Google Drive Navigation

Google Drive main window view

Area 1: In the screen shot above, the left hand side of the page shows the various locations within Google Drive.  This is where you create, upload, and organize.

  • New button – Add or Create: New Folder, File Upload, Folder Upload, Google Doc, Google Sheets, Google Slides, More.  Under More you will find Google Forms, Google Sites and any other Google Apps you have added to your menu.
  • My Drive – Main storage are of Drive.  This area can be organized by document/folder name, Owner, Last Modified date, or File size.  The folders and documents can be viewed in a list, as shown above, or in grid view (option to change is on right side of the drive window).
  • Team Drive – Team Drives are shared spaces where teams can easily store and access files from anywhere.  In Team Drive if the owner of a document leaves the organization, the Team will still have access to those documents.  This differs from sharing a document or folder under My Drive.  In that situation, if a document is shared and the owner leaves the organization the document will no longer be available. 
  • Shared with me – If someone shares a document with you (not via Team Drive), the document or folder will automatically be stored in Shared with me.  Items in Shared with me cannot be organized.  Instead, add the shared item to your My Drive where you will be able to organize with your existing documents.
  • Recent – Click here to view documents recently worked on…the items still reside in My Drive but may be easier to find quickly under Recent.
  • Google Photos – Click here to quickly access any pictures you have uploaded to Google Drive. 
  • Starred – Star favorite documents and folders you access often.  The items remain in My Drive but can be easily accessed by clicking on Starred.
  • Trash – When a document or folder is deleted it will be moved into Trash.  It will remain in there until the Trash is emptied.

Area 2: The center area of the screen shot shows the body of Google Drive.  In this area you will find files, folders and the search bar.

  • Search – Find files by file title, file contents or items featured in pictures, PDF files, or other files stored on Drive.
  • Advanced Search Filter – Narrow search results by filtering them.  Click the Down arrow at the far right side of the search bar.  Fill out any of the following sections:  
    • Type: File types such as Docs, Forms, or PDFs.
    • Date modified: Date a file was last edited.
    • Item name: Search only for the title of the file.
    • Has the words: Search for words and phrases within documents.
    • Owner: Person the file belongs to.
    • Shared with: Who can view, comment, or edit the file.
    • Location: Whether the file is in a specific folder, “Trash”, or  “Starred”
    • Follow up: If the file has action items assigned to you.
  • Quick Access – This area shows recently used or suggested files.  In Quick Access, double-click the file to be opened.  For additional options, right-click on a file.
  • Sort Files: To sort files, click on the column that you want to use to sort.  To reverse the order, click the up or down arrow.  There are four ways to sort files in Google Drive:
    • Name: Arranges files alphabetically by filename.
    • Last modified: Arranges files by the last time anyone changed a file.
    • Last modified by me: Arranges files by the last time you changed a file.
    • Last opened by me: Arranges files by the last time you opened a file.

Area 3: The far right of the Google Drive screen shot is the details, activity and settings portion of the window.

  • Grid/List View:  Change the layout of files and folders from list view to grid view.
  • Details (i) – Click on a file or folder and then click the i to see detailed information.  There are two tabs, Details and Activity.
    • Details: Type, Location, Owner, Modified, Opened, Created
    • Activity: Who edited and when it was edited
  • ? Help
  • Settings gear – This is where the user has access to Settings preferences as well as a list of Keyboard shortcuts.  Under Settings, choose from
    • General: 
      • View amount of Storage used.  Google for Education gives staff and students unlimited storage space.
      • Convert Uploads
      • Language – change language preference
      • Offline – Sync files and folders to computer for access offline.  Any changes made will sync automatically when connected to the network.
      • Density – determines space between the list of files and folders
      • Suggestions – “turns on” Quick Access.  If you enable suggestions, relevant files will show in the Quick Access area.  If you do not enable, Quick Access will not appear.
      • Privacy & Terms
    • Notifications:
      • Browser – Get Drive updates in your browser
      • Email – Get Drive updates in email.
    • Manage Apps: This area shows apps that have been connected to Drive, such as Edpuzzle, Google Forms, Google Docs, Seesaw, etc.  Apps can be disconnected in this window.

Additional options in this area, when clicked on a file or folder (blue highlighted background indicates which file or folder is selected):

  • Link – Get shareable link to file or folder chosen
  • Share
  • Trash
  • More (represented by 3 vertical dots)
    • If clicked on a Folder, More options are:
      • Open With
      • Move To
      • Add Star or Remove Star
      • Change Color
      • Search Within
      • Rename
      • Download
    • If clicked on a File, More options are:
      • Open With
      • Move To
      • Add Star or Remove Star
      • Rename
      • Make a Copy
      • Download