Organize your documents with folders

When you first start using IT Glue, you'll notice that the way in which your documents are saved is rather free form until you set up some folders. Folders keep your documents organized and make them easier to find.

To get started, go to one of your organizations and click Documents in the sidebar.

Creating a new folder

In the Documents list view or under an existing folder, you can add, edit, and delete folders. To create a folder, click the New Folder button (top right) and give it a name.

Copying documents into the folder

1. Navigate to the documents you want to copy.
2. In the document listing, select the checkboxes next to the documents you want to copy. This displays an arrow on the "Select All" button.
   
3. Click the arrow on the "Select All" button to access the various actions.
   
4. Click Copy to open the copy dialog box and then select the destination folder.
5. Click Copy to complete the action.

After you click Copy, be patient. It may take a few moments to complete the action.

Only the document itself will be copied. The following are not copied: attachments, related items, and embedded passwords.

NOTE  To make it faster and easier to reorganize a folder, you can also drag and drop items from the current folder to one of its subfolders.

Copying a folder

It's the same instructions to copy a folder as it is to copy a document.

1. In the folder listing, select the checkbox next to the folder you want to copy. This displays an arrow on the "Select All" button.
2. Click the arrow on the "Select All" button to access the various actions.
3. Click Copy to open the copy dialog box and then select the destination folder.

• To copy to a different organization, click Select a different organization to select the target organization.
• Click Copy to complete the action.

After you click Copy, be patient. It may take a few moments to copy the folder, especially if the folder contains several items.

Deleting folders

In the folder listing, select the checkboxes next to the folders you want to delete, click the arrow on the "Select All" button, and then choose the Delete option.

Keep in mind that if you try to delete folders that contain other folders or documents, you won't be able to complete the action. Only empty folders can be deleted.

Importing a folder structure

You can import a list of folder names to create a new folder structure. Importing requires an Administrator role or a Manager role that has access to all organizations.

1. Navigate to the organization where the group of folders will be created.
2. Click Documents from the sidebar.
3. Click on the Import button and choose Folders.
   
4. From the Import Folders screen, type in the names of the new folders to be created into the text area. For example:

   />Inbox
   /Administration 
   /Knowledge Base 
   /Knowledge Base/L.O.B. Apps
   /Knowledge Base/Communication Apps 
   /Standard Operating Procedures 
   /Standard Operating Procedures/New User Creation 
   /Standard Operating Procedures/Software Install 
   /Standard Operating Procedures/Network 
   /Policies

5. Click Import Folders.

The new folders will be immediately added to your account without overwriting existing folders and documents.

Tips

• Enter one folder path per line, starting with a forward slash.
• A forward slash added to an item in the list will create sub-folders (e.g. /Parent Folder/Sub Folder).
• You can also create a list of folder names using any text editor and paste them.
• If folder security is being used, for each folder in the structure, permissions will be inherited from the immediate parent object.

Changing folder security

To set access restrictions on document folders, see Adding and removing folder security for more information.

Using folders effectively

As pointed out in the Developing your internal knowledge base topic, IT Glue makes it possible to organize documents for internal and external use. You can share documents with unauthenticated users by making the document "public," so that anyone with the link can view it. Once you make a document public, we recommend that it be moved into a folder that has the word External in its title. This way, your team will always know where to look for external documents.

Another way to keep your documents well organized is to design an effective folder structure. Generally speaking, the most effective folder structures are either project-based or task-based.

• Project-Based Folders - A project-based folder structure is for a specific, one-time project. Example: A server migration project.
• Task-Based Folders - A task-based folder structure represents a task that is likely to recur. This doesn't have to mean a task performed by one person. It can mean any activity or set of activities that will meet a specific organizational goal. Examples: A folder containing all of your service desk and incident management procedures or a folder containing instructions on how to handle and process inbound leads.