Tips for Organizing Your Google Drive

Utilization of Google Apps for Education has changed the way we collaborate and communicate with students and colleagues. Another great benefit of using your Google Drive is unlimited free cloud storage. While this fuels collaboration power, it can be a hindrance when it comes to organization. Below are some simple time saving tips to help you organize your Google Drive and use it more efficiently.

Tips and Tricks

1. Color Code your Folders

For many people, simply color coding folders, makes items easier to find. To change the color of your folder, right click on it and select a new color.

2. Star Important Items

You can also add stars to highlight important items. Again, right click on the file or folder and select "Add Star". When you are working in "My Drive" select "Starred" and only your starred items will appear. Consider adding stars to items that you are currently working on. This will make them easily accessible.

3. Utilize the Search Feature

Items in your shared drive are organized in order by the date they were received. This can make it tricky to find older items that were shared with you. The search feature is a great option for finding what you need quickly. Use the drop down filter to narrow your results further.

4. Cleaning up your Shared Drive

When you become an active collaborator in your Google Drive, your shared drive can become very crowded and overwhelming. If you have items shared with you that you no longer need or use, consider removing them. Only the owner has the ability to permanently delete a file, therefore, removing it from your shared drive will have no impact on the original file. The only exception would be if the creator of the file gave you ownership rights. In which case, you will receive a warning message to alert you before you delete the file.

For more information, watch the screen cast below to guide you through the organization process.

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