Google emphasizes the online aspects of Chrome OS so strongly that local features have sometimes taken a backseat. For example, file management. Sometimes you just want a file on your Chromebook rather than in Google Drive. Google is testing a tweaked file manager app in the Canary channel that will make managing those files a bit easier.
The messy local file management on Chrome OS has only become more pronounced with the addition of Google Play and Linux content. In the latest Canary builds, Google is testing a My Files section that breaks out downloads (Chrome OS), Play Files, and Linux Files into separate root directories. Root types are also grouped more clearly in the revamped app. The image above is an early version, but eventually, Google's François Beaufort expects to see the following order:
- Recents
- Media Views (Images, Videos, and Audio)
- Shortcuts
-
My Files
- Downloads
- Play Files (if enabled)
- Linux Files (if enabled)
- Other volumes (zip, usb, etc.)
- Google Drive volumes
- Other File System Providers (when mounted)
- Add new services
This is only in Canary for now, so it could hit the dev channel in the not too distant future. It'll probably be a while before it comes to stable, and even then, the feature might change significantly from what we see right now. Maybe next we can get a user file system that's not stuck inside the Downloads folder?
Source: +François Beaufort