Shortcuts Short-cuts in Google Workspace causing issues for team sharing

[TECHTOSA]

I'm hoping someone can help.  Here is the issue.  Each of our grade level and content area school teams have their unit plans and documents in folders.  When the team leader changes, the old team leader makes the new team leader the owner.   What we are finding is that the folder becomes a short-cut for the old team leader who is still on the team.  The old team leader can't drag and drop and files to the team folder.  The old team leader can move an item into the folder by clicking the folder icon in the document.  That is a work around, but is truly frustrating since they could easily drag and drop before. 

 The other HUGE issue is that when a team member switches school and still wants to use documents they created with the old team, they think they've been locked out because they have been removed from the folder, but the folder is shared anyone in the domain can view.  When they click on the short-cut, they can't open the anyone can view folder for some reason.  ARGH.

[tomjank]

Gemini AI answer and some solutions...

Based on your description of the challenges with Google Drive folder permissions and sharing, here are some solutions to help streamline your team's workflow. The issues you're facing are common with how ownership and shortcuts work in Google Drive, but they can be managed effectively with a few changes.

Understanding the Problem

The core of the issue lies in how Google Drive handles ownership and shortcuts.

When a folder owner transfers ownership, the original owner doesn't lose access. Instead, the folder becomes a shortcut in their "My Drive." This shortcut points to the folder's new location in the new owner's "My Drive." While they can still view and edit content, they can't drag and drop files into the shortcut because it's not the original folder. This is a design feature to prevent a single file from existing in multiple locations. The "Move to" option is the correct way to add files to a shortcut.

Regarding the second issue, when a team member leaves and is removed from the folder, their shortcut to the folder may become invalid, even if the folder is still shared with "anyone in the domain can view." The shortcut is tied to the original direct sharing permissions. When those are revoked, the shortcut may no longer work as intended, leading to the "locked out" feeling.

Solutions for Team Folder Management

To fix these problems, I suggest implementing a more robust folder structure and permission management strategy. The best approach is to use Shared drives (formerly Team Drives) or a designated centralized folder for all team documents.

Option 1: Use Google Shared Drives (Recommended)

Google Shared Drives are designed specifically for this kind of collaborative work. They are the ideal solution for your situation.

How it works: All files and folders in a Shared Drive are owned by the team, not an individual. If a team member leaves, their files remain in the Shared Drive and are accessible to the rest of the team.

Permissions: You can set different levels of access for different team members (e.g., Content manager, Contributor, Viewer).

No Ownership Transfer Issues: Since the drive is "owned" by the team, you'll never have to transfer folder ownership again.

Easy Access: Everyone with access to the Shared Drive sees the same folder structure and can easily add, edit, and move files without issues like the shortcut problem.

Option 2: Create a Centralized "Team Hub" Folder

If Shared Drives aren't an option for some reason, you can create a single, top-level folder for each team and set specific sharing permissions on it.

Create a central "Team" folder: A designated person (e.g., the principal or an admin) creates a master folder for each team (e.g., "5th Grade Team Documents").

Add all team members: Share this master folder with every member of the team, granting them "Editor" access.

Place all documents here: All subfolders and documents should be created within this master folder.

How it helps: All files within this folder will be "owned" by the person who created the master folder. This prevents the transfer-of--ownership-to-a-new-leader problem. When a team leader changes, you simply update the list of editors. The folder itself remains stable.

Solving the Shortcut Issue: By using a centralized folder, all team members will be working in the same location, which eliminates the need for individual team members to create shortcuts that can become invalid.

Solutions for Individual User Access

For the second issue where a user leaves the team and loses access, you can manage this by sharing files and folders more broadly.

Share with an entire group: Instead of sharing with individuals, create a Google Group for each team (e.g., "5th-grade-teachers@yourdomain.com"). Share the team folders with the group, not the individuals. When someone joins or leaves the team, you simply add or remove them from the group. This automatically updates their access to all documents shared with that group, eliminating the need to manually change permissions for each folder.

Use the "Anyone with the link" option with caution: While this can solve the access issue, it's generally not recommended for sensitive or internal documents as it makes the files potentially accessible to anyone in your organization who gets the link, even those who aren't on the team. This option is better suited for documents meant to be broadly accessible, such as school-wide policies or public-facing resources.

[TECHTOSA]

TomJank, Thank you for replying. What you write regarding ownership and shortcuts makes sense and is accurate.  What is frustrating is that we started these folders in 2015 before team drives existed and before short-cuts existed.  Short-cuts and how they affect access are steps backward in daily efficiency.   At this point (so many years of work, training, and use), it would be challenging to move to Shared Drives.  As to your "Anyone with a link caution", we have it set as our domain, not anyone.  Our district does share resources and data that would influence next steps to student learning very collaboratively (more openly than most).