Search Google Drive

Once you create a matter, you can search for files in Google Drive. You can also search for:

Things to know before you search

Before you search, you should understand the following.

How does Vault search for files in Drive?

Vault searches Drive for all files owned by and directly shared with the users specified in your search entry. This includes files in a Team Drive that are directly shared with a user, regardless of whether the user is a member of that Team Drive.

Vault also searches files that are:

All files owned by and directly shared with the users specified in your search query.
Team Drives in your organization that have been shared directly with users in your query.
Files in Team Drives that have been shared directly with users in your query.
Files in external Team Drives that have been shared directly with users in your query. Note that Vault can't search an externally owned Team Drive that has been shared with users in your organization, even if it includes files that are shared directly with those users.

Can I search Team Drives?

Yes, when you search for files in Drive, you have two options:

When you're searching for files belonging to specific users or organizational units, you can check a box to include results from their associated Team Drives in your search.
You can use Vault to find Team Drives. You can then search selected Team Drives for files.

Which part of files in Drive are searchable?

You can search for words and phrases that occur in file names and in the contents of files. Vault indexes the first 100 pages of text files and the first 10 pages of text in image PDFs.

You can search text within the following file types:

Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint
.pdf
.html
.txt
.rtf
OpenOffice™ XML
Wireless Application Protocol (.wap)
Wireless Markup Language (.wml)
Google Earth (.kml)

Note: G Suite for Government customers cannot search the contents of files. However, they can search file names and other file properties.

Vault doesn't index video, audio, image, or binary files.

What file types can I preview with Vault for Drive?

You can preview these files:

Google files such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings
User-uploaded files such as .docx, .pdf, and .xlsx

Linked files may not be included when you search and export files in Drive

Users can link a Google file to another Google file. For example, someone writing in a Google Doc can create a chart that's linked to data contained in a Google Sheet. Whenever the spreadsheet is updated, the chart in the document is also updated.

When you search files in Drive, Vault returns only the files that match your search criteria. If those files include linked files that fall outside of your query, the linked files aren't included in your results.

Can I search within the revision history of a document?

No. Currently you can search only the most recent version of a file. However, you can enter a version date during search. This retrieves a snapshot of each file that shows changes made as of the end of the day on the given date. Versioning is supported only in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and Drawings.
A file's version history doesn't include changes to:

the title
who it was shared with
comments (only the most recent version of unresolved comments is included)

Can Vault search Google Drive for my entire domain?

Vault can search up to 5,000 users (individual users or members of organizational units).

Search for files in Drive

Create a new matter or click on an existing matter.
Click Search in the left pane, and then click Drive as the type of data to search.
Choose a Source:
- All data—Search all data in your organization.
- Held data—Search all data on hold for the matter.
Select a Search method:
- Specific accounts—Enter one or more accounts and search up to 5,000 Vault users in the domain. The search fails if you attempt to search more than 5,000 users or don't include at least one user. You can also check the box to Include results from Team Drives.
- Organizational unit—Search within a specific organizational unit. If you choose one with sub-organizational units, all of the sub-organizational units will be searched.The organizational unit must have fewer than 5,000 members. You can also check the box to Include results from Team Drives.
- Team Drives—Click Find Team Drives:
  1. Add a Team Drive member's email address.
  2. Start typing the name of the Team Drive you're looking for, then click the one you want. You can choose multiple Team Drives.
(Optional) Enter a date range and choose a time zone.
- If you enter a start date, Vault returns all files sent on or after the date you entered.
- If you enter an end date, Vault returns all files sent on or before the date you entered.
(Optional) Use Terms to specify one or more search terms. Use search operators for complex searches.
Vault searches only the latest version of a file. However, you can enter a version date to view and export Google files as they existed on that date. Learn more about what's included in a file's version history.
Click one of the following:
- Search—to perform a search.
- Export—to skip preview and immediately export the search results.
(Optional) Click the Search down arrow to:
1. Reset—to clear the search form.
2. Duplicate search form—to open another search form under the current form, pre-populated with the information you've already entered.

Preview search results

After you search for files, your results include the title, owner, and last modified date of each document.

Note: There are several known issues related to previewing files in Drive. Learn more.

This table shows how Vault handles different file types.

	Search	Preview	Export
Google Files	Title Content Metadata	Docs New Sheets Old Sheets Slides Drawings Forms	Yes
User-uploaded files	Title Content (text-based file types only) Metadata	Most common file types	Yes
Comments	Partial	No	Docs New Sheets Old Sheets
Suggested edits	No	No	No
Revision history	No	No	No