You are bewildered because you removed a file from your docs, stored and synced in Google Drive cloud, but the deleted file appears again in view. Breathe fresh air relaxedly as this article puzzles out this riddle, with clear-cut steps, and assist you to fix this issue.
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Why do deleted Google Docs reappear?
If you are the owner of the document, and after you delete it, the file is moved to “Trash”. The problem mostly occurs when you delete a shared document and are not the document’s owner. But there are various reasons for deleted docs appearing again in view. We will unfold various reasons and ways to overcome and remove them from view.
Are you the owner of the file?
The documents on https://www.docs.google.com must be either owned by you or shared with you from other accounts. When you are the owner of the docs, please try the following fixes to oust the document from view on Google Docs.
- Change your view: After you delete the document but if it appears again in your view Google Docs, you can try changing your view to the alternate view. If you are in Grid view, change to List view or if you are viewing in the list, view them in Grid. Now you can no longer see the deleted docs.
- Try another browser: The problem most likely occurs in the Google Chrome web browser. To eliminate the problem, try deleting documents from a different browser, such as Firefox, Opera, or Safari.
- Clear browser cache: Whenever you access files and documents through the browser, the store cache can show the deleted docs on view when it is cached. So, clearing the browser cache will eradicate our problem.
- Remove from Trash: Though you remove the docs, the file still prevails in the “Trash” in your Google Drive account. Open your drive and delete the document from the trash. On the left side is the list of menus and navigate to the “Trash” by clicking on the “Trash” menu. Find the document, and by right-clicking on it, it shows two options, “Restore” and “Delete forever”. Please select the “Delete forever” option to open the alert popover. Proceed through the “Delete forever” option, and you will no longer find your docs on view.
Why do deleted docs reappear in search results on Google Docs?
You might have removed your document by using the “Remove” option. But it just deletes the link to your “shared with me” and not the actual file, which is stored in the cloud from the owner’s Google account. The document even reappears in your view on Google Docs. You can still find the “deleted” file in search results also. When you open the file again, it will appear again.
In order to fix this issue, one has to delete the document properly. Deleting the document as usually is done using the “Remove” option, which you find with the right click on the document, is not enough to get rid of the document entirely. The document can still be accessed from the links shared with you for accessing the document.
You may also like following the articles below
- How to remove view only on Google Docs
- How to save Google Docs to your computer
- Google Drive folder: How to Share, unshare, and turn off link sharing
- How to add/hide comments Google Docs
- How to change ownership of a Google Drive folder
We hope you are engaged throughout the article and found enlightening ideas to try and fix your “Google Docs can’t remove from view”!
I am Rajkishore, and I have over 14 years of experience in the Software Industry. For a long time, I have been using Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Sheets for my document usage, and I am sharing all the tips and tricks, the challenges I have come across, and their solutions to use Google Docs for your day-to-day use. I hope you will learn from these practical Google Docs tutorials. Read more.