ChromeBook Tips

Open, save, or delete files

You can open and save many types of files on your Chromebook, like documents, PDFs, images, and media. Learn which types of files are supported on your Chromebook.

Your Chromebook's hard drive has limited space, so your Chromebook will sometimes delete downloaded files to free up space. Learn how to store your downloads.

Find and open a file

1. In the corner of your screen, select the Launcher   Up arrow.
2. Open Files.
3. On the left, choose where your file is saved.
• For files you’ve just used, select Recent.
• For a list of files by type, select Image, Video, or Audio.
• For Android app files, select my files  Play files. To show more folders, in the top right, select more   Show all Play folders.
• For files in your cloud, select the folder, such as Google Drive. You can also add another cloud file system.
4. Find your file and double-click it to open.

If you're opening a file on an external storage device, remove the device safely when you're done by clicking Eject.

Save a file

To save the page, image, or document you're viewing:

1. Press Ctrl + s.
2. At the bottom, enter a name for your file.
3. Optional: To the left of the file name, change the file type.
4. In the left column, choose where you'd like to save your file, such as Google Drive  My Drive.
5. Select Save.

Note: If you’re using your Chromebook at school or work, you can save files in your Shared drives folder. Select Google Drive  Shared drives.

Rename a file

Add another cloud file system

Delete a file

1. In the corner of your screen, select the Launcher   Up arrow.
2. Open Files.
3. Select the file or folder you want to delete. Note: You can delete files in the Downloads folder, but deleting a file from your Downloads folder is permanent.
4. Select Delete   Delete.

Note: Files in the Recent, Images, Videos, and Audio folders are viewable only and can’t be deleted directly in those folders.