Use labels to identify files marked for deletion in Google Drive owned by alumni & former employees

Project Overview

One of the primary concerns for many users when discussing clean up (deletion) of files in NC State’s Google domain is the possibility of losing access to documents not owned by them, but owned by a suspended account (i.e. alumni or former employee/VFE’d account). Content in Google Drive owned by suspended accounts will eventually be deleted. Unfortunately there is no easy way to determine these files except for some hard work, patience, and time.

Drive files owned by suspended users are locked for editing and display a message when opened that the file is read-only.  This typically helps identify files that were actively being used, but were not transferred by the user before their account was deactivated.  This helps collaborators identify the file and take action quickly.  If the file is not actively used or only serves as an archive, collaborators will not know that the file is owned by a former user and is being targeted for deletion.
 
To make the process of identifying items slated for deletion easier for users, a label can now be applied to files owned by either alumni or former employee accounts. 

Searching with a label helps users identify ALL files subject to deletion in a single search, compared to using other search filters (i.e. ‘owner:<former user id>’) which is tedious and prone to error.

Active users who find files owned by suspended accounts they need to retain will be able to move these files into a Shared Drive (preferred) or make a copy. 

Please note, deletion of labeled files is expected to occur on March 4, 2024. 

What files will be deleted?

After the migration phase, all labeled files and folders that are still owned by suspended alumni and former employee (VFE) accounts will be placed in the owner’s Trash.

• If a user with Alumni labeled files somehow becomes active again (returning student, new employee, etc.), their owned, labeled files will NOT be deleted.
  • Files owned by VFE accounts will be deleted.  There is no way for a VFE account to be reactivated.
• Files that have been migrated to Shared Drives are owned by the Shared Drive and will not be deleted
  • These files will still have the label applied temporarily and will continue to show up in search results until the Label is removed.  
  • There is an automated task that removes Labels from files in Shared Drives periodically, but it can take several hours.
• Files that are moved to the owner’s Trash will display a warning message and allow the user accessing the file to make a copy.  
  • Migration is no longer possible at this point
  • Items will stay in the Trash for 30 days
• Labeled folders that contain un-labeled files will be Trashed, but the un-labeled files and sub-folders will be moved to their owner’s My Drive.

What files have been labeled?

Alumni from 2010 - Summer 2022 (this is based on user status at the time of labeling)
All files that are owned by former graduated students during the timeframe of May 2010 - Summer 2022 have been labeled with PENDING DELETION - Alumni. 

Separated Employees from 2010-2021
All files that are owned by former employees during the timeframe of May 2010 - April 2021 have been labeled with PENDING DELETION - Former Employee. 

Note: Employees who also earned a degree at NC State during the May 2010-Summer 2022 time frame will appear under both labels.

How can users locate impacted files?

Users can search for files pending deletion by alumni or former employees by following the steps below:

• Log in to drive.google.com with your unity ID and password
• From the Search field at the top of the page, click the Advanced Search icon
• Click in the Labels search field
• From the drop-down list, choose the label PENDING DELETION - Alumni or PENDING DELETION - Former Employee (only select 1 label to search at a time)
  • PENDING DELETION - Alumni (including Undergraduate, Graduate, PhD, etc.) 
    • Any file shared with you by a user classified as a graduated student between 2010-2022 will appear in the list and is scheduled to be deleted March 4, 2024.
  • PENDING DELETION - Former Employee
    • Any file shared with you by a user classified as a former employee between 2010-2021 will appear in the list and is scheduled to be deleted March 4, 2024.
• Click Search
  • To filter further, click the Location search chip and select Shared with Me
  • For additional filtering options, see Helpful Tips below
• If you wish to retain any of the files appearing, you will need to:
  • Migrate to a Shared Drive (Best Practice)
  • Make a copy (if Shared Drives aren’t an option)
    • Only should occur if the creator does not have an ncsu.edu account.
    • If making a copy, move the copy into a Shared Drive

Helpful Tips

Searching:

• Google’s Support Documentation: Add labels to files in Google Drive - Google Workspace Learning Center — see “Search for files with labels” section.
• Only select 1 label at a time.
• Narrow your search by using additional Search filters. Examples include:
  • Owner
    • To search by owner using a separated employee’s email address, you can only use their  “VFE” account name (ex. vfe.#####.unityid-archive@ncsu.edu) See below for how to locate a user’s “VFE” account name.
    • To exclude a user from your owner results list, add  "-owner:user@ncsu.edu" to your label search 
  • Date modified
  • Location

How to locate VFE account name for former employees:

• Former employees are given a “VFE” account name two years after they separate from the university.
• In order to conduct an Advanced search by the Owner field for files owned by former employees, you must use their “VFE” account name.  
• To identify the “VFE” account name for an owner of a document:
  • Select a file in your Drive search results.  
  • Open the Info/Details panel on the right.
  • There will be an "Owner" field, or the owner will be listed in the description of who has access.  
  • Copy the “vfe.###.unity” name from this field and paste that into the search field

Content Migration:

• Before you move a file, make sure the new Shared Drive, Folder and/or collaborators are appropriate for that content.
• Check to see if the file/folder already lives in a Shared Drive (then no action is needed)
  • Look for the Shared Drives icon

How to Move Files or Folders (Best Practice)

1. Find the files or folders in Google Drive using the pilot labels.
2. Select one or shift-click to select many items in the search results
3. Right-click selected Files.
4. Choose Move to
5. Then click All Locations > Shared drives and then select the appropriate Shared drive and folder location to move items into.
6. Click Move.

NOTES: 

• Some files cannot move from the right click menu or when you drag, but they do move if you open the file and select File > Move
  • NOTE:  Do not use drag and drop. In some cases this will create a shortcut and NOT move the file/folder.
• To save time searching for the new destination Shared drive, temporarily Star a folder/drive to make it easier to find in the move location picker
• After you move a file, review the individual sharing permissions to determine if current collaborators should still have access to that content.
• Best practices for Videos/Images/Photos:
  • Users with a large number of photos/videos that will require a substantial amount of storage space, should reach out to Google Service Team via the IT Service Portal.
• Shared Drive migration limitations

What happens when a user moves files they shouldn’t?

• There is no 'Undo' button for a move.  Once a file/folder has moved, the Shared Drive owns it.
• If files need to be moved to another Shared Drive, that move is possible if the user performing the move has sufficient permissions on both Shared Drives.
• Moving from Shared Drive to My Drive is possible for active users with sufficient permissions on the Shared Drive, but since all labeled files belong to suspended accounts, it is not possible to have them regain ownership in this way.
• If 100% unnecessary files are moved, they can be trashed from within the Shared Drive.

Files appear in a label search when they are already in a shared drive.  

• Items that are labeled and moved into a Shared Drive may continue to display the label and continue to appear in search results for 24-48 hours after being moved. There are indicators beside the file name and at the bottom of the screen in the breadcrumb to show the file's location as well as the Owner column displaying a Shared Drive name instead of a person's name.
• Files that are in/owned by a Shared Drive will not be targeted for deletion.

Users who I think should appear in the results (as owners of files) aren’t showing up.

Students

• The account is still active
• The user was not included in this set of labeled files
• Only alumni from 2010 to summer of 2022 will appear in the results list.

Employees

• The account is still active
• The user has not been separated for 2 or more years
• The user was not included in this set of labeled files
• Only separated employees between May of 2010 and April of 2021 will appear in the results list.
• Note: Separated Employees who also earned a degree at NC State during the May 2010-Summer 2022 time frame will appear under both labels.

Can I see which files I’ve already reviewed?

• Review files by user if possible.  That way you could know that all of an individual’s files can be ignored.  Reference Advanced Search options in Drive.
  • Start with label search owner:user@ncsu
  • Finish reviewing user’s files
  • Add  "-owner:user@ncsu.edu" to your label search to exclude them from future searches

There are a lot of search results.  How do I coordinate the review process?

• Users that have been here for years will have accumulated huge numbers of items in Shared With Me.
• There is also no set of attributes on a file that would let us know without a doubt which files should be kept. 
• Perhaps it is possible to make this a collaborative effort within the department and chip away at the problem.  Maybe schedule a weekly review session so that folks who do know the history of those types of files can assist. 

How to Get Help

If you are running into issues when migrating files, reload your browser as the migration process can take time.  If you can’t find your issue/question in the aforementioned documentation, please contact help.ncsu.edu.