If you can’t find files in Google Drive, you can use search chips or conventional search to find files. You can also sort and filter search results.
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.
Use search chips
To narrow down the list of files in Drive, you can use search chips. You can search and filter:
- Type
- People
- Modified
These chips appear below the search bar and search all files, folders, and subfolders within that view, like My Drive, Recent, or Trash.
- To remove a search chip: On the right of the chip, click
. - To remove all search chips: At the end of the chips, click Clear filters.
.Search for your files
To search for your files:
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- At the top, enter a word or phrase into the search box.
- On your keyboard, press Enter.
Drive search categories
In Drive, you can search by:
- File title
- File contents
- File type
- Other metadata, like:
- Description field
- Shared labels
- File location
- Owner
- Creator
- Last modified date
- Approvals
- Follow-ups
- Items or words featured in pictures, PDF files, or other files stored on your Drive
Filter your Drive results
To find files more easily in Drive, you can narrow search results by filtering them.
Filter using chips:
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- At the top, type a word or phrase into the search box.
- Press Enter.
- To narrow your search, use the filter chips below the search box to filter on these criteria:
- Location: Searches in a specific folder, for example: “My Drive”, "Trash," or "Starred.”
- Type: File types such as documents, images, or PDFs.
- People: Searches for people associated with the file (all, owned, or shared by.)
- Modified: The date a file was last edited.
- Title only: Searches only for the title or name of a file.
- Labels: Searches for labels applied to your file.
- To do: Items that may require your attention, including approvals, follow ups, and ownership transfers.
- To remove a search chip: On the right of the chip, click .
- To remove all search chips: At the end of the chips, click Clear filters.
Filter using search options:
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- At the top, type a word or phrase into the search box.
- Press Enter.
- To narrow your search, click Search options .
- Fill out any of the following sections:
- Type: File types such as documents, images, or PDFs.
- Owner: Searches for the owner or creator of a file.
- Has the words: Searches for words and phrases within docs.
- Item name: Searches only for the title or name of a file.
- Location: Searches in a specific folder, for example: "Trash," "Starred," or “Encrypted.”
- Date modified: The date a file was last edited.
- Labels: Searches for labels applied to your file.
- Approvals: A status, whether a file awaits your approval or another person’s approval.
- Shared to: Who you have shared the file with.
- Follow ups: A status, whether a file has action items assigned to you, or if there are suggestions in files you own.
- At the bottom, click Search.
.Tip: To sort by relevance after you click “Search,” click More sorting options 
.
Use advanced search
Tip: 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 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: Only you can delete the files you own. | Example:
|
Find files by size
To find files by size:
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
- On the left, click Storage.
- To sort by file size: on the right, click Storage used.
- To reverse the sort order: On the right, click Storage used.
Related resources
- Recover a deletedfile
- Reorder your files
Need more help?
Try these next steps:
To get the latest tips, tricks, and how-to's, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
