to open a file in Google Drive, then that is when your Google Drive default settings kick in and the file will be opened by the app you've selected in Google Drive by default.

Two different scenarios - make sense?

With regards to the specific questions you've asked;

The recorded calls are backed up to Google Drive from the phone app it self. It is called "DRUPE" calling app. The audio extension is .amr

I've not heard of or used DRUPE before so I can't provide specific advice here, but you could look for a setting which allows recorded files to be saved in a different and more universal format, such as WAV or MP3 rather than .amr for example. Whether or not the app supports allowing you to change the type of format to save in I don't know.

To find out what programs you can use to view or open certain file extensions on your computer, check out the article I wrote about File Viewer Plus recently. For example, it will provide a direct link to pages such as the following;

m4a - https://fileinfo.com/extension/m4a
amr - https://fileinfo.com/extension/amr

The above links provide a list of programs which will open those particular file types on your computer. Alternatively, just go to https://fileinfo.com/ anytime you like and enter any file extension into the search box there that you need more information on.

1.The first image on the connected apps under options specifically Google Docs and Sheets do not have disconnect from Drive option neither were added by me. Are these 2 apps are added to connected apps by default?

Yes, they were added by default. To use a different app for Music Players, remove the ticks from "Use by default" and then select (or connect) any app that you prefer is used when trying to play an audio file saved in Google drive.

Is that why I am not able to disconnect them!

You can't disconnect them, however, you can stop their default usage by unticking "Use by default"

When I click on the video description the open with menu appears with those options. Which none of them can play the video. If I click download it will save it to my pc then I am able to see it on my desktop.

If none of the connected apps can play the video, then you need to search for an App that does support the video with Google Drive. If one is not available or does not work as expected, then you need to download the file to your computer to be able to view it with programs that are installed in Windows 10. (Ie: VLC) You can view or hear it it once it's downloaded because then the programs installed on your computer kick in to open the file.

How can I put the connected apps to use {Countdown timer and Radio player Live} as shown on Images 3 and 4.

In exactly the same way you connected other apps - but "only" if there is an available Countdown timer or Radio player Live app available for Google Drive.

- I get this when I click on apps on my PC . I am asked to download backup and sync. Do I have to do this backup and sync just one time?

That's up to you. If you download the backup and sync, what you will effectively be doing is downloading a copy of the file(s) stored on Google Drive to your PC. Once done, they will naturally be openable with any program you have installed on your PC.

And if I did then will I be able to open audio or video files just by clicking them if I assign to open with VLC as an example to be default?

Yes, once they have been downloaded and available locally on your computer. Whether or not you can select VLC from your computer to kick in by default when trying to listen to an audio file directly from Google Drive, however, as I've never had to try that with VLC I'm not sure if it supports opening files from a remote drive. Just give it a try and see if it works. You'll just get an error if it doesn't.

My question how do you make it a default to open audio and video on Google Drive?

I'm not sure you can do that. A little trial and experimentation may be required to find out, however from what I've looked at, you may also need a business Drive File Stream subscription. I wouldn't recommend this route for your limited needs though and try to find a workaround that you're happy with instead.

In short, the easiest way to use VLC all the time is to first download the file and then open it on your PC. This can be achieved with Download and Sync, but it also means that everything stored in Google Drive needs to also be stored locally on your computer.

Hope that all makes sense.

Regards, Andrew

Andrew

Thank you for all that information. I guess I am not sure if what I am asking make sense. The videos and the recorded calls came from my phone or my PC which I am able to access them from either source. But when I am in Google Drive then these issues are happening. I guess what I am looking for is a universal app that can open audio and video and make it my default whenever I am in Google Drive and make it my default. So far I had not researched enough nor came across one like VLC. Second point , Radio player Live and Countdown timer I added those from Google Drive it self when it offers connect more apps. But the problem how do I make use of either without having to open any video,audio file. Just wanted to listen to radio or start the timer. I hope my question now is a bit clearer. therefor I don't think I will use download and sync since you were telling me that it will download the file to my PC thus creating a DUPLICATE copy!

Thanks,
Basem

As always Mr.Andrew you you come to the rescue . Thank you my friend. God bless you.

Thank you for the ultra kind words Basem. Glad I was able to help you out.