Skip to content

Drive

Archive, delete and restore documents

Put old files away, delete what you do not need, and bring back something deleted by mistake.

  • Daily work
  • 4 steps

Who this is for

Everyone.

Before you start

  • Nothing else.

Steps

  1. Archive

    Choose Archive on a document to put it away. It stays under Archive.

  2. Move to trash

    Choose Move to trash to delete it. It waits in Trash.

  3. Restore

    Open Trash, select the document and choose Restore.

  4. Delete forever

    Only Delete forever removes a document for good.

What happens next

Your lists stay focused on current work, and nothing is lost unless you choose Delete forever.

Questions

Can I delete many documents at once?

Yes. Select them and use the bulk actions bar.

Ready? Try it now.

Open Drive in a new tab and follow along.

Open Drive All Drive guides

Next guide: See who has access and what changed

Still stuck?

Ask the community, or tell our support team what you were trying to do.

Ask the community Contact support