Question

How can I manage/organize the content in the My Drive section of Google Drive?

Remember, if the content you are organizer is content that should remain with your area after you leave the university or that area, that content belongs in a Shared drive. 

Answer

When storing files and folders in My Drive, organization is key to being able to easily find your files. There are two easy ways to organize your My Drive content to help clear the clutter or decrease the number of folders and files you see at the My Drive top level.

The first example shows you how to move a folder(s) at the My Drive level to another folder at the My Drive level. You can also use the below example to archive content that you have finished working on or no longer need. Remember, it  is strongly recommended that you do not delete collaborative content in Google Drive. We recommend archiving content that you no longer wish to see in your My Drive, but you may need to reference later. The second examples covers moving files from the My Drive level to a folder at the My Drive level. 

The 3 key points to organizing your folders in My Drive are:

• You organize content at the My Drive level
• You create a Private Folder(s) in My Drive; and
• You move the folder(s) and/or file(s) from your My Drive to the Private Folder(s) that exists in My Drive.

Note: My Drive is also known as the top-level in Google Drive

If you follow these 3 key points, how you organize your content in My Drive will not affect how others see and work with the folders and files which you collaborate with them

Not following these three key points could result in sharing folder and sub-folder content with people that you do not intend to share this content. It could also result in collaborators losing access to content.

Note: You should NOT move a sub-folder from a collaborative folder to a private folder in My Drive. If you do, you will impact all the collaborators for this sub-folder. You will be removing all collaborators access to this shared sub-folder’s content. Sub-folders need to stay in their current file structure.

You have to move the whole folder (i.e. the top-level folder in My Drive) for there to be no impact to the collaborators for the folder and sub-folder(s) and files. Moving a sub-folder on its own will create issues.

Another way to think about this is - you need to move the entire folder tree. To organize your My Drive, you would need to move the Main Folder (see image below) which would move the entire folder tree. Moving only parts (sub-folder(s)) of the folder tree will cause issues.

1. Moving a folder from My Drive to another folder in My Drive

1. Please be sure that you are in My Drive before following the steps in the example (see screenshot below). Verify that:
   1. My Drive is highlighted on the left
   2. Only My Drive is listed in the Breadcrumbs menu.
2. Create a private folder at the My Drive level. By default, folders created at the My Drive level are private. You can see that the folder is private because there is no silhouette of a person in the folder icon. In the below screen, a private folder is created - All My Current Project Folders. Note: you could name this folder something similar to 'All My Drive Archive Content' or '<Your name> Drive Archive content>' (i.e. John's Drive Archive Content). You are the only person who will see this folder name since it is private. 
   
   
   
3. Next, we want to move an existing folder, the McCourtney Hall Building Folders, to the All My Current Project Folders. You can see below that both folders exist in My Drive. The McCourtney folder is a collaborative folder because it has a silhouette of a person in the folder icon. In this example, we are moving a collaborative folder into a private folder. This action will not impact the collaborators in the McCourtney folder.
4. Right-click on the McCourtney Hall Building Folders and select Move To. Reminder, the folder you want to move must exist at the top-level in My Drive to avoid issues.
   
   
   
   
5. After selecting Move To, a new window appears. This is where you organize the location where the McCourtney Hall Building Folders will be moved. Select the folder - All My Current Project Folders - which exists in My Drive and click the Move to button. Reminder, you must move the folder to a folder that exists at the top-level in My Drive
   
   
   
   
6. Next, notice that the McCourtney Hall Building Folders is now a sub-folder within the All My Current Project Folders. There has been no change to any of the collaborator's access to the McCourtney Hall Building Folders or how other collaborators will see or access this folder. This organization only impacts how you see the McCourtney folder
   
   
   
   
7. Finally, notice that at the top-level in My Drive, the McCourtney Hall Building Folder no longer exists at this level. It is now a sub-folder within the All My Current Project Folders. You now have one less folder sitting at the My Drive level. You have organized the McCourtney folder into a structure that you want and makes sense to you and where you can easily find and work with this folder. 
   
   

2. Moving a file(s) in My Drive to a folder in My Drive

As for individual files that exist at the My Drive level, the same principle applies - you can create a new or use an existing private folder(s) and move the individual files to the private folder(s) without affecting the access permissions for the file(s) or how others may see the files (if the file is a collaborative file).

The individual files that exist in the My Drive level belong to one of two categories; (1) you created the file(s) or (2) someone else created them and shared them with you and you moved them to your My Drive from the Shared With Me space. You can tell which is which by looking at the owner column. If you are the owner, it is category 1. If someone else is listed as the owner, it is category 2. One way to organize these individual files could be to create 2 folders at the top-level in My Drive: Individual Files I have Created; Individual Files Shared with Me by Others.

Finally, there is the Oops!

What happens if I move a folder at the top-level in My Drive level to the wrong My Drive folder or I move the wrong My Drive folder - can I undo this action?

Yes, you can undo this action immediately if you have not done any other action in Drive. A pop-up window appears after you move the folder. You can click the Undo button to move the folder back. The pop-up windows last about 10 seconds or until you take another action in My Drive (such as clicking your mouse).

If you miss the ability to undo via the pop-up window, you can just move the folder you moved back to your My Drive. This will not create any issues with sharing unless someone else looks at the content between the time you accidentally moved it to the wrong folder AND before you move it back to your My Drive.