Chrome Story

‘Recent’ in Files App to Get File Type Filters

Your Chromebook’s Files app has a Recent section. This is a read-only area that displays files that you recently opened. Google is adding a file-type filter to this section.

The Recent Section

The Recent section in the Files app is a useful area. You get to see recently opened files from multiple locations. This includes your locally stored files, Google Drive, and event Android files.

Recent section in Chromebook Files app

The Recent section has also created some confusion among users. You cannot delete files from here. You will need to go to the original location of the files to delete or rename them.

To resolve this issue, Google recently added a context menu option to go to the original file location. Here is a video that I put together to demonstrate this new feature.

File-type Filters

Google is further improving the Recent section by adding file-type filters. You will be able to filter recently opened images, audio, and videos.

This feature is currently under development. We spotted an experimental flag that will enable this filter in upcoming Chrome OS releases:

Enable filters in Recents: Enable file-type filters (Audio, Images, Videos) in Files App Recents view.

Similar to other new features and experimental flags, it will take a few weeks before we see this in action. We shall update this article with more details and screenshots when this feature becomes functional.

In the meantime, share your questions and opinions about this feature in the comments section.

Source: Gerrit.

In

4 responses to “‘Recent’ in Files App to Get File Type Filters”

  1. VJR

    You should be able to hide Recent Files altogether because if you are sharing the screen with someone else, then they can see what you’ve been doing. That’s a violation of privacy. So, there should be a flag or GUI switch in the Files App for displaying Recent Files.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan – Bangalore, India – Digital Minimalist & Content Developer. Drinks Tea and writes Stuff (mostly about Chromebooks). My views are mostly copied from others.
      Dinsan Francis

      That’s actually a good point. I never thought about it.

      Reply
  2. Jacob

    Thank you Dinsan for your explanation. The question is now very clear to me. The feature of file- location has not yet been implemented in my chromebook’s edition. I wait for the proper update.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan – Bangalore, India – Digital Minimalist & Content Developer. Drinks Tea and writes Stuff (mostly about Chromebooks). My views are mostly copied from others.
      Dinsan Francis

      Yes. I am not sure when this feature will reach the Stable channel. I’d say, keep checking whenever you get an update.

      Reply

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