12 Days of Google Tips: Tip 10 - Organizing Files and Folders in Google Drive

Tis the season of giving and I've been inspired by my PLN and a certain holiday song to share some Google Workspace Tips that I've either discovered or rediscovered in 2021. To be precise, the plan is two share 12 Google tips in addition to any other posts I am inspired to complete during the month of December. I will link other 12 Days of Google posts at the end of each post for your reference. 

Today I wanted to share my 10th tip with a focus on a few useful and creative ways to organize files and folders in Google Drive. 


Google drive only supports alpha sorting of files and folders, but there are some creative ways to organize your files and folders. Here are a few of the tools I use to stay a bit organized in my Drive. 

Keyboard Symbols

While many people use numbers to sort files or folders, I also like to use symbols and emojis to sort and group files. 

If you place a symbol in front of a file or folder name, this will bring that file to the top of an alpha sort. You can also group files and folders together using symbols. 

I've created this alpha list of common keyboard symbols as a reference for alpha sorting. 


Emojis / Icons

I really love using Emojis in Google Classroom to bring attention to assignments and topics. I also use emojis in Google Drive to group and sort folders. While emojis can also be alpha sorted, I have not taken the time to master the different icons. I mainly use the emojis to group and bring attention to file names. 


The easiest way to add an emoji to a name is to use an emoji extension. These extensions allow users to find, copy, and paste text based emojis. I currently use Emoji Keyboard - Emojis For Chrome.


Stars

Right clicking on a file or folder when Google Drive brings up a pop up menu that allows you to add a star to the selection. This adds the selection to the stared folder on the left menu and also adds a star next to the selection's name. While this does not sort the files in the drive view, users can quickly access stared files in the left menu folder. Google drive search also supports searching only starred items. If it is something you plan to come back to soon adding a star can be a great way to quickly find a file even if you forget the name.


Color Folders

Right clicking on a file or folder when Google Drive brings up a pop up menu that allows you to add a color to a folder. Coloring folders is a great way to group folders visually. Unfortunately, you cannot sort by colors, but I think it is a great way to create some quick visual connections between folders.


Bonus

Did you know that can change some of the Google Drive display settings to include or hide a priority view and suggestions?

Clicking on the gear icon near the top right of Google Drive opens up the display settings. 

I recommend exploring "Density" which is the space between the files. I personally like "Cozy". 

You can also toggle off "suggested files" and if "Priority" is the default. I personally like the suggestions, but I have "Priority" turned off. 

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