NOTE: These instructions are outdated as of March 2020. I’m working on an update to this post but, in the meantime, some generous readers in the comments have offered ideas and workarounds!
Google Drive is one of my favorite apps. I use it for storing and organizing all of my files for my personal life and business, sharing them with my collaborators, and accessing them when I’m on the go.
That means I use Google Drive all the time. So, of course I’ve figured out a few sneaky ways to make it work for me.
Two questions I get all the time are:
- How can I copy folders? and
- How do I put a single file in two different folders?
Neither of these features is easy to find, so the people I work with often think it’s simply not possible. But it is! And fortunately, it’s super easy!
In this post, I’ll show you how you can duplicate a Google Drive folder and create a shortcut to a file that’s located in a different folder.
Duplicate a Google Drive Folder
Sometimes, it can be helpful to have two copies of the same folder in your Google Drive. Maybe one contains several template form documents, and you want to share the documents with a client of yours so they can fill out the forms with their own information, but you want to maintain your blank templates. Or perhaps you have multiple Google accounts and you want to copy all of your files to your other account (especially if one account is associated with your college or workplace and you’ll be leaving soon).
But if you’ve ever tried to copy a file in Google Drive, you know the option simply isn’t there. You can right click on a file and choose Make a copy, but that option doesn’t appear for folders. You could copy all of the files individually, but who has time for that?
Third-party services to the rescue! Eric YD and Labnol have created an excellent Copy folder tool that makes it speedy and easy to duplicate folders. Here’s how to use it:
- Go to Labnol’s Copy folder tool website.
- You’ll be prompted to review the permissions you’re giving to the tool. Click Review Permissions, then Allow to allow it to work with your Google Drive account.
Note: The tool needs access to your files in order to work. However, copying your files takes place exclusively through Google Drive, meaning that no one except you has access to them. In other words, there’s no third-party server involved. You can check out the tool’s privacy policy here. - Click Search Your Drive to view a list of folders in your Google Drive. You can also search for it by name or copy and paste the Google Drive URL for the folder.
- Click on the folder you want to copy, then click Select.
- Click Next.
- Optionally, edit the name of your copied folder. Click Next.
- Choose whether to Copy sharing permissions.
- Choose whether to place your copied folder in the same place as the original, at the root of your Google Drive, or somewhere else. Click Next.
- Click Copy folder. The copying process will begin.
In my experience, this process only takes a few seconds, though it can take longer with a very large folder or one with a lot of sharing permissions to copy. You’ll see the new folder appear in your Google Drive when the copying process has completed.
A quick expert tip: if you want to quickly copy all of the files in a Google Drive account using this tool, just put them all in one folder.
Create a File Shortcut in Google Drive
Note: As of March 2019, the steps below don’t work in Team Drives. Bummer!
When you’re meticulous about organizing files in your Google Drive, either because you like to know where everything is or because you use it as a shared file server with your colleagues, sometimes you want one file to be in two different folders.
For example, does the evaluation form for a Google Drive workshop belong in the Google Drive workshop folder or the evaluation folder? Does the reading for week 3 of Introduction to Shakespeare go in the folder for the class or in your Readings folder?
On a computer, you could just create a shortcut to the document and put your shortcut in the second folder. In Google Drive, you can “star” documents to create shortcuts to them in your Starred folder, but you can’t move those shortcuts to other folders.
But you’re not out of luck! Google Drive has a built-in (but hidden) shortcut tool that lets you put the same file in two folders. Any changes you make in one file will appear in the other, because they’re still the same file. It’s like two different doors to the same room.
(If, on the other hand, you want a copy of a file where changes you make to the original file don’t affect the copy, you should right-click on the file and choose Make a copy.)
Here’s how you can create file shortcuts in Google Drive:
- Click on the file you want to create a shortcut for so that it’s highlighted in blue in Google Drive.
- On your keyboard, press Shift+Z. The Add window will open.
Note: Yup, this is a weird keyboard command. It’s not Ctrl+Z, but Shift+Z. Ctrl+Z is undo. - Navigate to the folder you want to add the file shortcut to. (Or click the New Folder button at the lower right of the window to create a new folder.)
- Click Add.
Your file shortcut will be added to the folder you chose in step 3, and your file will also remain in its original folder.
Do you have other pro-tips for using Google Drive effectively? Share them with us in the comments!
Beth P says
Thanks for the info on how to copy folders! Just what I needed to simplify my work.
Allegra says
Hi there,
This is so helpful!
Only one problem, I can’t figure out how to remove one of the shortcuts/alias’ without deleting the file altogether. I’m looking around for answers but haven’t found any that work.
Thanks for any response,
Allegra
Alexandra Martines says
Hey Allegra,
That’s a fantastic question! It took me a while to find the answer too. Here’s how to do it:
Here’s a screenshot of the page in case that helps!
Ranjiv says
Unfortunately the creating shortcuts does not seem to work on Google team drives
Alexandra Martines says
I’m not sure what you mean by Google team drives Ranjiv. Can you explain a little more?
Scott says
Team Drive is only available on G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Business, or G Suite for Education editions and may not be enable even in those.
Lee says
Scott did you ever find a way to this on Team Drives ?
nat says
Those of us on Team Drives is still wondering this! Let us know, world!
RobH says
Use the new Workspaces feature of drive to group files from various locations.
Somename says
It didn’t work for me at first, but it was because I needed to add the folder to My Drive too, after that it was ok
Loïc says
Hi,
Is there any way to add not a file, but a whole folder to several locations?
Thanks, Loïc
Alexandra Martines says
Hey Loïc!
Great question – the Shift+Z trick works for both folders and files. Give it a try!
Loïc says
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks, that’s awesome! Loïc
Joseph says
Thanks for the great information. Now how do I remove the shortcut without removing the original file?
Alexandra Martines says
It’s about as convoluted as making the shortcut in the first place. Here’s how:
1. Locate your file in your Drive (it doesn’t matter if it’s the original or the alias).
2. Click on it once to select it.
3. In the sidebar to the right of the page, under Location, click the X next to the folder you want to remove the file from.
Here’s a screenshot of the page in case that helps!
Heather Marks says
Can I create a linked copy from within a file when I don’t know what folder the original file is in? A file has been shared with me, but I don’t know where it originated (the one folder I can see in Document Details isn’t helpful because it’s deep in someone’s complicated folder architecture), so I can’t navigate to the origin folder to do Shift-Z. Can I somehow do this from within the opened file?
Alexandra Martines says
I’ve looked around for a solution for you, but haven’t been able to find anything. Sorry, Heather!
Will says
Add the file that was shared with you to your Drive first. Then create a link to another folder. That might work!
Donna says
Why on earth do we have to use a third-party piece of software to copy folders? (And the Cntrl-Z thing isn’t appropriate for all situations. Sometimes you WANT/NEED/HAVE TO HAVE an exact duplicate of folder and all the files within it, not just a link.)
Thank you for addressing the problem, but do you have ANY IDEA why this is a problem in the first place? It boggles the mind.
Alexandra Martines says
I would love to know too, Donna. I imagine the Google Drive folks have a good reason for not offering this feature, but it’s definitely frustrating.
Kara says
Hi,
I’m interested in giving this a try. I created a folder with my personal gmail account and would like to move to by owned by my work account. I tried to just change ownership, but my work account is a different domain so it won’t let me. When I went to labnol to begin the process you mention, it asks me to confirm the account. My question, is which account should I tell it to point to? The account where the folder originated or the account where I want the folder to be managed?
Thanks!
Kara
Alexandra Martines says
Hey Kara!
Labnol’s tool only makes a copy of a folder within the same account. Here’s how to get a copy of your folder from your personal account to your work account:
Hope that helps!
Alena says
Anyone else have the tool take AGES to authorize?
Thanks for the info 🙂
Hilary says
I am wondering if the Copy Folder tool you referenced is out of date or glitching. When I give it permission to access my folder, I am taken to the beginning again, and I go in circles. It won’t authorize.
Alexandra Martines says
Hi Hilary,
It looks like this tool’s interface has been updated a bit, but it’s still working for me and I was able to copy a folder successfully. I was also able to authorize a new account that hadn’t been used with the tool yet. You might try a few things:
Hope that helps!
Edgaras says
One annoying thing with this feature – there is no visual identification that the file IS a “shortcut/alias”. Like on Mac or Windows you would have a small arrow in the bottom of the file or folder.
Does anybody have a solution for this?
Alexandra Martines says
Agreed. It’s super annoying. The best way I’ve found is to right-click on the file or folder and click View Details. You’ll see the file’s locations listed there.
As far as I can tell, Google Drive doesn’t treat one file as a shortcut the way Mac and Windows do. The two locations are just different doors into the same room, if that makes sense.
J Morgan says
Thank you so much for this! You totally saved me because the high school deletes my edu account after graduation. I appreciate this a lot. Thanks again and God bless!
Jack ZoBell says
This is awesome! Thanks for making this!!! One thing I would maybe make a little bit more clear is that it’s (Shift + Z) and not (Ctrl+Z) Because if you mess that up you can accidentally delete your folder or items if you just made them.
Alexandra Martines says
Ah, good point Jack! I’ve clarified that bit. Thanks!
zylstra says
Shift+z works with My Drive and “Shared with me” but does not work with Computers folders and files, i.e. the files synced with Backup and Sync from Google. Do you know of a workaround for this?
Alexandra Martines says
Hey zylstra! If you’re working the desktop app for Google Drive (aka Backup and Sync), you can create shortcuts the same way you would with any other file on your computer. Instructions for mac and windows here. Hope that helps!
will says
Thanks for the post! Also, I really like your website! 😀
Alexandra Martines says
Thanks, Will! I like yours too.
Dave Mackey says
Does anyone know what happens if one created a shortcut as suggested in this article and then deletes the folder using a desktop client (Google File Stream or Google Backup and Sync)?
I’m wondering about whether it is safe to use deduplication tools if such shortcuts exist. For example, lets say I have the original folder:
/Finance/Documents/2019/
And I’ve created a shortcut which appears as:
/Executive/Finance/Documents/2019/
Now say I’m using Google File Stream and to my local computer it appears as if GFS is mounted at:
E:\
To the local computer it is going to see two paths (correct?):
E:\Finance\Documents\2019\
E:\Executive\Finance\Documents\2019\
If I run a duplicate checker on E, I expect that it will show that I have duplicates since these folders are identical. Now lets say I delete the latter folder (E:\Executive\…), will those also delete the former (E:\Finance\…)?
I’m guessing maybe at the local computer level it won’t – but once Google Drive receives the sync information – is it smart enough to know that this should be seen as removing the folder shortcut or does it delete both copies of the data?
Dave Mackey says
Hi All,
Just wanted to let you know I’ve tested this and both through the web interface and the software deleting a file/folder in its original location or its shortcutted location will cause the file/folder to be deleted at both locations.
imho, this makes using Shift+Z incredibly dangerous if you ever need to perform any sort of deduplication. It is possible to remove the shortcut only by clicking on the folder and looking at the details pane where it shows a list of where the folder is “located” and you can remove one or more locations…but if you are looking to use software…I think things get muddy real fast.
I’ve posted a question on Quora I’m hoping will provide some answers eventually…
https://www.quora.com/unanswered/How-can-one-deduplicate-Google-Drive-when-shortcuts-have-been-created-using-Shift-Z
Alexandra Martines says
That’s an important note. Thanks, Dave!
Marina Goltser says
Great solutions, thanks. However, I can’t figure out how to copy a file/folder from G. Drive to my desktop.
Do you know how?
Thanks.
Alexandra Martines says
Hey Marina,
There are a few ways to do that. If you’re just looking to download a single file or handful of files and folders from your Google Drive to your computer, that’s quick and easy. You can find instructions here or watch a video tutorial here.
If you want to download all of the files from your Google Drive to your computer, the easiest way to do that is to install the desktop Backup and Sync app for Google Drive. It’ll create a folder on your computer where all of your Google Drive folders and files will be downloaded/synced to.
Hope that helps!
Sam says
I am on my company’s team drive and am clicking on folder and files as suggested and clicking Shift+Z but it is not pulling up the Add feature. Nothing happens when I do that. Would I have to be an admin, or am I missing something? This is for a Team Drive of a company as I we have resourceful files in say our “Product” folder that we want to make readily available in our “Support” folder, but for version control reason we don’t want to copy the file or folder of files. Can you help me make this work? It would be a game changer if we can get it to work.
Alexandra Martines says
Hey Sam! I looked into this, and I can’t find anything in the Google Apps Admin settings that would prevent you from making shortcuts. Have you tried creating shortcuts in a personal GMail account? Doing that would help pinpoint the issue, since then you’d know if it was an issue with your company’s drive or with your computer/browser.
Sam says
I am able to do the SHIFT + Z in “My Drive” within the company domain, but not our “Team Drive” for our company. Do you know if there is a company setting for Team Drive that would allow for this ADD operation? I believe I have read on other blogs for this that the ADD command is only allowed on your personal drive and not team drives, but I see the application being more useful on team drives anyways so wanted to ask. Are you able to do it in your Team Drive? Is there another workaround for adding a Link to G-Drive that could just redirect there?
Alexandra Martines says
After a little digging, it looks like that feature just plain isn’t available for Team Drives. How disappointing!
Sam says
Alexandra, do you know of any other way that people can just link to an outside link and have it show up just like a file within a folder? I could just link to the document this way as well as a work around but wanted to check if you know of any maybe add ons or other tools that can help this. Thanks!
Alexandra Martines says
Hi Sam,
I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I’ll keep this in mind and hopefully another commenter has some ideas for you too!
Jack ZoBell says
Yaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssss honestly this article is so helpful!!!!! Ugh, I’ve been using drive for 6+ years and this is so nice to know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!
Máté Pásztor says
I can’t seem to get it to work for files, only for folders. Any theories for this and possible remedies?
Máté Pásztor says
Nevermind I figured out my problem
Alexandra Martines says
Glad to hear it, Máté! If there’s anything we could clarify in the instructions, just let me know!
– Alex
Oz says
For me being a Windows user, this Shift + Z stuff is not useful for most cases.
On windows, one can use shortcuts and symlinks without ever having to worry about deleting original files and folders. The icons and file types of symlinks and shortcuts easily inform the user that “This is not the original file”, and deletion does not affect the original files/folders. This Shift + Z functionality is like the least useful. Only in certain situations is such a function needed. For most file duplication that I do, it’s mainly for organizational purposes, and I prefer the comfort of knowing that I can add and delete copies and links without removing their origins. Google Drive costs too much for this to be the only possibility for referencing files/folders in multiple places. A shame it is.
Alexandra Martines says
Totally agree, Oz! This feature is useful, but not well supported and could definitely be improved.
Oz says
I guess the only option now is to just use File Stream and make windows shortcuts (.lnk).
It’s just a shame that the shortcuts would have to access using the exact same network mapping/mounting and operating system.
josh says
Thanks for the info –
Mauricio Maciel says
You saved my life! Thank you!
ES Ivy says
Thanks for the tip on making “shortcuts” to documents in multiple file folders. Solved a problem for me!
Àngel Pérez Beroy says
When making “shortcuts” to documents in multiple file folders I found a problem:
If you send to trash one of the files, both go to trash, original and link, doesn’t matter which of them you erased
boydston says
Shift+z is more properly called ‘adding’ to another folder. This results in the actual file being located in both folders. Try right-clicking a document and select ‘add shortcut…’—this will make an actual shortcut to the original doc instead of adding the actual doc to another location. Then, since it’s only a shortcut, it can be deleted without affecting the original doc.
Boydston says
As of June, 2020, there is a distinction between shift+z functionality (which I think is more properly called ‘tagging’ or ‘adding’ to another folder) and creating a shortcut to file. When you ‘add’ a file to another folder (shift+z), you can see in the documents info pane that it is located in both folders. I think both locations has the actual, original file which is why deleting the file removes it from everywhere. With ‘add shortcut’ a shortcut link is added to the second folder and the doc info pane will not show the additional folder as a location.