Google augments Docs file search capabilities

Google has rolled out new functionality for its Docs product that makes it easier for people to search for the various files they have uploaded to the cloud-based service.

For the last year or so, Google Docs users have been able to upload a variety of file types to the service, which began life as a text document collaboration product. However, the way in which those files have been presented to the user has remained unorganised, with files being displayed in a simple, sequential list.

On Monday, product manager Vijay Bangaru said in a blog post that, over the subsequent couple of days, Google was making it possible to search by "type, visibility state and other criteria". He also said Google Docs would be able to bring the most "relevant" files to the top of the list, in an echo of the way the company has deployed the Priority Inbox feature in Gmail.

"This update will also improve the experience of exploring and browsing your files," Bangaru wrote. "We added a preview panel on the right side of the document list, so that you can see a preview thumbnail, sharing settings and more at a glance. And if the file is a video, you can start playing it directly from the preview panel or from the recently announced video player."

Google Apps for Business users who have not opted to enable pre-release features will get the new features "in a few weeks", Bangaru noted.