Settings
The Settings page is organized into four tabs: Account, Sync, My Data, and Updates. Each tab groups related configuration options.
Account
The Account tab displays your signed-in Google account information:
- Email -- The Google account email address currently authenticated with Drive Toolbox.
- Display Name -- The name associated with your Google account.
Both fields are read-only. To switch accounts, sign out and sign in with a different Google account.
Sync
The Sync tab contains three independent sections that control how Drive Toolbox keeps your data current.
Auto-Sync
Auto-Sync controls periodic background synchronization of your Google Drive file metadata (file names, sizes, dates, folder structure, and so on). When enabled, Drive Toolbox automatically performs incremental syncs at the configured interval without requiring manual action.
| Interval | Description |
|---|---|
| Manual only | Background syncing is disabled. You must sync manually. |
| Every hour | Syncs once per hour. |
| Every 6 hours | Syncs every 6 hours. |
| Every 12 hours | Syncs every 12 hours. Recommended for most users. |
| Every 24 hours | Syncs once per day. |
To configure Auto-Sync:
- Open Settings and select the Sync tab.
- Choose an interval from the Auto-sync interval dropdown.
- The setting takes effect immediately.
If Sync to Drive is also enabled, auto-sync will include cross-device label and filter synchronization as part of each periodic sync cycle.
Sync to Drive (Cross-Device Sync)
Sync to Drive synchronizes your personal labels and saved filters across all devices where you use Drive Toolbox. Data is stored in a hidden application folder (appDataFolder) within your own Google Drive. No data is sent to any external server.
To enable Sync to Drive:
- Open Settings and select the Sync tab.
- Toggle Enable Sync to Drive on.
When enabled, a status panel shows:
- Last sync -- The date and time of the most recent sync.
- Status -- Current sync state (Ready, Syncing, Synced, or Error).
- Pending changes -- The number of local changes waiting to be uploaded, if any.
Sync to Drive runs as a phase during each periodic auto-sync. It can also be triggered during a manual sync.
Activity Tracking
Activity Tracking records who accessed and modified your files. This feature is optional and requires granting additional Google permissions.
To enable Activity Tracking:
- Open Settings and select the Sync tab.
- Scroll to the Activity Tracking section.
- Toggle Enable Activity Tracking on.
- If the
drive.activity.readonlyscope has not yet been granted, an OAuth consent screen will appear. Approve it to continue.
Once enabled, additional options become available:
Retention Period -- Controls how long activity data is kept locally. Choose from 30, 60, 90, 120, or 180 days.
Resolve Emails from Contacts -- Shows email addresses for activity participants who are in your Google Contacts. Enabling this requests the contacts.readonly scope. You can disable the preference without revoking the scope; to revoke the scope itself, visit Google Account Permissions.
Resolve Emails from Workspace Directory -- Shows email addresses for activity participants within your Google Workspace organization. Enabling this requests the directory.readonly scope. This option is only useful if you have a Google Workspace account.
Each scope is requested independently when you enable the corresponding feature. Disabling a feature turns off the preference but does not revoke the underlying OAuth scope.
My Data
The My Data tab shows where Drive Toolbox stores files on your local system.
| Location | Contents |
|---|---|
| User Folder | Your synchronized Drive metadata and database. |
| Database Location | The SQLite database file containing your Drive file metadata. |
| Config Folder | Authentication tokens and application configuration. |
Each location has a button that opens the path in your system file explorer.
Metadata Cleanup
The metadata cleanup tool removes orphaned labels and info fields that are no longer associated with any files. This can happen when files are deleted from Google Drive but their local metadata entries remain.
To run a cleanup:
- Open Settings and select the My Data tab.
- Click the cleanup button at the bottom of the tab.
- In the dialog, select which categories to clean up (personal labels, personal info fields, shared labels, shared info fields).
- Click Continue to run the cleanup.
- A summary shows how many items were removed.
Cleanup only removes metadata entries that reference files no longer present in your local database. It does not delete any files from Google Drive.
Updates
The Updates tab provides version information and controls for keeping Drive Toolbox current.
System Information
The tab displays your current application version and detected operating system. A copy button places this information on your clipboard, which is useful when filing bug reports or support requests.
Checking for Updates
- Click Check for Updates to query the update server.
- If a new version is available, an alert shows the version number, release date, and release notes.
- Click Download to begin downloading the update. A progress bar tracks the download.
- When the download completes, click Restart Now to install the update and relaunch the application.
If no update is available, a confirmation message appears briefly.
Drive Toolbox also checks for updates automatically in the background. When an update is found, you are notified and can choose when to install it.
Learn More
- Overview - Drive Toolbox overview and getting started
- My Drive - Browsing and managing your files
- Getting Started with Metadata - Labels and info fields
- Filtering Overview - All the ways to filter