Files

Files

In Coline, everything is a file. Not files in the traditional sense of Word documents or PDFs, but typed, structured files that live in a unified virtual drive. This is the foundation that makes everything else possible.

The Virtual Drive

Your workspace has a virtual file system (VFS) — think of it like the file explorer on your computer, but designed for the web, for teams, and for structured content.

Drives

Files live in drives — containers that control access:

• Shared drives — Team content that everyone can access
• Personal drives — Your private workspace within the team
• Channel drives — Files attached to specific channels

Each drive has its own folder structure, permissions, and sharing rules.

Folders

Organize files hierarchically with folders:

• Create nested folder structures
• Move files between folders with drag-and-drop
• Share entire folders or specific files
• Color-code folders for visual organization

File Types

Every file has a type that determines how it behaves:

The type determines the editor you get when you open the file, but all files share common capabilities.

Universal File Features

Every File Can...

Be Shared

• Share with specific workspace members
• Share via email with external collaborators
• Publish publicly with a URL
• Set view or edit permissions

Be Starred

• Mark important files for quick access
• Personal to each user (your stars, not workspace stars)

Be Colored

• 8 colors for visual organization
• Appear in sidebar and file lists

Be Tagged

• Add #tags for cross-cutting organization
• Filter by tags across drives
• Multiple tags per file

Be Linked

• Link to files from channels, calendar events, or other files
• Use [[filename]] syntax for bidirectional links
• Automatic backlinks tracking

Be Searched

• Full-text search across all files
• Search filters by type, date, tags
• Search within file contents

Be Moved

• Drag between folders
• Move between drives
• Preserve links and references

Version History

Every file keeps a complete version history:

• Automatic saves — Captured as you work
• Named versions — "Before Q3 edits", "Final draft"
• Compare versions — Side-by-side diff view
• Restore — Roll back to any point
• See who changed what — Attribution for every edit

Comments

Collaborate on files with comments:

• Inline comments — Highlight text and comment
• Threaded discussions — Replies and resolutions
• @mentions — Notify specific people
• Comment history — See all past discussions

Creating Files

From the Drive

1. Navigate to the folder where you want the file
2. Click New → Select file type
3. Enter a name
4. Start editing

From the Command Bar

Press Cmd/Ctrl+K and type:

• "Create a doc called Project Brief"
• "New sheet for Q4 budget"
• "Note about the API design"

From a Channel

In any channel with a Files tab:

1. Click the Files tab
2. Click New File
3. The file is automatically linked to the channel

From Templates

Many file types support templates:

• Start with pre-filled content
• Choose from built-in or custom templates
• Apply templates on file creation

File Organization Strategies

Project-Based

Projects/
  ├── Acme Corp/
  │   ├── Brief.doc
  │   ├── Budget.sheet
  │   ├── Tasks.board
  │   └── Meeting Notes/
  └── Widget Inc/
      └── ...

Type-Based

📁 Notes/
📁 Docs/
📁 Sheets/
📁 Boards/
📁 Meetings/

Hybrid (PARA Method)

📁 Projects/
📁 Areas/
📁 Resources/
📁 Archive/

File Permissions

Access Levels

• Owner — Full control, can delete, manage sharing
• Edit — Can modify content, cannot delete or change share settings
• Comment — Can add comments, cannot edit content
• View — Read-only access

Permission Inheritance

• Files inherit from their parent folder
• Files in shared drives inherit drive permissions
• Explicit permissions override inherited ones

Breaking Inheritance

Set a file to "restricted" access mode to ignore parent folder permissions:

• Useful for sensitive files in shared folders
• Only explicit grants matter

File Operations

Upload and Import

From Your Computer:

• Drag files onto the drive
• Use the upload button
• Supported: Images, PDFs, Word docs, and more

Import from Other Tools:

• Import from Notion, Confluence, Google Docs
• Convert formats automatically
• Preserve structure where possible

Export

Download Files:

• Export notes as Markdown
• Export sheets as CSV
• Export docs as PDF or Word
• Export boards as images

Transform

Change a file from one type to another:

• Doc → Slides — Headings become slides
• Sheet → Board — Rows become cards
• Note → Doc — Blocks become rich text
• Messages → Note — Channel thread becomes document

Transformation is lossy by design — it extracts the essence for the new format.

Working with Files

Keyboard Shortcuts

Drag and Drop

• Move files — Drag between folders
• Upload — Drag files from desktop
• Link in channels — Drag file to message input
• Attach to events — Drag file to calendar event

Bulk Operations

Select multiple files with Cmd/Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click:

• Move together
• Star/unstar
• Change color
• Add tags
• Delete

Trash and Recovery

Trash

Deleted files go to trash:

• Recoverable for 30 days
• View trashed files from sidebar
• Restore with one click

Permanent Delete

• Shift+Delete to skip trash
• Or empty trash manually
• Cannot be recovered after permanent delete

Storage and Limits

Storage Quotas

• Free tier — 1GB per workspace
• Pro — 100GB per workspace
• Enterprise — Unlimited

Storage counts:

• File content
• Version history
• Uploaded attachments

File Size Limits

• Text files — Unlimited (within storage quota)
• Attachments — 100MB per file
• Images — 50MB per image

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Good names:

• 2024 Q3 Product Roadmap
• API Design Principles
• Acme Corp - Contract v2

Avoid:

• Document 1
• New File
• Untitled

Folder Structure

• Keep it flat (3 levels max typically)
• Use search over deep nesting
• Archive old projects

Sharing

• Share folders when possible (easier to manage)
• Use "view" permission for external sharing
• Regular access reviews for sensitive content

Organization

• Star files you access daily
• Color-code by project or priority
• Tag for cross-cutting attributes
• Trust search over perfect folders

Next Steps

• Notes — Quick capture with bidirectional linking
• Docs — Long-form writing and publishing
• Sheets — Data and calculations
• Boards — Visual organization
• Slides — Presentations
• Code — Code editing and IDE features