Tell your Bot the Drive file type and where the words are
When you ask your Bot to find something in Google Drive, it runs a Drive search. That search can look at file names, and it can also look inside files. If you only say a common word, the first page can mix a Google Doc, a PDF, a spreadsheet and an uploaded file that happen to share that word.
A little extra detail steers it.
- Say whether the words are in the name or inside the file. If you remember the title, give the name. If you remember a phrase from inside, say you want a search that looks inside the file, not a name-only search. A name-only search will miss words that appear only in the contents.
- Name the type. Tell the Bot you want a PDF, a spreadsheet, a Google Doc, a Slides deck or plain text. The search can limit itself to that kind, so a matching text file does not hide behind a request for a PDF, and the other way around.
- Add a date when you can. "Changed last week" or "from October" keeps older files with a similar name off the list.
- Ask it to list the matches before it opens one. If two files could be it, you want the names, dates and links so you can pick. Otherwise you may get a summary of the wrong file.
- Narrowing a search changes only what the Bot reads. It does not move, share, rename or trash anything in Drive.
If you hunt for the same kind of file often, ask the Bot to remember your usual type and the folders you care about, so you do not have to repeat that each time.
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