You can now copy and paste files across Google Drive instead of having to use the ‘Move’ option

Before Google cleaned up Drive’s duplicate, messy file structure, pretty much all users had multiple versions of the same file in many locations, making it nearly impossible to manage. Now that they’ve gone through and turned these into what can basically be considered arrows or shortcuts pointing to the original file, Google is allowing you to use your keyboard to copy and paste files from one location to another!

On Mac, you’ll select a file and press Ctrl + C (or ⌘ + C on Mac), and on Windows, you’ll press Ctrl + X and Ctrl + V to copy, cut, and paste. Notice that the company has not used the shortcut Ctrl + C for moving files, and that’s because cutting a file and placing it elsewhere is not copying it. Instead, you can use Ctrl + C on Windows to paste the file into a new folder and receive a shortcut to the original instead.

All Workspace customers as well as anyone with a personal Google Account will receive this update over the next few days with the exception of Scheduled Release domains. Those who have set their domain up to roll updates out slowly will start seeing copy, cut, and paste on June 1, 2022, and over the few days following.

Are you interested in cleaning up your Drive file structure with faster shortcuts, or are you going to continue using the ‘Move’ option in the user interface via the right-click contextual menu? I personally hate having to navigate that tiny pop-up window each time I want to find something, and honestly, this has caused me to put off cleaning things up for years.