Top 9 Tips to Use and Manage Google Drive Folders

I like to keep my data organized. Whether it’s using the Notes app with folders, having a launcher with folders, or saving files to folders. We can easily create folders on our PC. But what about cloud services like Google Drive? Does it support the files? And how do you use and organize the folders on Google Drive? Find the answer in this article.

Google Drive folders are also easy to create and manage. You can create subfolders and also share folders as well as subfolders with others. In addition, you can synchronize your Drive folders to your PC and vice versa.

So let’s start by using and managing the folders in Google Drive on mobile and PC.

1. Create a folder in Google Drive

On the Google Drive website, click the New button on the left side. Select a folder there. The Drive interface will ask you to name the folder. Assign a relevant name, then add files to it, as shown below.

On the Drive mobile apps for Android and iPhone, tap the floating add icon. Select a folder there. Then name the folder.

2. Add files to folders in Google Drive

Open the Drive folder where you want to add files. Again, click the New button and select File Download. Then navigate to the files on your computer that you want to download. You can even drag and drop files directly to the folder.

On mobile, open the required folder and tap the add icon. Select Download to add files from your Android or iPhone.

3. Create a sub-folder in Google Drive

To add a sub-folder to an existing folder, open the folder, then you must repeat the same steps as for creating a folder. In other words, click New in the folder and select it from the web.

On Android and iPhone, open the folder. Then press the add icon and select Folder.

4. Create a shared folder in Google Drive

There is no separate method for creating shared folders. You must create a normal folder and then share it.

Note: When you share a folder, all the files and subfolders it contains will become visible to the shared person. However, they cannot see your other files. Likewise, if you share a file in a folder, only that file will be visible.

To share a Google Drive folder on the web, right-click the folder and select Share or Get Shareable Link. We covered different types of sharing in our dedicated article on Google Drive sharing permissions.

To share the Drive folder on the mobile, tap the three-dot icon next to the folder, then select Share.

Pro tip: Check out our detailed guide on how to share Google Drive files.

5. Organize the folders by color

To better organize your files, you can color code them using the native option. When you do, it becomes easy to distinguish different folders in Google Drive.

To change the color of a Google Drive folder on the web, right-click the folder and select Change color. Select the color of your choice.

On Android and iPhone, tap the three dot icon in the folder and select Change Color from the menu.

6. Search the folder

On the Google Drive web, you can search directly in a folder or subfolder. To do this, right-click the folder and select Look in. Then enter your search term in the search field at the top.

7. Add to the home screen

If you want to quickly access a Google Drive folder directly from your Home screen on your phone, you can create a shortcut for it. To do this, tap the three-dot icon on the folder and select Add to the Home screen.

8. Copy and move the folder

You can easily move a folder to another folder using the Move native option. When you do, the entire contents of the folder also move.

To move a Google Drive folder on the web, right-click the folder and select Move to. Then choose the destination folder.

On mobile apps, tap the three dot icon in the folder and select Move.

Google Drive does not offer a direct way to copy the file. However, you can do this by creating a copy of the files inside the folder. Then you will need to add them to the new folder. To create a copy of your files, select the files. Right click on it and select Make a copy. Then create a new folder and move these new files to it.

9. Synchronize folders from PC to player

With the Google Drive Backup app for Windows and macOS, you can synchronize your Google Drive folders with your PC and Mac, respectively. You can also synchronize the content of folders on your PC with Google Drive. We have explained in detail how to use the backup and synchronization application. Check it out.

Point: Learn how to fix the problem when Drive is full but there are no files on it.

Check Google Drive Storage

Aside from Google product documents like spreadsheets, documents, forms, etc., everything you add to Drive folders takes up storage. Your overall Google storage is shared between Drive, Google Photos, and Gmail. You can check what everything takes up storage space in Drive from our guide.