Waffle Bytes

...otherwise known as finding what you want when you want it. (Updated at 8:58 am EST - less than 20 minutes after it was posted!  There is a change with the suggestions made during searching now that should show up for you soon if they don't yet. The addition is in a rust red color below. ) The number 1 biggest frustration expressed to me with Google Mail is finding an email.  There is a solution for this - the advanced search available that is hidden behind the little down arrow at the right end of the search bar: If you click on that, you get this pop-up window - Put the information you know in the appropriate places (in my example, I'm looking for an email from my husband, received during the 2015-2016 school year about evaluations but I don't know what the subject line was) - THEN run your search, and you should see better results (in my example, here is the email I was looking for) - The following field are what you can search: From: the em...

...otherwise known as effective searching. The number 1 biggest frustration expressed to me with Google Mail is finding an old email.  It often comes down to how to use best the search bar. Most people, I have discovered, do not really want to learn how to use Booleans in Google searches . They just want to be able to type in what they know and get what they want.  There is a solution for this - the advanced search available that is hidden behind the little down arrow at the right end of the search bar - If you click on that, you get this pop-up window - Put the information you know in the appropriate places (in my example, I'm looking for an email from my husband, received during the 2015-2016 school year about evaluations but I don't know what the subject line was) - THEN run your search, and you should see better results (in my example, here is the email I was looking for) - You can use as many or as few of the fields as you would like. You may notice...

Previously I talked generally about how to think about searching within Google Drive.  Today I'd like to go through using the Google Search Bar. Just about everyone is familiar with the Google Search Bar.  It resides at the top of your Google Drive.  It is actually found at the top of just about every Google App. Most people, when searching for a document, will type multiple words into the search bar.  This can result in a lot of frustration as they often get too many results!  Let's talk about ways to get better results.  In fact, let's talk about that little arrow next to the magnifying glass in the search bar because that is one key to better searching.  Enter the advanced search: Using this will yield you much better results as you can better target your search. Some key pieces that most people file helpful: Type: Usually you know the type of file you are looking for.  By selecting the type in the advanced search, you can elimina...

Do you ever go to search through your Google Drive, and get frustrated because it returns too much?  Do you know the type of file you need, yet using search terms returns a bunch of other file types so you can't find the one you want? If you experience these frustrations, you probably need to learn how to refine your Google Drive searches.  This feature used to be located in the More area of your Drive - but no more!  It has moved!! Now, to refine your search click on the arrow found in the search bar You will then get a window of advanced search options These options will let you view by file type - when you know the type of file it is, visibility - when you know the level it is shared to, ownership - when you know if you created it or someone else did, opened by me - if you know you opened it, and created with... - if you know how it was created. You can even use these in combination with each other - Or in combination with key words - A useful s...