Importing Files to Google Colab Directly from Google Drive: A Quick Solution

Traditionally, importing files into Google Colab requires a tedious process. You would click on the file icon, ensure you are connected, and then drag and drop the files into the Colab interface. However, this method can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with large files. In this article, we will explore an alternative solution that allows you to import files directly from Google Drive without the hassle of using the pi drive library or authentication.

To start with this quick solution, ensure that both files are uploaded to your Google Drive data folder. Once they are in place, navigate back to Google Colab and click on the file icon. Now, right-click on one of the files and select "Get link." From the dropdown menu, choose "Anyone with the link" and copy the ID of the file. You can find this by looking at the URL provided after clicking on the get link option.

Next, paste the ID into your Google Colab cell using the syntax !id. Replace "id" with the copied ID, and you should see the file being downloaded instantly. The speed of download is approximately 65 megabytes per second, and it takes about four seconds to complete. It's essential to note that this method still requires some time for the file to finalize its download.

While exploring this quick solution, we also discovered another traditional approach to importing files into Google Colab. This involves clicking on the icon of the code snippet, then selecting "Download files." The selected file will be downloaded, allowing you to access your entire Google Drive in a single click. For simplicity, if you only want access to a single file, simply activate that file and include it into your code cell.

This method is more powerful than the quick solution provided earlier but requires more effort for users who only need access to a specific file. Nevertheless, this traditional approach provides an excellent way to work with files in Google Colab without relying on external libraries or authentication processes.

Conclusion

Importing files to Google Colab directly from Google Drive offers several advantages over traditional methods. The quick solution we explored allows you to import large files instantly without the need for pi drive library or authentication, making it a convenient option for users who work with big data sets. By following this step-by-step guide, you can quickly import files into your Google Colab environment and start working on your projects right away.

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enin this video i will show you how to quickly import files into google colab directly from google drive and without further ado we're starting right now so traditionally in order to import files into google collab you would do the following you could click on the file icon and then let's say that we're connected and then you will drag and drop the files into it like here and then it will upload the file and so this particular file will be about 100 megabytes and as you can see 100 megabytes will take quite some time to upload and what about a one gigabyte file here this movie file is from a video on the coding professor youtube channel and it is 1.3 gigabytes okay so i'm going to show you how you could quickly import this into collab very quickly so as you can see uploading just 100 megabytes will take quite some time okay so in the meantime while it is uploading this 100 megabytes let me show you how to quickly import files directly from google drive so let's hop on to google drive so both of these files i have already uploaded into google drive in the data folder and so what i will do now is i'll have to activate the permission i'll right click on the file click on get link and then for restricted you want to click on anyone with the link and then you want to copy the id of the file which is right here so copy the id copy it click done and then go back to google codelab and as you can see it's still downloading the file so why don't i show you how to do that very quickly so you want to type in exclamation mark g d o w n and then double dash and then id and then the id of the file and then you run the cell and then it's finished 116 megabytes and about a second for downloading but then it's taking time to finalize the download and the speed is at 65 megabytes per second and so it took about four seconds to download this 116 megabytes and as you can see the traditional way of uploading it to the file panel here it is still not finished okay so what about let me try importing the 1.3 gigabytes from the google drive let's see how fast that is so in a similar fashion you want to right click on the file click on get link and click on the restricted drop down and then you want to click on the anyone with the link and then copy the id of the file right click copy go back to the google code lab and then exclamation mark g d o w n dash dash id spacebar and then the id paste it in run the cell and then let's see how fast that is so it took about 10 seconds to download it and let's see how long for finalizing the download and the speed of download is at 121 megabytes per second and as you can see here the 100 megabyte file is still uploading and let's wait for it and it takes about 35 seconds so in 35 seconds you could transfer the file from google drive directly into the colab and all of this without the hassle of using the pi drive library so no need for authentication so this is very convenient and then you could run your code cell as usual okay so let me show you what if you wanted to do the traditional approach the other traditional approach aside from uploading here so you click on here the icon of the code snippet and then you want to click on the download files right here download files let's see which one is this one download files yeah and then you want to click on insert and then this code will allow you to access your google drive and so it might be a bit more powerful in that you could activate this and then you could have access to you know your entire google drive but for simplicity if you want access to only a single file you just activate the file and then you include it into your code cell and then subsequently you could make use of the file immediately after you download it so if you're finding value in this video please support the channel by smashing the like button subscribe if you haven't already and make sure to hit on the notification bell so that you will be notified of the next video and as always the best way to learn data science is to do data science and please enjoy the journeyin this video i will show you how to quickly import files into google colab directly from google drive and without further ado we're starting right now so traditionally in order to import files into google collab you would do the following you could click on the file icon and then let's say that we're connected and then you will drag and drop the files into it like here and then it will upload the file and so this particular file will be about 100 megabytes and as you can see 100 megabytes will take quite some time to upload and what about a one gigabyte file here this movie file is from a video on the coding professor youtube channel and it is 1.3 gigabytes okay so i'm going to show you how you could quickly import this into collab very quickly so as you can see uploading just 100 megabytes will take quite some time okay so in the meantime while it is uploading this 100 megabytes let me show you how to quickly import files directly from google drive so let's hop on to google drive so both of these files i have already uploaded into google drive in the data folder and so what i will do now is i'll have to activate the permission i'll right click on the file click on get link and then for restricted you want to click on anyone with the link and then you want to copy the id of the file which is right here so copy the id copy it click done and then go back to google codelab and as you can see it's still downloading the file so why don't i show you how to do that very quickly so you want to type in exclamation mark g d o w n and then double dash and then id and then the id of the file and then you run the cell and then it's finished 116 megabytes and about a second for downloading but then it's taking time to finalize the download and the speed is at 65 megabytes per second and so it took about four seconds to download this 116 megabytes and as you can see the traditional way of uploading it to the file panel here it is still not finished okay so what about let me try importing the 1.3 gigabytes from the google drive let's see how fast that is so in a similar fashion you want to right click on the file click on get link and click on the restricted drop down and then you want to click on the anyone with the link and then copy the id of the file right click copy go back to the google code lab and then exclamation mark g d o w n dash dash id spacebar and then the id paste it in run the cell and then let's see how fast that is so it took about 10 seconds to download it and let's see how long for finalizing the download and the speed of download is at 121 megabytes per second and as you can see here the 100 megabyte file is still uploading and let's wait for it and it takes about 35 seconds so in 35 seconds you could transfer the file from google drive directly into the colab and all of this without the hassle of using the pi drive library so no need for authentication so this is very convenient and then you could run your code cell as usual okay so let me show you what if you wanted to do the traditional approach the other traditional approach aside from uploading here so you click on here the icon of the code snippet and then you want to click on the download files right here download files let's see which one is this one download files yeah and then you want to click on insert and then this code will allow you to access your google drive and so it might be a bit more powerful in that you could activate this and then you could have access to you know your entire google drive but for simplicity if you want access to only a single file you just activate the file and then you include it into your code cell and then subsequently you could make use of the file immediately after you download it so if you're finding value in this video please support the channel by smashing the like button subscribe if you haven't already and make sure to hit on the notification bell so that you will be notified of the next video and as always the best way to learn data science is to do data science and please enjoy the journey\n"