Deleting a File in Drive

It is inevitable that over time you will collect lots and lots of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other items in Google Drive. Sooner or later you will want to "clean house" and get rid of a few of those files. Here's how you delete them:

1. Log into Google Drive (drive.google.com).
2. Locate the file you want to delete. (Your files should be listed in the main Drive screen, but you might need to open other folders if the file you want to delete is within one of them.)
3. Select the checkbox to the left of the file name.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any other files you want to delete.
5. Click the Remove tool or click the More button (the one at the top of the screen) and then click Remove.

Notice that the tool and command name is "remove," not "delete." This is because the tool actually moves the selected files to the special Trash folder; it doesn't permanently delete them. In this way, the Trash folder functions much like the Recycle Bin or trash can on your computer's desktop. The advantage of this approach is that you can, if desired, recover the file and again use it.

If, instead, you want to permanently delete the file, then after performing the above steps you should perform these steps:

1. If it is available, click the More option at the left side of the screen. Drive displays a number of additional options.
2. Click Trash. Drive displays all the files in the Trash folder.
3. Select the checkboxes to the left of all the files you want to permanently delete.
4. Click the Delete Forever button at the top of the screen. Drive displays a warning message about the deletion you are about to perform.
5. Click Delete Forever. The files you selected in step 3 are immediately and irrevocably deleted.

Another way to permanently delete a file is to simply right-click on it and choose Delete Forever from the options presented. (The option only appear if you right-click on the file's listing line, not if you right-click on the file's name.)