Before you start
Folders in Drive are a way of grouping your documents. Renaming or deleting a folder affects every file inside it, so it helps to know what happens first. You can rename or delete folders in My Documents and Company Documents, as long as you are allowed to move documents there.
How to rename a folder
Open the folder you want to change. The folder path appears at the top of the page, and a few buttons sit on the right of it. Select Rename folder. A small box opens with the current name already filled in. Type the new name and select Rename.
Every file in that folder, and in the folders inside it, moves to the new name. You will see a message telling you how many files were updated. If a few files could not be changed, the message lists them by title so you can deal with them one by one.
Folder names cannot be empty, cannot contain a slash (/ or \), and cannot be just a dot or two dots. If your name breaks one of these rules, you will see a short message under the box explaining what to fix. Select Cancel if you change your mind.
Good to know
- Renaming only changes where files are grouped. The files themselves are not edited.
- Any search or filter you have turned on does not limit the rename: the whole folder is renamed.
How to delete a folder
Open the folder and select Delete folder. Drive asks you to confirm. It tells you how many files are inside the folder and its subfolders and that they will move to the Trash. Select OK to continue.
Deleting a folder does not erase your files straight away. They go to the Trash, where you can bring them back with Restore. After the folder is deleted, Drive takes you up one level to the parent folder.
If the folder is empty, Drive tells you it has no files and that the folder disappears as soon as you leave it.
What stays in Trash, and for how long
Open Trash in the left menu to see deleted files. Files in Trash are deleted for good after a set number of days, which Drive shows at the top of the Trash page. Files on legal hold or covered by a retention rule are not deleted. Restore anything you want to keep before the time runs out.
If something does not work
- If you do not see Rename folder or Delete folder, you may not have permission to move documents in that area. Ask your company administrator.
- If a message lists files that failed, those files are protected, for example by a legal hold. The rest of the folder was still processed.
- If a large folder says some files were not reached, run the action again to finish.