Find and restore a file you have lost

Find a lost file, undo a deletion, and restore it from the trash.

Written steps

  1. Check whether the file has been moved

    Can't find your report in a folder? It may have been moved, not deleted. First search for the file name. Here we are looking for our practice report about birds. Click in Search in Drive, and type the name of the report. Press Enter to search. Click the correct search result. Check the name and location, so you don't confuse it with other material. The location at the bottom shows Birds in the park. So the file has not been deleted. If the search does not find your file, first check that you are using the correct school account.

  2. Undo a deletion right away

    Back in the project folder, we show what you can do after an accidental deletion. Use only a practice file if you want to try it. Select the practice report with one click. The Bin icon in the toolbar moves the file to Bin. Click Undo in the message at the bottom if you want to undo it right away. Now the report is back in the folder. Undo is the quick way while the message is still visible.

  3. Restore from the trash and check

    We mark the practice report again to show the other way to restore it. We move it to the bin once again. If the Undo message is gone, click Bin on the left. Find the correct file in the bin, and select it. Click Restore from bin in the toolbar above the list. Click Show file location in the confirmation at the bottom. This shows where the file was restored. The report is back in its original folder. Double-click it to check the content. Here our own report copy opens again with the template sections intact. Check the content in your own file before you continue working. Files in the bin are deleted automatically after thirty days. Do not empty the bin while you are looking for something. If you still cannot find a shared file, ask the owner or your school. Try it yourself with a harmless practice file: Restore it, and check both folder and content.

Transcript

Can't find your report in a folder? It may have been moved, not deleted. First search for the file name. Here we are looking for our practice report about birds. Click in Search in Drive, and type the name of the report. Press Enter to search. Click the correct search result. Check the name and location, so you don't confuse it with other material. The location at the bottom shows Birds in the park. So the file has not been deleted. If the search does not find your file, first check that you are using the correct school account. Back in the project folder, we show what you can do after an accidental deletion. Use only a practice file if you want to try it. Select the practice report with one click. The Bin icon in the toolbar moves the file to Bin. Click Undo in the message at the bottom if you want to undo it right away. Now the report is back in the folder. Undo is the quick way while the message is still visible. We mark the practice report again to show the other way to restore it. We move it to the bin once again. If the Undo message is gone, click Bin on the left. Find the correct file in the bin, and select it. Click Restore from bin in the toolbar above the list. Click Show file location in the confirmation at the bottom. This shows where the file was restored. The report is back in its original folder. Double-click it to check the content. Here our own report copy opens again with the template sections intact. Check the content in your own file before you continue working. Files in the bin are deleted automatically after thirty days. Do not empty the bin while you are looking for something. If you still cannot find a shared file, ask the owner or your school. Try it yourself with a harmless practice file: Restore it, and check both folder and content.

Google Drive