How to clean up Google Docs

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We rake endless "New folders" and get rid of documents with incomprehensible names.

If you work a lot with Google Docs, or Google Docs, you probably faced the problem that there are too many files, and the main page of the service turns into a cluttered attic. Lifehacker tells how you can create order out of chaos.

Use built-in sorting tools

Google Docs has several built-in sorting tools to help you quickly find the files you want. To do this, just select the appropriate option by clicking on one of the symbols in the upper right part of the main screen.

1. By display format

The service allows you to customize the preferred way of displaying files: a list or a grid. To do this, just click on the corresponding icon.

2. By date or title

You can conveniently sort documents by the date they were viewed, the date of changes made by you or all users, and also by title.

3. By owner

Google Docs allows several users to work on documents at once, which is why this service is so convenient. If you are not only creating documents, but also working with strangers or working collectively, sorting by the owner (creator) of the document will help you. In order to use it, just click on the appropriate item on the main screen and select the appropriate option.

4. Where possible access

To view all files created by other users and available to you, click on the folder icon in the upper right corner of the main screen and select "Available".

Get organized on Google Drive

All files from Google Docs (as well as Sheets and Slides) are available on Google Drive. Therefore, to a large extent, order in Disk is a condition of order in Documents. Here's what you can do to deal with the chaos.

1. Sort documents into folders

You can easily create folders on Google Drive. To do this, you need to click on the big button "Create" and select the item "Folder".

Give files and folders clear and specific names. From the names "New folder", "Untitled", "1" or "lvpdlvarp" it is not clear what is inside. In addition, such files and folders will be more difficult to find among many others. The titles "September Reports", "Customer Contact List at 15.10" or "Biotechnology Article" will help you keep your records more efficient.

You can transfer files to a folder by right-clicking on them and selecting the appropriate item.

The folder menu can be opened from the Google Docs home screen.

2. Use different folder colors and labels for important files

By default, all folders in Google Drive are gray, but you can right-click on them and select one of 24 colors from the drop-down menu.

You can also mark the necessary files on Disk. This is done by right-clicking and selecting "Add to marked".

You can view the marked files directly in the "Documents".

3. Delete unnecessary

With intensive use of Google services, they accumulate a huge amount of unnecessary and outdated documents. You can delete them both in “Documents” and “Disk” by right-clicking on the required document and selecting “Delete”.

If you have accidentally deleted a document (Google Docs does not ask for confirmation of the deletion action), you can click the "Cancel" pop-up button.

And if you deleted it, but after a couple of days changed your mind, go to the "Trash", right-click on the desired file and select "Restore".

Files in the trash can be stored for 30 days, after which they are automatically deleted.

4. Use Filewatch to get rid of unnecessary things

Filewatch can help you find files that you still have access to from, say, your old place of work: it shows you which people you share documents with and lets you detach from them. The service is also able to find files that have become available to too many users (for example, leaked to the Network) so that you can change the settings for accessing them.

Filewatch is included in the Google Workspace Marketplace library, which means it's certified by Google, so your sensitive data doesn't fall into the wrong hands. The service is free.

• Download from Google Library →
• Download from Filewatch website →