This article is for you if you are an administrator of a Storegate account and you are going to set up a new folder structure. Planning an intuitive folder structure will make it easier to navigate and increase user productivity. When you move to Storegate, it's a good time to make sure that inefficient workflows from a previous folder structure are not repeated.
Things to consider before designing the folder structure:
- Who and what should write, edit and save files?
- Which root-level folders in Shared Files are good for your organization? This can be designed by departments, regions or groups that will use Storegate.
- Do your users have the ability to create and manage their own folders at root level? Or do you, as admin, prefer to own (and control) all folders at root level?
- Do different permissions need to be set for users or are groups better?
- Are there special security needs around certain folders and files?
Basic folder structure:
For simplicity, permissions are set only in the root directory on Shared files. This means that a sub-user who has been given Write permission on a folder, for example, has Write permission on the entire folder including its sub-folders.
It is possible to modify it so that you can also set permissions on subfolders. You can do this under "Account" -> "Settings" logged into the administrator account.
Here you can extend permissions to folders below root level. NOTE! Keep in mind that this setting makes the service more advanced as you also have to manage permissions inherited down in subfolders.
Folder structure methodology tips:
Understanding Storegate's folder permissions helps you configure the folder structure so that your team can get the most out of Storegate. More information is available here: Managing users, permissions and groups
- Secret content should be placed high up in the root.
You will invite sub-users and sometimes external users further down the folder structure. Since you inherit permissions from the root folder, a user's access only flows down to subfolders. Therefore, sensitive information should be at the top of your folder structure as it becomes more private.
- Name folders clearly.
Naming folders helps users stay oriented in the folder structure and makes it easier to access the right content.
- Keep the structure as flat as possible.
A rule of thumb is to stick to a folder structure of no more than six levels. A flat folder structure will be more efficient to work in and easier for a user to navigate through.
- Each user only sees folders and files they have access to
Inviting users to departmental, regional or team folders makes it easy to navigate and helps users star their Favourite folders for quick access.
- Create unique folders for external users.
If you tag all shared/external folders appropriately, users can easily understand that the content is shared with external users.