InsideGoogle

Google Docs Gets Better File Organization

Google Docs has gotten a proper file explorer for management of your documents and spreadsheets. The new interface replaces the old sortable/searchable list with something a lot more advanced, a two-pane interface with multiple level folders on the left and files on the right (with sortable columns), and the ability to move items around by dragging and dropping. Google’s realizing that search doesn’t work for navigating everything, so hopefully they’re at least considering developing this out as a universal file management interface for other Google properties (like Picasa and Gmail).

The new interface uses AJAX so that it doesn’t reload the page everytime you click on a folder. It divides up into sections, showing all items in different types of system virtual folders (docs create by me, starred docs, the trash), the organized folder tree, items by type (documents or spreadsheets) and items by who they are shared with. Keep in mind, Google is using actual folders here, not labels, a departure from Google philosophy that puts the user first, not the desire to make everything about search.

If you do want to use search to navigate, Google has made it a lot more useful, adding auto-complete, so you can start typing the first few letters and have the search box suggest the full search.

Info from:
Philipp (it’s his screenshot, too)
The official Google blog
The Google Docs blog
TechCrunch
Andy Beal

June 27th, 2007 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Docs, Spreadsheets, Products, General | 5 comments