‘Search chips’ will finally make it easy to locate files in Google Drive.
The cloud storage service Google Drive has received an upgrade that claims to make it much easier to search for files, folders, and more.
Informally referred to as “search chips,” Users of Workspace services may now search for documents and files in Google Drive based on a variety of criteria, including the location of the files, their nature, the persons with whom they’ve been shared, and more. Below the scratch bar in Google Drive, you’ll find a new set of drop-down menus with more customization choices.
This may appear to be a minor change, but as someone who uses Drive on a daily basis for work, I can attest to the frustration I’ve experienced trying to locate various documents in my own section of Workspace-grade Drive, let alone files shared among the members of the Tom’s Guide team and our publisher Future.
It’s no surprise that I put in a lot of writing time every day. For example, searching for an article on Apple’s iPhone 14 or Samsung’s Galaxy S22 might be a bit confusing, with results showing up from just hours to over two years in the past.
Because of this, Google has made it easier for people to search for files and documents by narrowing their search to a few terms they feel are relevant.
An additional level of screening is expected to make it easier to locate files. This is a development that I, for one, am eagerly anticipating.
Other Drive enhancements, such as serving up spelling suggestions with search chips, letting search chips to function on their own or simultaneously, and providing extra date possibilities for the “last changed” chip, have also been introduced to the system.
Though it may take up to 15 days from Feb. 15 for the new search chips to appear in your G Suite version of Drive, this upgrade has already begun.
Don’t expect to see this feature in the personal edition of Google Drive just soon, as it was built for corporate users. I’m crossing my fingers that this upgrade will be made available to everyone who uses Google Drive soon.
It’s a positive indicator that Google is striving to improve some of its most popular products, even if they’re already excellent. Streamlining and making life easy for consumers is always a good thing.