Introduction

This article describes how to find and relocate orphaned files in your Google Workspace My Drive.

Instructions

The best way to avoid orphaned files is to place all collaborative documents within a shared drive.

Finding Orphaned Files

Orphaned files are files that belong to you, but don't show up in your directory structure. Therefore, you can't find it by browsing your folders. This occurs when someone deletes a folder they own where a file you own resides.

There are two different ways to recover orphaned files.

• Search for the name of the file in the Search bar.
• Type "is: unorganized owner: me" in the Search bar.

Either way you use, once you have found the file, you can move it to a location of your choosing.

Relocating Orphaned Files

Once you see the orphaned files:

1. Select the file(s) you want to move.
2. Right-click and choose “Move to”.
3. Select the destination folder in your Drive.
4. Click “Move” to relocate the file.

Optional Tips

• If you want to organize multiple orphaned files at once, use Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select them in bulk.
• You can also create a new folder called “Recovered Files” or “To Sort” to temporarily store them before organizing.

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