How to Change the Order of Files On Google Drive

Google Drive gives a lot of benefits to its users up-front without any hidden costs. This is a very lucrative option, but 15 GB isn’t much by today’s standards. If you’re someone who likes to back up every file, video, and image, you will run out of storage pretty quickly. One other consequence of backing up everything is that your Drive becomes cluttered, and it gets hard to find files through the giant pile.

You can have thousands of docs, images, videos, and much more simply lying about in your cloud storage unattended taking up all the space. In fact, you will often find duplicate image files multiple times.

Such issues can be solved only when you choose to sort these files and arrange them in order. It does take a little time to do so, but it will make the process easier when you are looking access files.

Google Drive offers some neat sorting and reordering options for your files, and we will learn about those in this article. 

How to Change the Order of Files On Google Drive

The process to reorder your files in Google Drive is relatively straightforward. Refer to the instructions provided below to learn how to do that. 

• Open your laptop or PC and load your preferred browser. 
• Head over to the Google Drive website at drive.google.com. 
• Enter your credentials to access the Drive. 
• Once logged in, click on the icon with tables drawn in it right beside the View details button.

• You have two options to choose from: a list view or a grid view. Furthermore, you can also click the arrow icon next to the Name section to arrange the files in an ascending or descending order of the alphabet. 

Read How to Rename Multiple Files On Google Drive

Which Sorting Filters Are Available on Google Drive?

Google Drive offers various filters and parameters for sorting your files. You can sort your files according to name, last modified, last modified by me, and later opened by me. Let’s understand how each of these filters works. 

• Filtering by Name: This one is pretty self-explanatory; you can rearrange the files in alphabetical order in an ascending or descending manner. 
• Last modified: Using this filter shows you the files that have earlier been modified by you or anyone else who might have access to the files; this includes files shared with and by you. 
• Last modified by me: This is an extension of the previous modified filter; it will only show you files recently modified by you and nobody else. 
• Last opened by me: This filter shows you all the recent files you have opened. 

Read How to Share Large Video Files Using Google Drive

How to Sort Files on Google Drive?

You can use sorting filters and parameters in every section, including My Drive, Trash, and Shared with me. The only section you can’t sort your files is the Recents tab. Refer to the details given to see how to sort your files. 

• Open your laptop or PC and load your preferred browser. 
• Head over to the Google Drive website at drive.google.com. 
• Enter your credentials to access the Drive.
• Once you’re logged in, switch to list view by clicking on the table icon next to the “i” button. This will give you more information regarding the files. 
• You will see various headers like name, owner, last modified, and file size. Click on Last modified to show a menu with all the filters to sort your files inside it. 
• Choose whichever filter you want to apply, and your files will be rearranged according to it.

This tool comes in handy especially when you are looking for a particular group of files. There are multiple filter options as mentioned above to make the job easier.

Read How to List Files in a Folder and Subfolder on Google Drive

How to View the Recent Activity on My Drive?

You can view any recent activity that might have taken place on your Drive either by you or by someone else with whom you might have shared a file. Follow the instructions provided below to learn how to do that. 

• Open your laptop or PC and load your preferred browser. 
• Head over to the Google Drive website at drive.google.com. 
• Enter your credentials to access the Drive.
• Once you’re logged in, click on the “i” button located to the far right of the webpage. This will display a side window with two sections: Details and Activity. 

• Click on Activity, and you can see all the recent activities that have been going on your Drive by date and time. 

Read How to Search Large Files on Google Drive

How to Change The Order of Files On Google Drive Using the Mobile Application?

Reordering your files on the mobile application for Google Drive is even easier than it is on a PC. Refer to the instructions provided below to learn how to do that. 

• Unlock your phone and check if you have the Google Drive application installed. 
• If not, head over to the Play Store and install it. 
• After installing it, open the application and enter your details when prompted to access the Drive. 
• Once you’re logged in, click on the Files tab from the bottom section. 
• Now, select the Name option written at the top to display the sorting options. 
• Choose any filter you want from that menu, and your files will be rearranged according to that.

That is it. You can change the order of files while sorting them out on your smartphone as well. While the process is a lot easier, it is important you go through each step.

Read How to Make Files Public on Google Drive

Conclusion

As you can see, reordering and organizing your files on Google Drive is very easy both on the mobile application and the web version and doesn’t require you to do a lot of work. Whether we are looking to simply sort the files with the click of a button or do it manually both are needed to be done so that you can also delete some duplicate files and save some space.

If things are not working as they should and you are encountering errors, the best way to go from here is simply to update your software and the Google Drive app which usually solves the problem.

You may like the following google drive tutorials:

• How to Transfer Files from Google Drive to iCloud
• How to Download Google Drive Files on iPad
• Files Not Uploading to Google Drive