When you are organizing files in Google Drive, you will frequently encounter a common problem: you have a single, highly important document (like a master budget spreadsheet or a company logo) that needs to be easily accessible from three completely different folders. If you simply copy and paste the file three times, you destroy your version control. When you update one copy, the other two remain outdated. The professional solution is to create a Shortcut, which creates a “dummy” link that points straight back to the original master file.
How to Create a Shortcut in Drive
Creating a shortcut ensures that no matter which folder you click from, you are always opening and editing the exact same underlying file.
- Open Google Drive in your web browser.
- Navigate to the file that you want to create a link to.
- Right-click on the file.
- In the menu that appears, hover your mouse over Organize.
- Click on Add shortcut.
Placing the Shortcut
A small window will pop up in the middle of your screen, displaying your Google Drive folder structure.
- Click through your folders to navigate to the exact destination where you want the shortcut to live.
- Once you are inside the correct destination folder, click the blue Add button at the bottom of the window.
If you navigate to that destination folder, you will now see what looks like a copy of your file. However, if you look closely at the file’s icon, you will notice a tiny, curved arrow hovering over the graphic. This arrow is the universal symbol for a shortcut.
You can create as many shortcuts to a single file as you need. If you ever want to clean up your Drive, you can safely delete the shortcut at any time; deleting a shortcut only destroys the link, it will never delete the original master file.