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title Files
description The unified virtual drive where all your work lives.

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:

Extension Type Purpose
.note Note Quick capture, journaling, knowledge base
.doc Doc Long-form writing, reports, documentation
.sheet Sheet Structured data, calculations, databases
.board Board Visual organization, kanban, mind mapping
.slide Slide Presentations, decks, visual storytelling
.code Code Code files with syntax highlighting
.taskboard Taskboard Project management, sprints, workflows

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

Shortcut Action
N Create new file
Cmd/Ctrl+O Open file finder
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+O Open recent files
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+S Star/unstar file
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C Copy file link
R Rename file
M Move file
Del Move to trash
Shift+Del Permanently delete

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