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I wanted to delete a folder in Google Drive and found myself figuring out how: no option to delete. See screen shot:

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The support site clearly states that it is possible, with the trash bin: support site google drive. Drag & Drop works, but......

Has anybody got a clue?

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6 Answers 6

Reset to default
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To delete folders click the My Drive option which lists all the folders in your drive and then u can select whatever folder you want to delete and then right click and select remove or click the trash can icon.

enter image description here

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Folders can't be deleted from the sidebar. Go to the parent folder. In the main area of the window that lists of contents of the folder, check the checkbox next to the folder you want to delete, and then click the trash can button near the top.

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Just remember that deleting a folder does not delete its content! Files in google drive appear to be in folders, but this is really only at the UI level. Internally files are all identified by unique ids. When you delete a folder you are just removing your easy path to access the files within. They will become 'Orphaned Files' which are still accessible to collaborators and still findable in the search bar. The search command is:unorganized owner:me will list all your orphaned files.

I am still trying to find a way to delete a folder and all its contents, short of starting at the branch tip ends of the folder tree and working back!

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  • 1
    Good information, but I'm not sure this qualifies as an answer.
    – ale
    Jan 6, 2017 at 20:41
  • 1
    Since this may be useful to others, as @ale has pointed out, you are welcome to ask and answer your own question with the information.
    – jonsca
    Jan 6, 2017 at 23:52
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Right click on the folder you want to remove, then click on "remove". Then click on the "trash" icon on the left of the screen. Then in the main area click on trash again, then empty trash. It won't show any more space until you refresh the page.

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0

The best way to delete a folder or large number of files is through the Google Drive desktop app, officially known as Backup and Sync.

  1. Download Backup and Sync
  2. Go to Preferences > Google Drive
  3. Check "Sync My Drive to this computer"
  4. Sync everything or Sync only the specific folder(s) you need to delete
  5. Open the Google Drive director in your operating system's file directory
  6. Delete the folder(s) or go into to folder, Select All, then delete

How to verify the deletion:

  • If you have the toolbar icon enabled, I think the default setting will show an animation when Drive is syncing
  • Once the animation is done, the deletion should be replicated in the cloud
  • (Optional) Go to Google Drive's Trash folder and empty the trash or delete the files to get access to more storage space
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-1

Google Docs has removed the delete file and delete folder functions.

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  • 1
    Can you provide a source or some explanations ?
    – pjmg
    Sep 13, 2019 at 11:32
  • 1
    This question is about Google Drive, not about Google Docs.
    – Rubén ♦
    Sep 15, 2019 at 3:44

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