About Echo Drive

Echo Drive is a comprehensive Google Drive monitoring and recovery tool that helps teams track file changes, recover deleted files, and maintain visibility over their Google Drive environment.

The application takes periodic snapshots of your Google Drive, indexes all files and deletions, and provides powerful search and filtering capabilities to help you understand what files were deleted, who owned them, and which users were impacted by the deletion.

Getting Started

Main Features

  • Monitor all files and folders in your Google Drive
  • Recover deleted files with complete path information
  • Track who deleted files and when they were deleted
  • View file snapshots and compare across time periods
  • Search deleted files by name, path, or owner
  • Filter deleted files by date range and folder path

Quick Navigation

Use the sidebar to navigate to different sections:

  • Home - Dashboard with overview statistics
  • Drives - List all monitored Google Drive accounts
  • Deleted Files - Search for deleted files
  • Snapshots - View and compare file snapshots

Pages & Features

Drives Page

View all configured Google Drive accounts and their file statistics. Click on any drive to browse its file tree and view deleted files within folders.

  • See total file count per drive
  • Access the latest snapshot for each drive
  • Browse folder structure and find deleted items

Drive Browser

Explore a specific drive's file structure in a tree view format.

  • Click "View Tree" to load the file hierarchy
  • Use search to find specific files or folders
  • Toggle "Show deleted files only" to filter and display only deleted items
  • Click on any file to view detailed information
  • Auto-expanded folders when viewing deleted files

Deleted Files Page

Comprehensive search and recovery interface for all deleted files.

  • Quick filters: search by name, owner, or path
  • Advanced filters: date range, sorting options, page size
  • Copy file paths to clipboard for easy recovery reference
  • View impacted users for each deleted file
  • Click on files to see detailed information

Snapshots Page

View and compare file snapshots taken over time.

  • Browse available snapshots by date
  • Compare two snapshots to see what changed
  • View file details including size, type, and deletion info

Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up navigation with these keyboard shortcuts (when not typing):

R Go to Recently Deleted page
D Go to Drives page
S Go to Snapshots page

Finding Files

Echo Drive provides several ways to find and access your files:

  • Star/Bookmark Items - Click the star icon on any file or folder to add it to your starred sidebar for quick access
  • File Browser Search - When viewing a specific drive, use the search box within that drive to find files
  • Deleted Files Search - Go to the Deleted Files page to search for recently deleted items with filters
  • Drive List - Browse all your accessible drives from the Drives page and navigate to specific ones

Pro Tip: Organize frequently accessed items by starring them in the sidebar - they'll always be just one click away!

File Details Modal

When you click on a file, a detailed information modal appears showing:

  • File Name - The original filename
  • Path - Full path in Google Drive (starting with "My Drive/")
  • Size - File size in bytes
  • MIME Type - File type (e.g., document, spreadsheet, image)
  • Modified Time - When the file was last modified
  • Deleted At - When the file was deleted (if applicable)

Filtering & Search Tips

Quick Filters

Use the quick filters on the Deleted Files page:

  • Search Files - Find by filename or path
  • Drive Owner - Filter by account email
  • Folder Path - Find files in a specific folder

Advanced Filters

Click "Advanced Filters" for more options:

  • Date Range - Filter by deletion date (Deleted After/Before)
  • Sort By - Sort by deletion date, owner, name, path, or size
  • Order - Newest or oldest first
  • Page Size - Show 50, 100, or 250 results per page

Tree Search

In the Drive Browser tree view:

  • Type in the search box to find files/folders by name
  • Results highlight matching items and auto-expand parent folders
  • Toggle "Show deleted files only" to filter the tree to deleted items

Understanding Paths

All file paths in Echo Drive follow this format:

My Drive/Folder1/Folder2/filename.ext

For files directly in My Drive (root level):

My Drive/filename.ext

For deleted files in special locations:

My Drive/Deleted Files/filename.ext

You can copy any path using the clipboard icon next to the filename in the Deleted Files table.

Troubleshooting

Tree Takes Too Long to Load

If a drive has many files (>1000), the tree view may show a performance warning. Use the search feature to filter down to specific files before viewing the full tree.

Deleted Files Not Showing

Make sure to toggle "Show deleted files only" in the tree view, or use the Deleted Files page to search for them.

Paths Look Incomplete

All paths should start with "My Drive/". If you see just "/" or partial paths, try refreshing your browser (Cmd+R on Mac, Ctrl+R on Windows/Linux).

Can't Copy Path

Click the clipboard icon next to the file path. A notification should appear at the bottom right confirming the copy was successful.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often are snapshots taken?

Snapshots are taken automatically on a schedule set by your administrator — typically once a day. You can see when the last snapshot was taken on the Snapshots page.

Can I recover a deleted file myself?

Echo Drive shows you exactly where a file was and when it was deleted. Use the Deleted Files page to find it, then share the path with your Google Workspace admin — they can restore it from Google Drive's trash or a backup if it's still within the retention window.

How far back can I search?

You can search as far back as the oldest snapshot stored. Use the Deleted After / Before date filters on the Deleted Files page to narrow down the time range.

A file is missing but doesn't show as deleted — why?

The file may have been moved to a different folder, renamed, or transferred to another owner. Try searching by partial name or browse the snapshot tree for the folder it was in.

Why does the tree say "no files found"?

Make sure a snapshot has been taken for that drive. If the drive is new or was recently added, it may not have a snapshot yet. Check the Snapshots page to confirm.

What does "impacted users" mean on a deleted file?

These are other Google accounts that had access to the file at the time it was deleted — not just the owner. This helps identify who else may have been affected.

Need More Help?

If you can't find what you're looking for or something doesn't look right, contact your Google Workspace administrator. When you reach out, it helps to include:

  • The name of the file or folder you're looking for
  • The approximate date it was last seen or deleted
  • The Google Drive account or shared drive it belonged to
  • A screenshot of what you're seeing in Echo Drive