Recently, I have had a lot of requests to work with educators and help them organize their Google Drive. It is not an uncommon request. After using Drive for any length of time, your filing and organization system can quickly get out of hand, especially when you are faced with what to do with files that have been shared with you. So, here are some of my top tips for organizing your Google Drive for maximum efficiency.
Creating Folders in Google Drive
Folders are your go-to structure for organizing everything that you have in your Google Drive. Click the NEW button and choose Folder. Try to think of a good organizational name or numbering system that you would like to use. This will make it easier to find things later.
Top Tip: To create a sub folder, double click on the folder you want it to live in, then click the NEW button to create a folder inside the folder you just opened.
Top Tip: To create a sub folder, double click on the folder you want it to live in, then click the NEW button to create a folder inside the folder you just opened.
Moving Files to a Folder
Moving orphaned files into folders is a quick way to reduce the clutter. There are lots of ways to do this but some of the more obvious ways include:
Top Tip: If you can get into the habit of creating files in a folder, or choosing a folder for them when you have the file open, you will have much less orphan files floating around your Drive. (Thanks to Ann Woolridge at @CPUSchools for this top tip!)
- Drag and Drop from inside Drive
- Clicking the Folder icon at the top of any open Google Apps file
- Right-click any file and select Move to…
- Select a file by clicking on it, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner, then Move to…
Top Tip: If you can get into the habit of creating files in a folder, or choosing a folder for them when you have the file open, you will have much less orphan files floating around your Drive. (Thanks to Ann Woolridge at @CPUSchools for this top tip!)
Changing Folder Colors in Google Drive
The more visual among you may appreciate the ability to change the color of your folders in Drive. To change the color of your folder in Drive, right-click on a folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose Change Color. This lets you choose from a variety of Googley colors. You can repeat this process on as many folders as you like.
Top Tip: Many teachers do this to differentiate between the different classes they have, or for team documents, school policies and so forth. This lets you quickly see things at a glance and navigate to the color of the folder you have chosen.
Top Tip: Many teachers do this to differentiate between the different classes they have, or for team documents, school policies and so forth. This lets you quickly see things at a glance and navigate to the color of the folder you have chosen.
Accessing Recent or Frequently Used Files
Google has two methods for quickly retrieving files that you use frequently. The first is the Recent filter, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar of your Google Drive. Clicking this will show you a list of the files you have worked on most recently. The files you last accessed and worked on are at the top of the list, with less recent files further down.
Another option is to add a Star to a file or a folder. Stars are like bookmarks for your files. You can right-click on any file or folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose to Add Star. This adds it to your starred files, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar underneath your Recent files.
Top Tip: Try to revisit your starred files on a regular basis and remove stars from files or folders that no longer need to be starred. This will help you find what you really need.
Another option is to add a Star to a file or a folder. Stars are like bookmarks for your files. You can right-click on any file or folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose to Add Star. This adds it to your starred files, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar underneath your Recent files.
Top Tip: Try to revisit your starred files on a regular basis and remove stars from files or folders that no longer need to be starred. This will help you find what you really need.
Searching for Files and Folders
Given Google's reputation for search, you would think that Google Drive has some pretty robust search options. Well, you would be right! Entering some keywords into the search box at the top of the page may be all you need to find that rogue file that is alluding you. Drive will search file and folder titles as well as file and folder content, but where possible it is always best to name files with keywords that you would use to search for them later.
Top Tip: Click the down arrow in the search box to narrow down the file type and document ownership. Watch the video below for a demonstration of how that works.
Top Tip: Click the down arrow in the search box to narrow down the file type and document ownership. Watch the video below for a demonstration of how that works.
Sharing Files and Folders with Others
Sharing files and folders is one of the key features of using Google Drive effectively. However, not everyone knows the ins and outs of everything that collaborators can and can't do. You can share, or check on the sharing permissions, of any file or folder in your Drive by right-clicking on it and choosing Share... from the pop-up menu. You can then choose whether your collaborators can be viewers, commenters, or editors. A comparison of what each person can do with those permissions are included below.
Top Tip: Google uses a hierarchical sharing structure. This means that if you share a folder with someone, all the files and sub-folders inside are also shared with that person. Any new files that you add to that folder are also automatically shared with that person whether you adjusted the sharing permissions on your file or not.
Top Tip: Google uses a hierarchical sharing structure. This means that if you share a folder with someone, all the files and sub-folders inside are also shared with that person. Any new files that you add to that folder are also automatically shared with that person whether you adjusted the sharing permissions on your file or not.
Source: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494886?hl=en
Organizing Shared Files and Folders
This is the one thing that ties people in knots when they are working in Google Drive. If you move a file or a folder that is shared with you, will it mess things up for the other people it is shared with? The answer is... maybe. Watch the video below from Chris Betcher to see the ins and outs of working with shared files. Once you get the hang of it, you will see it is not as complicated as you first thought.
Top Tip: You can't delete files that were created by other people. You can remove them from your Drive if you no longer need them, but they won't disappear from the Drive of the person that created them. Only file owners can delete files permanently.
Top Tip: You can't delete files that were created by other people. You can remove them from your Drive if you no longer need them, but they won't disappear from the Drive of the person that created them. Only file owners can delete files permanently.
Using the Google Drive Desktop App
With the Google Drive Desktop app, you can work inside the existing file structure of Windows or Mac OSX. Many people find this more familiar and easier to organize their files. Once installed, the Drive Desktop app mirrors the structure of your files at drive.google.com. Anything you change on your desktop gets synced with Google Drive, and vice versa. So, if you prefer to create folders and move files on your desktop, you can. You can even double-click to open files. Everything you do will be mirrored to your Google account in the cloud.
Top Tip: You can also save things directly to Google Drive from desktop applications. So, if you are using Microsoft Word and want to save the file directly to your Google Drive, simply go to File > Save As and select the Google Drive desktop app as your save destination. Once the file is saved in the folder of your choice, it will be automatically synced to your Google Drive.
Top Tip: You can also save things directly to Google Drive from desktop applications. So, if you are using Microsoft Word and want to save the file directly to your Google Drive, simply go to File > Save As and select the Google Drive desktop app as your save destination. Once the file is saved in the folder of your choice, it will be automatically synced to your Google Drive.
Any Questions?
Are you still unsure about the best way to organize the files for your situation? If so, leave a comment below or contact us by email if you prefer.
~Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant at Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)
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~Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant at Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)
For more posts like this, please subscribe to our blog! You can also connect with us on social media if you Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter or add us to your circles on Google+.
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