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It used to be that if I clicked the white icon with the colored background in the top-left, it would take me to my folder on Google Drive.

Google Docs header

Now it takes me to these worthless links:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/

https://docs.google.com/presentation/u/0/

If it navigated me back to the folder, I would know exactly where to go to find the next file I need, instead of having to search for it by whichever one of these dumb search options Google gives us. How about sort by "Folder" instead of "Last modified", "Last edited by me", "Last opened by me", and "Title"?

Oh, they give me a link to the Drive though, a useless link to the root:

Google Docs menu

But that's rhetorical. Onto my actual question. Can I disable these pages and have that link take me back to the Google Drive folder like it used to? Is there a new way to navigate back to the Google Drive folder?

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6
  • Yes, but it does not save state between pages, so that the "Drive" link is entirely worthless, and just sends you to the Drive's root directory.
    – NobleUplift
    Oct 1, 2014 at 17:31
  • To find a file that I've opened in Google Docs, I search for the name in my Firefox history, like an old set of test cases. I want to create a new set of test cases in the same folder. What folder am I in? I have no idea because it is specified nowhere in the Google Docs interface, and nowhere can it be reached by a link.
    – NobleUplift
    Oct 1, 2014 at 17:40
  • Yes, I could open a tab in Google Drive first, and then spend the next few minutes searching for which folder in our massive directory structure has the file I'm looking for, or Google would allow me to do the above, like it did before, and it would take seconds.
    – NobleUplift
    Oct 1, 2014 at 17:41
  • I clarified the wording of my question.
    – NobleUplift
    Oct 1, 2014 at 17:45
  • 3
    Yeah, your best bet might be the "Move to Folder" tool, because it gives you the name of the current folder which also happens to be a link. Unfortunately it opens the folder in a new tab. It might be better than nothing, though.
    – ale
    Oct 2, 2014 at 0:14

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
16

This is the way it works 13th Dec 2017:

  1. Click the little folder symbol next to the file name.
  2. Folder name appears. Next to it, click the symbol of opening in new window/tab.

How to open the Google Drive folder of the file you're just editing.

I wish it was just the blue left upper symbol. :D

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3
  • 2
    I noticed this a few weeks ago. I mean, the icon is intuitive but it would be nice if the folder name also opened a tab with the folder.
    – NobleUplift
    Dec 13, 2017 at 17:17
  • Possibly the only good news to come out of 2020: this still works in August 2020.
    – Dave Land
    Aug 21, 2020 at 23:53
  • This only works, I believe, if you own the file. If you are given a link to a file created by someone else you can see the name of the folder it is in via "File -> Document Details", but not get the link to that folder. (As of November 2020.)
    – Phrogz
    Nov 13, 2020 at 16:17
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Good news! Google has listened and re-added the ability to open the folder that your document is in, just click the little folder icon:

"This item is in" folder link

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  • 1
    "Item is currently in My Drive" means that the file is in the root folder which name is "My Drive."
    – Rubén ♦
    May 21, 2015 at 18:52
  • 10
    unfortunately this doesn't work anymore
    – Schiavini
    Jun 29, 2017 at 8:57
  • 1
    Try refreshing the page or checking the sharing settings on the file. If it's in a shared folder it might not show up.
    – NobleUplift
    Jun 29, 2017 at 16:10
  • 4
    No the a*******s have gone and broken / "fixed" it again. * Sigh * these constantly shifting web apps are so irritating.
    – AJP
    Jul 18, 2017 at 12:44
  • 1
    Sadly these monopolies aren't subject to true competition to make their products with more quality of life for the end user.
    – NobleUplift
    Jul 18, 2017 at 15:32

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