Set, structure, and search metadata in Drive launching in beta

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

Quick Launch Summary 

We’re launching the beta of metadata in Drive. This beta will allow users to add structured metadata to all their files in Drive, making it easier to search and organize based on that information. Admins and end users can use metadata to ensure their content stays organized and accessible, helping them streamline their work.

Admins for Drive Enterprise, G Suite Business, Enterprise, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits can learn more and apply for the beta here.

Here are some ways you can use metadata in Drive:

  • Create common file categories for your domain 
    • Admins can create metadata categories like “contract” or “engineering design” that consist of the properties that are relevant to these categories. End-users can apply them to all files that they can edit.
  • Organize team content 
    • Team Drive managers can create categories for their Team Drives or select which existing categories to enable for their Team Drives.
  • Curate and find files faster 
    • End-users can select the suitable categories for their files and folders. The new advanced search methods allow for searching over categories and properties to enable queries like “all contracts that need to be signed by next week.” 

Helpful links 

To learn more about and apply for the metadata in Drive beta, click here. 
To learn more about metadata in Drive, see here. 
Add metadata to files in Google Drive.

Availability 

  • G Suite editions Available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, Drive Enterprise, G Suite for Education, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite for Nonprofits. 
  • Not available to G Suite Basic. 

On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain level.

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