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Google Drive may be a great place to store your files online, but finding and reopening files after you’ve closed Google Chrome can be a bit of a hassle. The latest update to Chrome’s tab page should help alleviate this issue by making it faster to find relevant files.
With the latest Chrome update, you’ll now find a card underneath the search box along with shortcuts for quick access to your most recently opened files. This eliminates the need to go into Google Drive itself. You’ll still need to enter Google Drive to look for older files you haven’t accessed in a while, but having quick access to recently-opened files from Google Chrome is a time saver.
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"In 2019, we launched the ability for some users to quickly search for files in the Chrome browser URL bar,” said Google in a blog post. “Today, we're taking that experience one step further by bringing intelligent file suggestions directly into your New Tab Page in Chrome.”
Before this update, the New tab page featured the ubiquitous Google search bar, along with shortcuts to recently visited and previously opened web pages. A screenshot of the planned page supplied by Google suggests the Google Drive shortcuts will appear below those.
This new feature will be on by default but admins can disable it at the domain/OU/group level so long as the default New Tab page experience is available to users, Google added. The feature will also be on by default for users who haven’t changed their New Tab page experience. Users can disable or re-enable the feature by clicking on the Customize Chrome button in the bottom right of the New Tab page.
You may not see the shortcuts right away, as Google is pushing the new feature out in waves. It should be available to all users with personal Google accounts within 15 days. Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, and Business customers will get the feature within the following weeks as well.
Google Drive has been an essential tool for many users, especially in recent times. This Google Chrome update may not be earth-shattering but anything that saves its users time is always welcome. Google Chrome becomes that much more enticing thanks to this update.
