How To Select Multiple Files On Google Drive

If you’ve ever used Google Drive for your personal or professional work, you may already know how convenient it is to deal with numerous files with this cloud storage platform. However, after the recent update, the tick-box feature used to select multiple files at once is removed.

With that said, deleting or moving multiple files individually is no less than a nightmare. Fortunately, almost every major file storage and management tool allows users to perform specific actions on numerous files altogether, and Google Drive is no exception.

The recent update has only made the user interface simpler, and the features are still the same. Let’s take a look at some of the foolproof ways on how to select multiple files on Google Drive to perform specific actions on them:

How To Select Multiple Files On Google Drive

1. Consider Using a Mouse

Similar to that of the file explorer in computers, the most straightforward and fastest way to select multiple files in Google Drive is by using a mouse.

All you need to do is left-click and drag the cursor of your mouse over the files you need to select. Here’s a simplified and detailed approach to do it:

• Firstly, choose a web browser of your choice, and enter the address drive.google.com in the navigation bar located at the top, followed by hitting the enter key on your keyboard

• This will open the Drive’s membership area where you can access your storage options and files. To make the process of selecting files in bulk easier, you can change the view option of files from Grid to List

• When you have your required files in front of your screen, you simply need to left-click your mouse and drag the cursor to make a square kind of shape around the files that you wish to select in bulk

After completing the selection, you can simply right-click on any of the selected files and choose a particular action such as delete or move. The same will be applied to all the selected files automatically.

Also, check out, How To Recover Permanently Deleted Photos From Google Drive.

2. Hold the CTRL Key

Sometimes, you may notice that the files that you need to select aren’t arranged in a particular order, and are scattered in between other files.

In this case, using a mouse won’t help, but there’s still something you can do by following the steps given below:

• Foremost of all, you need to navigate to the Drive folder where your required files are located from the menu located on the left side of the screen
• When you access the folder, you just need to press and hold the CTRL key on your keyboard and click on the files that you want to select

After choosing your required files, you need to right-click on any of the selected files to reveal a drop-down menu. When you choose any particular action from the menu, it gets applied to all the other selected files automatically.

Also check out, How to Clear Recent in Google Drive?

3. Use the SHIFT Key

With the help of a shift key on your keyboard, you can select multiple files in your Google Drive, arranged in a systematic order. In case you don’t have access to an optical mouse, you can consider using this method to achieve the same results:

• The first thing that you need to do is locate the files that you need to select in your Google Drive. After locating them, you need to click on the first file while holding the SHIFT key on your keyboard.

• While still holding the SHIFT key, you need to select the last file that you need to select in the group. If you do everything as stated, all the files in between the first and last file will be selected automatically.

Now, you can feel free to right-click on any of the selected files and choose an action to apply it to all your chosen files.

Check out, How to Share Videos on Google Drive

4. Select Everything at Once

In case you want to select all the files available in a particular storage destination of your Google Drive account, this method certainly fits the bill for you. Here’s how can you do it in a stepwise and simple manner:

• First of all, you need to open your desired folder in Google Drive and change the view from Grid to List.
• Then, you need to click on any file located in the folder and press the CTRL and A buttons altogether on your keyboard.

This will select all the files available in that particular folder and you can easily perform bulk actions on them afterward.

Check out, How To Password Protect Google Drive Folder?

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. How Do I Select Multiple Photos on Google Drive?

As images might be required to be seen before selecting, the fastest and most efficient way to select photos in bulk is by changing the view to thumbnail mode and using the SHIFT key along with your mouse to select your desired pictures at once.

2. How Do I Select Multiple Files on Google Drive on iPhone?

To select multiple files in your Google Drive using an iOS device, you need to first navigate to the folder where your required files are located in the drive. After accessing the folder, you need to tap on the options button located at the top-right, followed by a swiping action on files you need to select.

3. Why Can’t I Move Files in Google Drive?

In case your required file is located in the Team Folder, along with the sharing permission enabled only for administrators, you won’t be able to move it in Google Drive. You can either ask the administrator to provide you access to the file or log in with an account with higher privileges.

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Final Verdict

With the features and capabilities of Google Drive, you can easily enhance your workflow and productivity, especially if your profession requires dealing with numerous files at once. The methods shared above work perfectly to select multiple files at once in Google Drive.

Once you have selected multiple files on Google Drive, you can now either choose to delete or upload large files similarly.

Depending on your requirements and availability of perquisites, you can proceed with any of the methods mentioned above. While following this guide, make sure you follow each step in proper order and care.

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