Creating and Using Folders
Create folders for organizing documents and publications, and also for applying Share permissions on all documents and publications with the folder and within any sub-folders. Note that all Share permissions on a folder are inherited by the documents, publications, and folders within that folder.
To create a folder, on the Documents page:
- Select Create and then Folder.
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Specify a name for the folder.
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Optionally, you can add the new folder to any of your existing folders:
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Click Create.
Notice the blue message at the top of the page: .
You can use Share on a folder the same way you use Share for documents and publications.
Viewing folders and their contents
Click the company name filter in the left panel to organize your Documents page into listing Folders, Publications, and Documents to which you have access. The Teams and Shared with me filters also display folders to which you have access.
To see the contents (documents, publications, and sub-folders) of a specific folder, click the name of the folder (an underline appears when you are in the correct position for clicking).
If there are no documents, publications, or folders in that folder, a message appears to that effect.
Breadcrumbs are displayed at the top of the page. Click these breadcrumbs to navigate along the folder tree.
Deleting folders
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To delete a folder from the Documents page, either:
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Select the folder and click on the Delete icon:
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Right-click on the folder entry and select Send to trash from the context menu.
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Drag and drop the folder onto in the filter panel:
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The Send to trash dialog opens. Click the Send to trash button to move the folder into the trash. The contents of the folder are also moved to Trash:
Nesting folders
While in a folder (after opening the folder by clicking on the underlined name), click Create, then to create another folder. Check the breadcrumbs to the right of the Create button to verify that you are inside of a folder. Nested folders inherit the Share permissions applied to the top-level folder.
In the above illustration, Help Learning Project is the parent folder and Electrical is the sub-folder.
You can drag and drop a folder into another folder, provided you have permissions on both folders.
Moving documents and publications among folders
You can move documents and publications into and out of folders both from the Documents page, and also from within a document or publication, through the Document menu.
After a document or publication is created inside a folder, you can move it to another folder, or out of a folder altogether:
- Select the document or publication (or use Ctrl+click to select multiple entities).
- Right-click the folder and select Move to. This opens the Move to dialog box (where folders are automatically sorted in ascending alphabetical order):
- Select the new folder from the list. (Use the breadcrumbs to navigate to another location, if desired.)
- Click Move here.
You can use drag and drop to maneuver documents, publications, and folders into and out of folders. While in a folder, you can drag a document, publication, or folder into another location in the breadcrumbs. In the example below, the test-doc document is being dragged into the aero-project folder. The selection document is highlighted in blue and the target folder is also highlighted in blue:
Your cursor will have a small rectangle appended to it when the move is allowed, and a small circle with a line through it when the move is not allowed.
Keep in mind that when moving a document or publication from one root folder to another, the ownership of that document is transferred to the owner of the folder into which it is moved. The Share permissions also change to be inherited from the new root folder.
Creating a document or publication in a folder
Navigate to the folder in which you want to create the document or publication. You can also add a document into one of your existing folders without navigating to the folder first. Once the folder name is visible in the breadcrumbs at the top of the Documents page:
- Click Create.
- Select or .
- Specify a name for the document or publication.
- Click OK.
Sharing a folder
When a folder is created, only the creator of the folder has any permissions to that folder. (The exception is if the folder is created within a Professional or Enterprise subscription. In that case, the administrator also has access to, and permissions on the folder.)
The creator/owner of the folder can share the folder with other users and thereby assign Share permissions to the folder. These permissions are applied on a root folder level. All documents, publications, and sub-folders within the root inherit the permissions of the root folder.
You can specify additional Share permissions on individual documents and publications within folders, but keep in mind that permissions are additive: these additional permissions are added to the folder permissions to create a larger set of permissions and access.
The Onshape best practice is to keep minimal permissions on the root folder and add additional access and permission on individual documents and publications.
To share a folder:
- Select the folder on the Documents page.
- Click the Share this folder icon:
- Adjust permissions on the Share settings dialog for the folder, and enter the email addresses of the people with whom you wish to share the folder (or select a team or company):
- Click the Share button.
- Click the Close button.
When a folder is shared, the permissions on that folder become the shared users’ permissions on any and all documents, publications, and folders within that folder.
Only top-level folders can be explicitly shared, and all Share details apply to the contents of the folder, including all documents, publications, and any sub-folders, even if they are moved into the folder at a later time.
For more information on Sharing, see Share Documents.
Transferring ownership of a folder
An admin of an enterprise or company may also transfer the ownership of a folder to an individual Onshape user who is not a member of the enterprise or company. Right-click on the document or folder (on the Documents page) and select Transfer ownership.
For more information on transferring ownership, see Transfer Ownership.
Copying document workspaces in folders
When copying a workspace in a folder (thereby creating a new document), you need edit permission on the folder in order for the copy to be placed in the same folder as the original document. If you do not have edit permission on the folder, the copy is placed at the root level of your Onshape account. A blue notification is displayed at the top of the window upon successful copy that is has been created in your company's account filter.
Renaming folders
To rename the current folder:
- Click the folder name in the breadcrumbs.
- Edit the text.
- Press Enter or click outside the folder name.
To rename a child folder:
- Right-click the child folder name from within the parent folder view.
- Click Rename folder.
- Edit the text.
- Press Enter or click outside the folder name.
Create a folder
You can create and use folders to group documents and publications within the user interface. All documents within a folder have the permissions dictate by the root folder. Permissions are assigned when you share a folder with another user. Those permissions are associated with the folder and apply to all documents within the folder. Sub-folders inherit the permissions of their root folder.
To create a folder:
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Tap the plus icon at the lower right corner of the screen, and select Folder:
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Specify a name for the folder and then tap OK.
Tap your company name filter to organize your Documents page into listing Folders and Documents to which you have access. The Teams and Shared with me filters also display folders to which you have access.
To see the contents (documents and sub-folders) of a specific folder, tap the name of the folder.
If there are no documents or folders in that folder, a message appears to that effect.
Breadcrumbs are displayed at the top of the page. You can click these breadcrumbs to navigate along the folder tree. You can also drag and drop folders and documents into the breadcrumb itself to reorganize documents on the Documents page.
While in a folder (after opening the folder by tapping the name), use the icon to create another folder. Check the breadcrumbs at the top of the screen to verify that you are inside of a folder.
Navigate to the folder in which you want to create the document. Once the folder name is visible in the breadcrumbs at the top of the Documents page:
- Tap the Create a document icon.
- Specify a name for the document.
- Tap OK.
When a folder is created, only the creator of the folder has any permissions to that folder. (The exception is if the folder is created within a company or enterprise subscription. In that case, the administrator also has access to, and permissions on the folder.)
The creator/owner of the folder can share the folder with other users and thereby assign permissions to the folder. These permissions are applied on a root folder level. All documents and sub-folders within the root inherit the permissions of the root folder.
You can specify additional Share permissions on individual documents within folders, but keep in mind that permissions are additive: these additional permissions are added to the folder permissions to create a larger set of permissions and access. For this reason, the Onshape best practice recommendation is to keep minimal permissions on the root folder and add additional access and permission through individual documents.
To share a folder:
- Tap the information icon to the right of the folder name.
- Tap the Share icon.
- Make the appropriate permission selections and enter the email addresses of the people with whom you wish to share the folder.
When a folder is shared, the permissions on that folder become the shared users’ permissions on any and all documents and folders within that folder.
Only first-level folders can be explicitly shared, and all Share details apply to the contents of the folder, including all documents and any sub-folders.
You can move documents and/or folders into and out of folders. You must have the appropriate permissions on the documents and the folders you wish to move and to move to.
- Tap the icon next to the document (or folder) in the Documents list to open the Details flyout for that document.
- Tap the Move icon and then select the folder into which to move the document (or folder).
- Once the target folder is selected, the contents of that folder are displayed.
- If this is the correct folder, click Move here (top right corner of the screen). If this is not the correct folder, click the X in the top left corner.
If a transfer of ownership is required to move the document or folder into the new folder, a notification is displayed. Document ownership is transferred to the owner of the folder.
- Confirm the transfer of ownership (if appropriate) by selecting Transfer ownership, or click Cancel to cancel the move.
- Once the action is confirmed or dismissed, the Documents page is displayed again.
Create a folder
You can create and use folders to group documents within the user interface. All documents within a folder have the permissions dictated by the root folder. Permissions are assigned when you share a folder with another user. Those permissions are associated with the folder and apply to all documents within the folder. Sub-folders inherit the permissions of their root folder.
To create a folder:
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Tap the plus icon at the lower right corner of the screen, and select Create folder:
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Specify a name for the folder and then tap OK.
Tap your company name filter to organize your Documents page into listing Folders and Documents to which you have access. The Teams and Shared with me filters also display folders to which you have access.
To see the contents (documents and sub-folders) of a specific folder, tap the name of the folder.
If there are no documents or folders in that folder, a message appears to that effect.
Breadcrumbs are displayed at the top of the page. Click these breadcrumbs to navigate along the folder tree. You can also drag and drop folders and documents into the breadcrumb itself to reorganize documents on the Documents page.
While in a folder (after opening the folder by tapping the name), use the icon to create another folder. Check the breadcrumbs at the top of the screen to verify that you are inside of a folder.
Navigate to the folder in which you want to create the document. Once the folder name is visible in the breadcrumbs at the top of the Documents page:
- Tap the create a document icon.
- Specify a name for the document.
- Tap OK.
When a folder is created, only the creator of the folder has any permissions to that folder. (The exception is if the folder is created within a company subscription. In that case, the company administrator also has access to, and permissions on, the folder.)
The creator/owner of the folder may share the folder with other users and thereby assign permissions to the folder. These permissions are applied on a root folder level. All documents and sub-folders within the root inherit the permissions of the root folder.
You can specify additional Share permissions on individual documents within folders, but keep in mind that permissions are additive: these additional permissions are added to the folder permissions to create a larger set of permissions and access. For this reason, the Onshape best practice recommendation is to keep minimal permissions on the root folder and add additional access and permission through individual documents.
To share a folder:
- Tap the overflow menu to the right of the folder name.
- Tap the Share icon.
- Make the appropriate permission selections and enter the email addresses of the people with whom you wish to share the folder.
When a folder is shared, the permissions on that folder become the shared users’ permissions on any and all documents and folders within that folder.
Only first-level folders may be explicitly shared, and all Share details apply to the contents of the folder, including all documents and any sub-folders.
You can move documents and/or folders into and out of folders. You must have the appropriate permissions on the documents and the folders you wish to move and to move to.
- Tap the icon next to the document (or folder) in the Documents list to open the Detail panel for that document.
- Tap the Move icon and then select the folder into which to move the document (or folder).
- Once the target folder is selected, the contents of that folder are displayed.
- If this is the correct folder, click Move here (top right corner of the screen). If this is not the correct folder, click the X in the top left corner.
If a transfer of ownership is required to move the document or folder into the new folder, a notification is displayed. Document ownership is transferred to the owner of the folder.
- Confirm the transfer of ownership (if appropriate) by selecting Transfer ownership, or click Cancel to cancel the move.
- Once the action is confirmed or dismissed, the Documents page is displayed again.
To learn more about organizing documents using folders, you can follow the self-paced course here: Creating Folders (Onshape account required). You can also follow the technical briefing article here: Folders FAQ (Onshape account required).