Drive

Drive is the shared reference space in your workspace. Use it to upload files and documents, save links, write articles, organize everything into folders, and control who can open each item. Drive is available to everyone in your workspace, scoped to the brands they have access to; what you can create, edit, and delete depends on your role.

Available to all roles

Drive is open to everyone in your workspace on every plan. Viewing files and folders is available to all roles; uploading, creating folders, editing, moving, deleting, and managing role restrictions depend on your role and permissions.

Screenshot: The Drive page with folders, articles, and files. (pending capture)

Overview

Drive shows your folders, articles, files, and links as a single browser you can search and organize:

  • Create new content using New Folder, New Article, Upload File, or Add Link. You can also drag files from your computer onto the page to upload them.
  • Folders appear above the items inside them; open a folder to drill in, and use the breadcrumb or back arrow to go back.
  • Search in Drive looks across everything you can see, not just the folder you are in.
  • The Type filter (All types, Folders, Articles, Files, Links) and the Brand filter (All brands or a specific brand) narrow what you see.
  • Switch the item list between a List and a Thumbnails view with the toggle above it.
  • Each item has a menu for Rename/Edit, Move, Delete, and bookmarking.
  • Select several items at once to move, re-tag, restrict, or delete them together.
  • Access is controlled by brand and by role, so sensitive files stay limited to the right people.

Articles you write in Packr live here too — see Context articles for the writing and publishing workflow.

Upload a file

Uploading adds a file (document, image, spreadsheet, PDF, and so on) to the current folder.

  1. Open Drive from the navigation.
  2. Browse into the folder where you want the file to live (or stay at the top level).
  3. Select Create, then Upload File.
  4. Choose the file from your device in the upload drawer.
  5. Optionally pick one or more Brands to tag the file to. Leave it unset to make the file visible across the workspace.
  6. The file uploads and appears in the Files section.

Note

Uploading files requires the upload-files permission. If you do not see the Create button or Upload File option, your role does not allow uploading. See Roles and permissions.

Screenshot: Uploading a file to Drive. (pending capture)

A link is a saved web URL (for example, a shared spreadsheet or external doc) that opens in a new tab when selected. It lives in Drive next to your files.

  1. In Drive, browse to the folder where you want the link.
  2. Select Create, then Add Link.
  3. Enter a Name (for example, "Q4 Revenue Spreadsheet").
  4. Enter the URL (starting with https://).
  5. Optionally pick one or more Brands, or leave it unset to keep the link workspace-wide.
  6. Select Add Link.

Adding a link uses the same upload permission as files. To change a link later, open its menu and select Edit to update the name or URL.

Create a folder

Folders organize your files and links. New folders are created inside whatever folder you are currently viewing.

  1. In Drive, browse to where you want the new folder.
  2. Select Create, then New Folder.
  3. Enter a Folder name.
  4. Optionally pick one or more Brands, or leave it unset to keep the folder workspace-wide.
  5. To limit who can see the folder, expand Restrict by role and select roles. Leaving it empty makes the folder visible to everyone.
  6. Select Create Folder.

Note

Creating folders requires the create-folder permission. If you do not see New Folder, your role does not allow it. See Roles and permissions.

Screenshot: Creating a folder in Drive. (pending capture)

Move items

Moving a file, link, or folder relocates it into a different folder without re-uploading.

  1. Find the item, then select its menu (the dots icon on the card).
  2. Select Move.
  3. In the move dialog, browse into the destination folder. Use the back arrow to step up a level.
  4. Select Move here to drop the item into the folder you are viewing. To move it to the top level, choose Move here at the root.

Moving an item requires the update permission for that item type. You cannot move a folder into itself, and the dialog disables Move here with an explanation if you try.

Moved items pick up the destination folder's scope

If an item has no brand tags or role restrictions of its own and you move it into a folder that has them, the item takes on the folder's — so a general file dropped into a brand folder does not stay visible workspace-wide. If the item already has its own brand tags or role restrictions, moving it adds the folder's rather than replacing them, so nobody loses access to something they could see before. Moving into an unrestricted folder changes nothing. Packr tells you how many items were re-scoped after a move.

Rename, re-tag, or delete an item

Every folder and file has a menu (the dots icon) with management actions.

  • Rename / Edit — change a folder or file name; for a link you can also update its URL.
  • Brands — re-tag the item to one or more brands, or clear them all to make it workspace-wide.
  • Delete — remove the item. You are asked to confirm first.

Warning

Deleting a folder also deletes everything inside it. This cannot be undone, so check the folder's contents before confirming.

These actions require the matching update or delete permission. If you do not see an option, your role does not allow it.

Work on several items at once

When a library gets large, you can act on a group of items in one pass instead of opening each menu in turn.

  1. Hover an item and select its checkbox, or select the checkbox on a folder. A bar appears at the bottom of the screen showing how many items you have selected.
  2. Use Select all in that bar to take everything currently listed, including whatever your search and filters have narrowed to.
  3. Choose an action:
    • Move — put every selected item into another folder.
    • Access — set which roles can see the selected items.
    • Brands — add or remove brand tags across the selection.
    • Delete — remove the selected items, after a confirmation.
  4. Select the X on the left of the bar to clear the selection.

For Brands and Access, the dialog shows a checkbox per option with three states: on for every selected item, off for all of them, or a dash labelled on some when the selection is mixed. Leaving a dash alone leaves that brand or role exactly as it is on each item — only the boxes you actually change are applied. Select Apply to save.

Each action only offers what your role allows, so you will not see Delete in the bar if you cannot delete.

Control who can see a file or folder

Drive access works on two levels so the right people see the right content.

  • Brand — tagging an item to a brand keeps it with that brand's content. People only ever see Drive items for the brands assigned to them, so a brand-tagged file stays within that brand's audience.
  • Role — restricting an item by role limits it to those roles. Leaving the roles empty makes the item visible to everyone (within their brand access).

Admin only

Setting per-item role restrictions on existing items is admin only. Open an item's menu and select Manage Roles to choose which roles can access it. The Manage Roles option only appears for workspace admins. (Anyone who can create a folder can also restrict it by role at creation time.)

To restrict access, open the item menu, select Manage Roles, check the roles that should have access, and select Save Roles. The dialog summarizes who the item is Visible to — selected roles, or Everyone when none are chosen.

Screenshot: Restricting a Drive item by role. (pending capture)

Open and download files

Select a file card to open it. Files download (the app generates a short-lived, secure link behind the scenes), and links open in a new browser tab. Image files show a thumbnail preview on their card.

Tips

  • Use the Brand filter at the top to focus on one brand's files, or All Brands to see everything you have access to.
  • You can bookmark a file from its menu so it is easy to find later. See Bookmarks.
  • Tag files and folders to a brand as you create them so they land in the right place from the start.

Common questions

How do I upload a file? Open Drive, browse to the folder you want, select Create, then Upload File, and choose the file from your device. You can optionally tag it to a brand. Uploading requires the upload-files permission.

How do I share a file? Anyone in your workspace with access to the file's brand can open it from Drive, so "sharing" is a matter of where you put it: tag the file to the right brand and leave roles unrestricted so the right people can see it. To point people at an external document instead, use Add Link to save its URL in Drive. There is no public, outside-the-workspace share link.

Who can see my Drive files? Access is scoped two ways. People only see Drive items for the brands assigned to them, and if an item is restricted by role, only those roles can open it. Items with no role restriction are visible to everyone within their brand access. Workspace admins can adjust restrictions with Manage Roles.

Why can I only see some brands' files? Drive is scoped to the brands assigned to you in your workspace. The Brand filter only lists your accessible brands. Ask a workspace admin to adjust your brand access.

What happens if I delete a folder? Deleting a folder also deletes everything inside it, and the action cannot be undone. The app asks you to confirm first.

How do I move or re-tag a lot of files at once? Select the checkboxes on the items you want, then use Move, Access, Brands, or Delete in the bar that appears at the bottom of the screen. Select all takes everything your current search and filters are showing.

Can a file belong to more than one brand? Yes. Tag an item with as many brands as it applies to and it appears for each of them, so a shared document does not have to be uploaded twice.

Why don't I see the Create button? The Create button only appears if your role can create folders or upload files. If it is missing, ask a workspace admin about your permissions. See Roles and permissions.