Google Drive is an excellent tool for productivity and teamwork. However, when you begin using it frequently, it becomes hard to keep things under control.
Fortunately, Google Drive provides numerous options for quickly finding the files you need, especially if you organize Google Drive files the right way. Here are some tips that will save you time searching for files, as well as save you money if you’re getting near your free quota limit.
- Google Drive Setup Essentials
Google Drive, like traditional file explorers, allows you to arrange your documents into folders, which is useful when you’re working on various projects. But the fact that your files could come from two different places complicates matters.
These locations are listed in the Google Drive web app’s sidebar. My Drive stores files that you’ve saved to Drive, whereas Shared with me stores stuff that others have authorized you to access on Drive. These could be collaboration folders, publicly accessible Drive folders used for sharing or something like that.
If you are using Google Drive’s backup option, Computers will also be there.
A file you’re looking for could fall into either of these folders, which makes it harder to find by simply browsing your Drive.
A file you’re looking for could fall into either of these folders, which makes it harder to find by simply browsing your Drive. You could make things much easier by adding shortcuts to shared files and folders to your own Drive. You can do this by dragging a file to My Drive in the sidebar, or by right-clicking it and selecting Add shortcut to Drive. You can put the shortcut wherever you like in your Drive.
The file will remain in its original position, but the Drive shortcut allows you to readily access it from your own folder structure.
- Sort Smartly
This is a simple tip, but it is worth mentioning because it may not be obvious to beginner Drive users. The way to change file sorting is located in the top-right corner of the current view. It shows the selected sorting method, for example by Name.
Click on it to change the method to Last modified or Last opened by me. You can also use the arrow to switch between ascending and descending sorting view.
This is an efficient approach to swiftly sorting through a folder containing many files, despite its simplicity.
- Delete Duplicate Files
Even though Google Drive alerts you if a file with the same name already exists when you upload it, you might still save duplicates if you ignore the warning or rename the file to submit it anyway.
Unfortunately, Google Drive doesn’t have built-in tools for finding and removing duplicates. Although you could do it manually (once you spend some time finding duplicate Google Drive files), an easier way to do it is to use a Google Drive duplicate finder. It would scan your Google Drive folders for duplicate files, and then offer you to remove unneeded copies in bulk, automatically.
This way you’ll be able to redeem precious Drive space and make things less confusing.
- Use Advanced Search Tools
The best approach to finding a file you can’t spot is to use the search box at the top. Using advanced tools, which are just a few clicks away makes it much more successful.
First of all, remember to narrow down search results by file type. When you click on the search bar, you can specify a file type, such as PDFs or Spreadsheets, to see only those files.
When you click there, type:presentation or something like that and it will show up in the search bar. To narrow your search, insert a search term together with the type. If you know what kind of data you’re looking for, this makes it simple to refine your search.
In addition, you can access advanced search options by clicking More search tools at the bottom of the file type selection menu. These allow you to narrow down your search by characteristics such as date changed, document owner, and recipients.
- View Revisions and Modifications with Ease
Managing revisions could be an effective way to organize your files on Google Drive and see where you stand with your work.
You may view previous versions of files you’ve added to Drive and see who made modifications to them. To inspect (and download) prior versions of a file as well as upload a new one, right-click on it and select Manage versions.
Right-click a file and select View details to display a panel on the right containing file information. Change to the Activity tab to view what has recently happened with it, such as users making modifications or sharing the document.
- Connect Some Apps to Super-Charge Google Drive
If the built-in features are insufficient, you can link third-party apps to Google Drive for extra functionality. To view these, right-click a file and select Open with > Connect more apps from the menu. There’s plenty to choose from.
This will launch the marketplace, in which you can explore Google Drive add-ons. Go through them and check if any of them appeal to you.
You now know some of the most effective methods for keeping everything in your Google Drive in check. It is hugely important to keep your files organized, especially if you have lots of documents spread over tons of folders.
