My Drive
The My Drive page is the central workspace in Drive Toolbox. It displays your Google Drive files in a sortable, filterable table with support for inline editing, batch operations and drag-and-drop organization.
The File Table
The file table presents your synced Drive files in a tabular layout. Each row represents a file or folder, with columns showing metadata such as name, type, size, and timestamps. The table supports pagination, so large drives are broken into manageable pages.
Double-click a folder name to navigate into that folder. The Location column displays the full folder path as a breadcrumb trail, letting you see where each file lives within your Drive hierarchy.
The table supports two view densities: Default and Compact. Compact mode reduces row height and padding, allowing more files to be visible at once. Switch between densities in the column preferences menu.
Columns
Default Visible Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | File or folder name. Displays a type-specific icon alongside the name. Shows a pencil icon on hover for inline renaming. |
| Type | The file's MIME type, displayed as a human-readable label (e.g., "Google Doc", "PDF", "Folder"). |
| Location | The folder path displayed as clickable breadcrumbs. Automatically hidden when browsing inside a folder (configurable). |
| Size | File size in human-readable format (KB, MB, GB). Hover for the exact byte count. Folders show no size. |
| Modified | Last modified timestamp, shown as a relative date (e.g., "3 days ago"). Hover for the full date and time. |
| Labels & Info | Displays personal labels, shared labels, and info field values as compact chips. Expands on click to show all metadata. |
Hidden by Default
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Created | The file creation timestamp. |
| Last Viewed | The last time you viewed the file in Google Drive. |
| Labels Only | Shows only label chips (personal and shared), without info fields. Useful when you want a narrower metadata column. |
| Info Only | Shows only info field values, without labels. |
System Columns
Two columns are always present and cannot be hidden or reordered:
- Checkbox (first column) -- Used for selecting files for batch operations.
- Actions (last column) -- A button that opens the file context menu.
Customizing Columns
Open the column preferences menu (the column icon in the table toolbar) to:
- Show or hide any non-system column
- Reorder columns by dragging them in the preferences list
- Reset to the default column layout
Column widths can be adjusted by dragging the border between column headers. Resized widths are saved to local storage and persist between sessions. The table also supports automatic column hiding: when the window is too narrow to display all columns at readable widths, lower-priority columns are hidden automatically. This behavior can be disabled in column preferences.
Sorting
Click a sortable column header to sort the table by that field. Click the same header again to reverse the sort direction. An arrow indicator in the header shows the current sort field and direction.
Sortable columns:
| Column | Sort Behavior |
|---|---|
| Name | Alphabetical |
| Type | Alphabetical by MIME type label |
| Size | Numeric (smallest to largest or vice versa) |
| Modified | Chronological (newest first or oldest first) |
For more advanced sorting, you can use custom sort expressions through the filter system. See the Filter Language Reference for details on sort syntax.
Selecting Files
Selections determine which files are affected by batch operations (delete, download, permissions, labels, and more).
Selection Methods
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Click a row checkbox | Toggle that file's selection |
| Shift+click a checkbox | Select all files between the last selected file and the clicked file |
| Ctrl+click a checkbox | Toggle an individual file without affecting other selections |
| Click the header checkbox | Select or deselect all files on the current page |
| "Select All on Page" | Select every file visible on the current page (available from the selection badge menu) |
| "Select All Matching" | Select all files matching the current filter, including files on other pages (available from the selection badge menu) |
Selection Toolbar
When one or more files are selected, a toolbar appears at the bottom of the table. It displays:
- A selection badge showing the count of selected files. Click the badge to access selection options (select all on page, select all matching, clear selection).
- Action buttons for the most common operations: Labels, Delete, Download, Move (on wide screens), and Permissions.
- A more actions menu (three-dot icon) with the full set of operations including Organize actions and filing system options.
- A clear selection button to deselect all files.
The toolbar adapts to the available width. On narrow windows, action buttons collapse to icon-only mode.
Batch Operations from the Toolbar
The toolbar's primary action buttons map to the following operations:
| Button | Operation |
|---|---|
| Labels | Opens a dropdown to apply, remove, or clear labels and info fields across both the Personal and Shared filing systems. |
| Delete | Move selected files to trash. |
| Download | Download selected files to a local folder. |
| Move | Relocate selected files to a different folder (visible on wider screens; always available in the more actions menu). |
| Permissions | Open the sharing dialog to modify permissions on the selected files. |
The more actions menu also includes Organize options (Star/Unstar, Set Folder Color for selected folders, Transfer Ownership) and access to both Personal and Shared filing system operations.
Browsing Folders
Double-click any folder in the table to navigate into it. When inside a folder:
- The table shows only that folder's contents
- The Location column is automatically hidden (since all files share the same parent). This is enabled by default and can be toggled off in column preferences via the "Hide Location in Folder View" setting.
- A breadcrumb trail in the navigation area shows the current path and lets you jump back to any parent folder
To return to the top-level view showing all files, click the root item in the breadcrumb trail or clear the folder navigation.
For a full tree view of your folder structure, open the Explorer panel from the side panel. The Explorer panel displays your entire folder hierarchy and lets you navigate to files in the main File Table by clicking folders in the Explorer tree.
File Context Menu
Right-click any file row (or click the Actions column button) to open the context menu. Available actions depend on your permissions for that file.
| Menu Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Delete | Move the file to trash. Requires delete permission. |
| Download | Download the file to your local machine. Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, Slides) are exported to their equivalent format (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX). |
| Rename | Enter inline rename mode for the file. Requires edit permission. |
| Sharing | Open the sharing dialog to view and manage file permissions. |
| Organize | Submenu with: Move (relocate to another folder), Star/Unstar, Set Folder Color (folders only), and Transfer Ownership. |
| Labels | Access the filing system to apply or remove personal and shared labels and info fields. |
| Properties | View detailed file metadata (size, owner, creation date, sharing status, and more). |
Menu items are enabled or disabled based on your permissions for the selected file. For example, Delete is disabled if you lack delete permission, and Rename is disabled if you lack edit permission. The Set Folder Color option only appears when the selected item is a folder.
Inline Rename
To rename a file or folder:
- Hover over the file name and click the pencil icon that appears, or right-click and select Rename.
- The name cell becomes an editable text field with the current name pre-selected.
- Type the new name.
- Press Enter to save, or Escape to cancel. You can also click the checkmark or X buttons next to the field.
Renaming validates input in real time:
- Maximum length: 255 characters
- Reserved characters not allowed:
/ \ : * ? " < > | - Empty names are not allowed
If the name has not changed, pressing Enter or clicking the checkmark cancels the rename without making an API call.
Search
The search bar in the top navigation lets you find files by name, label, or info field. Type a search term and the table filters to show only matching results. Searches match against file names, labels, and info field values.
You can combine search with folder browsing: navigate into a folder first, then search to find files within that specific location. Searches also work alongside active filters, narrowing results within whatever filter criteria are already applied.
For structured queries that go beyond simple text matching -- such as filtering by file size, type, date ranges, or specific metadata values -- use the full filter language.
Drag and Drop
Files can be moved between folders using drag and drop:
- Open the Explorer panel so the folder tree is visible.
- Select one or more files in the table.
- Drag them to the target folder in the Explorer panel tree.
- Drop to move the files into that folder.
A visual indicator on the target folder confirms the drop is valid. This provides a quick alternative to the Move action available in the context menu and selection toolbar. The move operation is queued and processed in the background, so the UI remains responsive even when moving many files.
Offline Mode
The file table is fully functional in offline mode. Since Drive Toolbox syncs your file metadata to a local database, you can browse, sort, filter, and search your files without an internet connection. Operations that require the Google Drive API (delete, download, rename, move, permissions) are unavailable while offline and will be disabled in the toolbar and context menu.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Enter | Confirm inline rename |
| Escape | Cancel inline rename or close context menu |
| Shift+Click | Range select |
| Ctrl+Click | Toggle individual selection |
Learn More
- Filtering Overview - All the ways to filter
- Filter Language Reference - Search and filter files with expressions
- Personal Filing System - Private labels and info fields
- Shared Filing System - Collaborative labels and metadata
- Getting Started with Metadata - Labels and info fields
- Actions Overview - Batch operations