Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Refine search results in Google Drive with search chips, launching in beta

Update

[December 9, 2021]: This beta is now closed and will no longer be accepting new applicants. We will provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when this feature becomes generally available.

What’s changing

We’re launching a new beta for Google Drive that will help users refine their search and locate files faster using search chips. This is similar to functionality available in Gmail today. 





See below for more information.


Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why you’d use it 

When searching in Drive, users often use a few key words to try and locate the file they’re looking for, such as “marketing plan” or “sales report,” which may return results that are too broad. 


Now, after a query is entered, users can use search chips to surface more relevant results based on:

  • File type, such as a Google Doc, PDF, or image
  • People
  • Location, such as a shared drive or specific folder
  • When the document was last modified
  • File titles only
  • Shared drive labels
  • Tasks
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.


Getting started

  • Admins: This beta is now closed and will no longer be accepting new applicants. 

  • End users: If accepted into the beta, search chips will be available by default to users in the Google group(s) provided at sign-up. Simply enter a search query and select one or multiple chips to further drill down results.

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers