Sort Your Files
Google has a ridiculous sorting option, explained here. Really, Google? You want to alphabetize my 5GB of files, when I can't remember what I named it? Sorting your files only works if you are looking for a really recent file, or you crazily number all of your files.Search Your Files
You have probably used the search bar at the top of your Drive, but have you used the search options? Google likes to hide advanced options under little drop-down arrows that few people notice. Try clicking on the tiny little down arrow at the right of the search bar.
You can search for specific file types, or just search for folders. This isn't awful.
Plan Ahead
If you have a file that you know you will use again, there are a few things that will help you.
1. Star the file
You can add a star to the file, and find all of your starred files by clicking "Starred" on the left side of your Drive page.
You can star a file while you are editing it by clicking the star to the right of its title.
Or you can right-click the file in your Drive and select "Add star."
2. Add a Description
You can tag documents with keywords to facilitate quicker searching, and you can hide the tags in the file's description. To edit a file's description, click on a file in your Drive, then click the round details button (it looks like a circle with an "i" inside it) in the upper right.
The details of the file include two tabs: the activity of the file (who changed it and when), and the actual details of the file (size, location, and description). At the bottom of the Details tab is the editable description.
Click the pencil and type into the editable box that will appear. The descriptions are searchable from Drive's search box. I try to invent clever hashtags that don't normally appear in files, like #thisisimportant.
The only downside to using your clever hashtags is that you have to remember your hashtags.
Actually, Google Drive used to have an excellent tagging system. They used to call their tags "folders," and you could "put" one file under several "folders." It was a very effective way to find and organize files. But now it is difficult to select more than one folder for a Google file (not impossible, but it is beyond the abilities of most users). And Drive folders need to work like regular old folders because of the apparent need to keep your Google files on your laptop or iPad. But that's another rant for another day...
The more I think about this entire problem, the more I like Evernote. Evernote has an excellent tagging system, with notebooks and stacks of notebooks. It all makes sense, the search works very well, and it's easy.
