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Creating and Sharing Folders (Dashboard 2.0)

Easily create and manage folders & sub-folders to keep proofs organized

Updated over a month ago

Summary: The proof list may contain hundreds or even thousands of proofs on different accounts. That's why it's vital to have an organizational system to locate proofs quickly. Creating a folder hierarchy is a highly effective way to stay organized. Folders can be shared among other Ziflow users, so collaborating is easier when working on some proofs.

Available for: Standard, Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions

Features outlined in this article:


Folder management

The folder feature is located to the left of the proof list. If you click on Folders, it will display a list of all the folders that have been created.

You may adjust the width of the folder panel or hide it entirely if necessary.

After accessing a folder by clicking on a small button near its name, you will be presented with a contextual menu that offers various actions. To open the same folder context menu, right-click on a folder name.

Depending on your access level, you'll now see a range of options that may include "New folder", "Review", "Edit," "Share," "Clone", "Archive" and "Delete".

Alternatively, you can open the folder actions menu by right-clicking on the folder icon to reveal the context menu and then selecting the desired action.

  • New folder - select "Add folder" to quickly create a new folder in the specified location.

  • Review - allows quick access to folder Gallery View. Read more about Gallery View.

  • Edit - allows changing folder/subfolder location, name & public/private setting.

  • Share - opens share settings for a particular folder/subfolder.

  • Clone - clones selected folder/subfolder. Any settings (including share options) can be amended during this action. The user performing the cloning action becomes an owner of a clone folder/subfolder.

  • Archive - archives entire folder/subfolder. You can choose if you want to archive only folders & subfolders or if you want also to archive proofs inside.

  • Delete - deletes the selected folder/subfolder. During this action, you need to decide whether you want to retain proofs existing in a folder or remove folders and their contents.


How do I create a new folder?

The folder creation button is under the New button in the upper right corner. It's the same place where you can start a new proof in Ziflow.

Please have a look at the details of the folder creation process:

  1. Choose the folder name.

  2. Public/Private (available on Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions) - if the globe icon is selected, then the folder will become public, and all Ziflow users will be able to create proofs in that folder by default. However, they cannot view the folder's contents if they are not shared with them. If the key icon is selected (private), then the folder creator, administrators, and the people with whom the folder is shared are the only ones who can access the folder.

  3. Choose the folder location - to add a new folder as a top-level folder, choose the General workspace. Alternatively, select an existing folder; the newly created folder will become a subfolder.

    Please note that when creating a new folder, the folder link permission settings will inherit the permissions of the parent folder by default, ensuring that new folders are immediately accessible to the intended audience.

  4. New folder member - type in an email or name of the team member who should get access to that folder.

  5. Send invitation message - please consider selecting this option if you wish to inform new folder members about their ability to access the folder.

    Share email notification in Ziflow
  6. Sharing settings - decide which setting is the most appropriate for the team member you invite to the folder.

    1. View only shared proofs - this setting is available only for Standard, Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions.

    2. View all proofs - this setting is available only for Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions.

    3. View and manage all proof versions - this setting is available only for Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions.

  7. Who has access: displays all the people who have access to the folder. Each user invited to the folder can be granted specific folder permissions. You can also delete users from the list using the trash icon near the listed profile.



Moving proofs to folders

Users may put proofs into folders during the proof configuration by clicking the folder button and choosing the location.

Folder button on a review level

If a proof wasn't placed in a folder during the creation process, it could still be moved by the proof owner or manager by using a bulk actions menu or an action inside Proof Details and selecting the proof folder location.


Folder Gallery View in Proof Viewer

Available for: Pro, Business Legacy, and Enterprise editions

With a Folder Gallery shareable link, users or guest reviewers can view proofs placed within a specific folder. This option lets you quickly share a set of proofs placed in a folder by sending a link to anyone who needs access.

Users can click into individual proofs within the folder, provide feedback, and approve proofs—all while the folder view itself remains locked to the left side of the browser. Clicking a different asset in the folder will open that asset in the main “viewer”, where you can leave comments, make a decision, and move onto the next asset. Clicking the “X” in the top corner of the primary proofing window send you back to the Gallery View of the folder where you can access a new asset or dive deeper into a project’s subfolders.

Here's a quick overview of what can be found inside the new folder view:

  1. Folder path - using this folder path, reviewers can move across the folder structure.

  2. Default sorting - choose how proofs should be sorted in your folder view. You can sort them by creation date or name.

  3. Layout - adjust a variety of appearance options, including:

    • Thumbnail Scale (Fill or Fit): Choose between a cropped thumbnail view or keep the original aspect ratio to best display the content

    • Show/Hide Proof Info: Focus purely on content by hiding or revealing proof metadata based on your needs

    • Proof Name Length: You can now opt to show the full proof name or condense it to a single line for a cleaner look

    • (Coming in a future release) Thumbnail Shape: Customize the shape of your thumbnails—either Square, Portrait, or Landscape—for even more control over your Gallery View

  4. Show - fine-tune which proof information is displayed when the Show/Hide Proof Info setting is set to “Show”. There are options to toggle or reposition elements such as:

    • Proof status

    • Progress

    • Next deadline

    • Custom properties

    • Last activity

    • Owner information

    • …in addition to the proof’s name, creation date, the reviewer’s status, and other vital metadata

  5. Subfolders - in Gallery View, you can also browse through subfolders residing in the opened folder.

  6. Proof version - shows which proof version is currently displayed.

  7. Proof thumbnail - a preview of the original proof image. Once clicked, it will open up a proof in a Proof Viewer, where it can undergo the review process.

  8. New badge - a label designed to help reviewers quickly spot proofs they haven’t yet opened.

  9. Proof details - you can find advanced information about a specific proof in this section. Display necessary details by selecting the required elements under the Show button.

  10. Multistage proof status - displays all decision statuses if the reviewer was invited to more than one proof stage.

How to open a new Gallery View?

When you open the Share folder settings, you'll see a Shareable link section that allows you to choose the folder access restriction type and then copy the generated URL.

Whether you’re navigating folders in the Grid, List, or Expanded views, or even scrolling through the sidebar, you can now easily open a folder’s Gallery View in Proof Viewer by right-clicking to reveal the context menu, and selecting this new “Review” option.

Discover how to create Proofs for individual asset review.

To enable reviewers to evaluate each uploaded asset individually, follow the guide below to create a proof set that allows for asset-by-asset review.


Begin by selecting a proof folder location and uploading multiple assets during the proof creation process. Make sure to choose the Separate Proofs option before clicking on the Create button.

Shareable link folder permissions

There are three types of URL restrictions that may be applied depending on what you want the URL to work like:

  1. Restricted: Only users invited to the folder can access it with a link.

  2. Anyone with the link: Anyone (registered user or not) can view proofs placed inside the folder. If a particular proof security setting is enabled, then reviewers must sign in to view that proof.

  3. Off: Shareable link won't allow opening the folder.

Please note that changing the folder link permissions on a parent folder automatically applies the same permissions to all subfolders, ensuring consistent access across your entire folder structure.

If you require any subfolder to have different folder link permissions, you need to adjust those manually by opening a specific subfolder and then updating the shareable link access setting.

What happens when a reviewer opens a folder shareable link?

Contacts who open the shareable link will be redirected to Proof Viewer, where they can view proofs in the folder. Depending on proof security settings applied by a proof owner they may or may not be required to authenticate before viewing/working on shared proofs.

Users already authenticated within Ziflow, will see all shared proofs instantly. They can start reviewing content right away

When a shareable link is opened by a contact with authentication turned on on a proof level, they must authenticate themselves using a verification code. Then, they can comment or submit decisions on proofs (depending on rights given on the proof level).

If proofs aren't shared explicitly and the Anyone with the link setting is enabled on a folder level, everyone who opens a folder link can view assets but won't be able to add comments or submit decisions. They need to be invited to each proof to be able to comment and make decisions.

Folders that are shared with a link (Anyone with the link setting selected) are marked with a special icon, so it is easier to identify folders to which a link was shared:

Please note that the security level of proofs affects whether they can be viewed through a shareable link. In order to allow reviewers to view proofs (without authenticating in Ziflow), authentication should not be required for Users and Guests.


Additional Information:

  • If a user decides to delete a folder, Ziflow will ask what should be done with sub-folders/proofs inside of it.

  • Please note that folders can be deleted only by folder owners/creators or users with manager or admin rights.

  • Shared folders have a special icon near the name, so it is easier to see that the folder has been shared (with users or shared using a shareable link). Once you click the icon, it will expand a list of the users with whom the folder is shared. You can also open "Sharing settings" and view/edit folder details.

    Preview reviewers added to a folder

Supporting material:

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