Tracking down the right files in your Google Drive account may soon be less of a hassle thanks to a new update coming to the service.
Google's cloud storage offering is borrowing the search chips function currently seen in Gmail to make finding your files easier than ever.
Search chips essentially looks to display possible results as a user is typing in the search bar - offering autofill suggestions and other possibilities for what it thinks they could be looking for.
Google Drive search
The tool is currently available as part of a new beta for Google Drive, on offer now across all Google Workspace editions (including G Suite Basic and Business customers) - with users able to sign up here.
The company says that the tool can help users narrow down their searches in Google Drive, particularly if they're hunting for a file they may not have used often.
Going forward, instead of just using keywords such as “marketing plan” or “sales report,” which may return results that are too broad, users can use search chips to surface more relevant results.
The results can be file types, such as a Google Doc, PDF or image, but also related to a specific person, location (such as in a shared drive or folder) or when a file was last modified.
"We hope search chips in Drive make it easier to find relevant files faster, eliminating the need to perform multiple searches or sort through irrelevant results," a Google Workspace update blog noted.
New figures published by Google show that its Workspace suite, which includes Google Drive now has upwards of three billion users (which equates to more than a third of the planet).
The company recently revealed an update that means users will be able to access files such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Chrome, even if they aren't connected to the internet, which could be great news for workers on the go and looking for better online collaboration, especially as more and more employees begin to head back to the office following the pandemic.
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