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Google Drive: Organizing & Searching
This article covers instructions for using the web version of Google Drive. Be aware that other versions, such as the mobile app, will vary in functionality.
Maintaining an organized Google Drive with easily identifiable document and folder names will make it easier to find files.
Expand each section below to see its content.
To create a Google Drive folder:
- Navigate to drive.google.com. Ensure youre logged in with your PLU ePass.
- Navigate to the desired storage location of the new folder (My Drive, a Shared Drive, etc).
- Click New to the top-left, and select Folder. A new pop-up will appear.
- Enter a name for the new folder into the field.
- Click Create. The new folder will display.
To move a file or folder:
- Locate the desired file/folder.
- Right-click the file/folder, and select Move to.
- Select a location from the list that appears (My Drive, Shared Drive, etc).
- Navigate to the desired folder.
- Click Move. The file/folder will be moved to the new location.
Alternatively, click-and-drag files/folders to new locations as desired.
Be aware that moving a file/folder may change it's sharing permissions. For example, moving a file that hasnt been shared from My Drive into a Shared Drive will automatically share it with all members of the drive.
The search bar that appears at the top of Google Drive can be used to quickly search for files/folders.
To search for a file/folder:
- Navigate to drive.google.com. Ensure youre logged in with your PLU ePass.
- Enter a search term into the search bar at the top of the page.
- (Optional) Click the down-arrow to the right of the search field to open advanced search options, including:
- Type: file type, such as images, PDFs, and Google Docs.
- Owner: owner of the file.
- Location: specific location, such as My Drive or a Shared Drive.
- Date modified: recently edited files (today, yesterday, etc).
- Item name: term within the file name.
- Has the words: terms within the file content.
- Shared with: users, other than yourself, who have access to the file.
- Follow up: files that you own which contain suggestions or action items.
- To open the storage location of the item, click the Details tab from the column to the right and select the link listed next to Location.
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