6

When an assistant creates a new subfolder in a shared folder, it is owned by that assistant. If the assistant leaves, unshares, and deletes files, I would be out of luck. Also, if a different assistant leaves and I wish to remove sharing by selecting multiple files, Drive gives an error when the folder is not owned by me. There is no way to take ownership of a folder in a folder in which you own. There is no way to copy a folder from the web interface either. Currently I

  • copy the folder in Windows Explorer
  • wait for Google Sync to upload the new folder contents
  • unshare the old folder with everyone except the owner in the web page to prevent confusion on where to store new files
  • delete the old folder in the web page
  • rename the new folder to the old name in the web page (no hotkey for that either) so that Google Drive PC client doesn't get confused as to which folder I am working with because if I rename it in Windows Explorer it might think it's the same as the old folder

Is there a faster, easier way to take ownership of a folder in Google Drive?

Improve this question
1
  • Team Drive solves this problem: all of the files are owned by the team as defined in GSuite admin.
    – Simon Woodside
    Apr 4, 2019 at 3:33

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

The assistant should change the owner to you before they leave. Otherwise, you're stuck with the process you've found.

Obviously, in G Suite the administrator would be able to take care of all of this.

Improve this answer
3
  • What if the assistant is non-responsive and that is the reason I need to take ownership?
    – Chloe
    Sep 29, 2017 at 17:44
  • 1
    Then I'm afraid you're probably out of luck. One of the risks of using a consumer-grade product in a business environment.
    – ale
    Sep 29, 2017 at 17:50
  • what do you mean "G Suite the administrator would be able to take care of all of this"? I am the admin but nothing I can find will let me take ownership of folders/files created inside a shared folder that I do have ownership of. When the user tries to change the ownership it fails. Surely as the admin I should be able to just "take ownership" ?
    – rob
    Feb 5, 2018 at 14:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.