NUworkspace: Mounting a Cloud Drive

If you have files stored in network drives or cloud storage services (like OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, or Dropbox), you can access them in NUworkspace by mounting the drive.  Mounting a drive makes it accessible via Windows File Explorer.  
 
This short guide will show you step-by-step how to:   

 

Mount a Cloud Drive  

Launch an App 


Using your preferred web browser, navigate to the URL for your NUworkspace system, for example, “https://northwestern.apporto.com”, and log in to the system using your credentials. 

Click the App Store    icon in the Navigation panel. 

The ‘App Store’ screen displays. 

  

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Click Launch 

The ‘NUworkspace Desktop’ opens in a new browser tab. 
  

Open the Cloud Mounter 

Double click on the Cloud Mounter desktop shortcut. 
  

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The ‘setup wizard’ launches. 
  

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Select the drive you want to connect. 

The ‘Connection Dialog’ displays. 

 

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Connect at login/startup is checked by default. This ensures the cloud drive is automatically reconnected the next time launch an app. If you do not want the drive automatically reconnected, simply uncheck the box. 

Click Connect Now 

 

Enter Drive Credentials 

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Follow the on-screen prompts to enter your credentials and allow access to the Cloud Mounter.   
  

 If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) turned on for your cloud drive, ensure you have your mobile phone handy when completing this step. 

  

Windows File Explorer will automatically open when the drive is successfully mounted. 

The drive will also be added to the Existing Connections list in the Cloud Mounter. 
  

  

Access Files from Mounted Drives 

Click the File Explorer icon  in the Windows taskbar to open File Explorer if it is not already open. 

Click to expand “This PC” to access the relevant drive.  For example, Google Drive and OneDrive are mounted as G: and O: drives, respectively. 
  

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IMPORTANT:  We recommend copying large files to NUworkspace before working with them.  This is because editing them across the network is slow and problematic.  You may even lose work if your network connection gets disconnected.  To copy files from a cloud drive, select the file and drag it to the NUworkspace desktop.  
   

 Note you will not be able to open files that do not have a corresponding application installed on the desktop.  For instance, you will not be able to open SPSS files unless SPSS is available on your desktop. 

 Some file types are not supported, like .sav files.  

  

Remove a Cloud Drive   

If you want to access the cloud drive in future sessions, you should leave it mounted. However, you may want to unmount a drive in order to connect a new one in the future. For example, maybe you connected your college GDrive account, but would like to connect to personal GDrive in the future. (Currently, you may only connect to one GDrive account at a time.) 

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To unmount the drive, open the Cloud Mounter (by double clicking on the desktop shortcut) and click Remove 

 

 

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Details

Article ID: 1981
Created
Tue 10/18/22 6:47 PM
Modified
Tue 12/13/22 11:03 AM

Related Services / Offerings (1)

NUworkspace offers users a virtual Windows desktop service that provides access to a suite of many software applications to faculty, students, and staff, including access to software packages that may not be readily available on their desktop/laptop computers.