There are many ways to search for your files in Drive. To quickly narrow your search by File type, People, Date Modified, and more, use filter chips. You can use filter chips on their own or in combination with other search terms, like file names or text within the file.
If you think that someone accessed your Google Drive without your permission, we recommend you take steps to make your account more secure.
If someone else created the file, they can delete, rename, and restore it. Contact the person who created the file and ask them to restore it or share it with you again.
Open suggested files
- On your Android device, open the Google Drive app.
- The Suggested view displays the recent and relevant files in My Drive and Shared drives.
Search for your files
To narrow the list of files in Drive, you can type text in the search box, use filter chips, or both.
To start with text:
On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Drive app.
- At the top, tap Search in Drive.
- To filter the list automatically, type a word or phrase in the search box. Drive suggests filter chips to narrow your search by Type, People, Date Modified, and more.
- For example, if you type “doc,” a filter chip appears to filter by Google Documents, as well as any results in Drive that contain the word “doc.”
- If you select a filter chip, your list of files narrows by that selection.
- To remove a filter chip, tap the chip and from the pop-up window, tap Clear.
- To filter the list automatically, type a word or phrase in the search box. Drive suggests filter chips to narrow your search by Type, People, Date Modified, and more.
To start with filter chips:
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Drive app.
- At the top, tap Search in Drive.
- To refine your search by Type, People, or Modified, select a filter chip.
- Once you select a chip, you can filter results by keyword.
- To remove a filter chip, tap the chip and from the pop-up menu, tap Clear.
Important: Not all examples work on all devices.
|
Advance search type |
Definition |
Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Quotes |
Find documents that contain an exact word or phrase. |
Example:
|
|
Minus sign |
Find documents that exclude a particular word. If you want "salsa," but not "dancing.” |
Example:
|
|
owner |
Find documents owned by a specific person. |
Example:
|
|
pendingowner |
Find files you’re a pending owner of. Important: You can only search for files that you’re the pending owner of. |
Example:
|
|
creator |
Find documents in shared drives created by a specific person. |
Example:
|
|
to |
Find documents you shared with a specific person or group or documents shared with you. |
Examples:
|
|
from |
Find documents a specific person shared with you or you shared. |
Examples:
|
|
app |
Search by app name. This includes any app connected to your Google Drive account. |
Examples:
|
|
sharedwith |
Find documents a specific Workspace account or group has access to. Exclude files the account owns. |
Examples:
|
|
is:starred |
Find items that you starred. |
is:starred |
|
is:trashed |
Find items you moved to trash. |
is:trashed |
|
type |
Search by document type:
|
Examples:
|
|
before & after |
Find items modified before or after a certain date. Format the date as YYYY-MM-DD. |
Examples:
|
|
createdbefore & createdafter |
Find items created before or after a certain date. Format the date as YYYY-MM-DD. |
Examples:
|
|
title |
Search for items by title. |
Example:
|
|
followup |
Find files that have any action items or suggestions assigned to you. |
Examples:
|
| unorganized |
Find a file you created in someone else's folder if they delete that folder. Your file isn't deleted. It's automatically moved to your My Drive. Important: No one but you can delete files you own.
|
Example:
|
Consider these special cases if the steps above don’t work
Find files you created
If you created a file in Drive and can't find it, it may be an orphan that lost its parent folders. The file still exists but is harder to find.
Learn how files lose their folder
A file may lose its folder if:
- You create a file in someone else's folder and they delete that folder. The file isn't deleted. It automatically moved to your "My Drive."
Tip: No one but you can delete files you own. - You share a folder with someone and they delete your file from the folder. The file isn't deleted. It automatically moved to your "My Drive."
Find your orphaned files
- In the Drive search field, enter:
is:unorganized owner:me. - When you find the file, move it to a folder in “My Drive” so it's easier to find next time.
Find a file someone else created
When someone creates a file, they can:
- Delete it
- Rename it
- Restore it
- Contact the person who created the file and ask them to restore it or share it with you again.
Find a file in a folder someone else created
If someone deleted that folder, you won't find that folder in your Drive any more.
Find files you created that are in deleted folders
Find all files that are in deleted folders
To make the file easier to find in the future, add the file into a folder in ”My Drive.”
Search tips
- Google Drive searches the titles and content of all files you have permission to access.
- To save your Drive searches, turn on Web & App Activity.
- If you search from a folder location, it automatically adds that filter to the top.
- You'll get filter suggestions as you enter text.
In Drive, you can search by:
- File title
- File contents
- Type
- Other metadata, that includes:
- Description field
- Shared labels
- File location
- Owner
- Creator
- Modified date
- Approvals
- Follow-ups
- Items or words featured in pictures, PDF files, or other files stored on your Drive
More search options
Search Drive with your feed
If you have the Drive app on your Android phone or tablet, you can search for files in Drive from your feed.
- Open your feed.
- Type or speak the words, "Search Drive for" followed by the phrase you want to search for in Drive.
- To type your search, tap the search box at the top.
- To speak your search, tap the microphone in the search box.
- Tap Done
.
- The Drive app will open and search for the phrase you requested.
.To return to "My Drive" after your search, tap Back 
