FileRun user's guide

Accessing

Web

Simply open the address (URL) of the FileRun installation using a modern browser program. It works great from the desktop and also from a mobile device.

Mobile apps

Please see this page for the recommended mobile apps and how to use them: Mobile apps

To authorize the app, the web-based FileRun application will open in your mobile's browser app, guiding you through the process.

WebDAV

Please see this page: WebDAV

Basic tasks

Working with files

Downloading files and folders

To download files right-click them and select "Download" from the contextual menu.

If you select multiple files or a folder, the selected files will be included in one Zip archive.

To download multiple files and folders from different locations at the same time, add them to a collection. You can add more items to the collection by drag & drop, and download or share the entire collection.

Uploading files

To upload files simply use the New button and then select File upload to start selecting files from your computer.

When using modern browsers, just drag files or folders from your computer's file explorer to the browser, dropping them over the file list area. They will start transferring right away from your computer to the server.

Uploading screenshots

You can simply take a screenshot of your desktop or an app using the Print Screen keyboard button and then paste it to FileRun (using the usual keyboard combo, e.g. CTRL+V on Windows computers). The screenshot will be uploaded, and you will receive a web link to it from FileRun.

Uploading folders

You can upload folders by using the Folder upload option available under the New button, or by drag & drop.

You can upload folders also by zipping the folder on your computer, uploading the zip archive and unzip the archive on the server once it is uploaded. This will reproduce the entire folder structure on the server.

Renaming files

To rename a file follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the file and select Rename from the contextual menu.
  2. Type the new name for the file and click Ok.
  3. The files list will automatically reload to show the changes.

Deleting files

To delete one or multiple files follow these steps:

  1. Select one file, or multiple files.
  2. Click the Move to Trash option from the contextual menu.
  3. The deleted file(s) will disappear from the list.

Note: Deleted files can be restored from the Trash special folder.

Moving files

To move one or multiple files to another folder follow these steps:

  1. Select one file, or multiple files.
  2. Drag the file(s) from the list to the target folder on the left tree menu.
  3. Alternatively: From the contextual menu choose Organize → Move.
  4. Select the destination folder and click Move or Move here.
  5. The files list will automatically reload to reflect the changes.

Copying files

To copy one or multiple files to another folder follow these steps:

  1. Select one file, or multiple files.
  2. From the contextual menu choose Organize → Copy.
  3. Select the destination folder and click Copy or Copy here.
  4. The files list might automatically reload to reflect the changes.

Note: Only files can be copied. Copying folders is not supported.

Creating Zip archives

To Zip one or multiple files follow these steps:

  1. Select one file, or multiple files.
  2. Right-click the file and select Organize → Add to... → Zip archive....
  3. Type the new name for the new Zip file and click Ok.
  4. The files list will automatically reload to show the changes.

To Zip an entire folder the process is identical.

Extracting archives

To extract an archive follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the file and select Organize → Extract archive.
  2. Select the destination folder and click Extract or Extract here.
  3. The folder list might automatically reload to reflect the changes.

Searching files

To open the search panel simply click the search icon on the top bar.

Files and folders can be searched by name, type, metadata or any combination of them. Read more details about this here.

To search by file name, start typing in the Name field.

To search the files by a particular metadata value, click the Metadata toggle available at the top of the search panel, type a keyword and optionally select the metadata field you wish to limit the scope of the search to.

For more information details on search, please see this page.

Searching by text contents

Note that this feature might not be enabled in your FileRun server. To search files by keywords in their contents, toggle the Content switch available at the bottom of the search panel and type under the Content field. The content search cannot be combined with other searching criteria.

Working with folders

Creating new folders

To create a new folder follow these steps:

  1. From the top menu, click the New button and choose Folder.
  2. Alternatively, you can also right-click inside the current folder listing, or right-click a folder inside the folders' tree panel. (Tip: Click anywhere inside the file list and press the + key on your keyboard.)
  3. Type a name for the new folder and press ENTER on the keyboard.

Moving folders

The same procedure as moving files.

Renaming folders

To rename a folder follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the folder and select the Rename option from the contextual menu.
  2. Type the new name for the folder and press ENTER on the keyboard

File Versioning

Whenever a file is overwritten, by copying or uploading a file with the same name, a copy of the previous version is automatically stored by FileRun.

Browsing previous file versions

You can browse a file's previous versions by right-clicking the file and selecting Information → Previous versions.

Restoring / deleting previous file versions

You can delete or restore a previous version by selecting it and clicking the appropriate option on the versioning panel's toolbar.

Locking / Unlocking files

Locking prevents other users from editing, overwriting, deleting the file, and making any metadata changes (including comments, tags, ratings, etc.).

While a lock prevents direct deletion of a file, deleting or moving a parent folder will also delete or move its contents, including locked files.

Locked files can be modified only by the users who locked them. File locks placed by file owners can only be lifted by themselves or admin users.

To lock or unlock a file follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the file.
  2. Select the Organize option and choose the appropriate action (Lock/Unlock) from the menu.

File Comments

FileRun provides a tool for attaching user's comments to files.
To read or add comments to a file follow these steps:

  1. Select the file.
  2. Toggle the third tab available at the top of the file preview panel, on the right side of the interface.

To remove a comment from the list select it and click the ❌ button that is displayed on the right-hand side of the comment you are holding the mouse cursor over.

To print a PDF copy of the comments on a file, right-click anywhere within the comment panel of that file. This action will directly open the print window for you to proceed with printing.

Files Metadata

FileRun allows you to attach information to files through the Metadata system. Predefined text fields can be filled in with information by right-clicking a file and selecting the Information → Metadata option.

To choose what metadata information to display in the files list, when the List layout display mode is selected, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Options button from the top toolbar and select the Choose details option.
  2. Select the details you wish to display.

File Sharing

Sharing with other users and sharing with links is done from the same panel.

To share a file or a folder follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the item you want to share and select Share from the contextual menu.
  2. The sharing panel will open.

Sharing with users

  1. Start typing a user or group name to add them to the share.
  2. Select a role to assign permissions with a single click. The available roles, from the most capable to the least:
    • Content manager - Can preview, download, comment, edit tags/metadata, edit files, upload, rename, move, delete, and share items via links. Typical use: team leads or admins managing content.
    • Contributor - Can preview, download, comment, edit tags/metadata, edit files, and upload. Typical use: teams producing and adding new material.
    • Editor - Can preview, download, comment, edit tags/metadata, and edit existing files. Typical use: collaborative document editing.
    • Commenter - Can preview, download, comment, and edit tags/metadata. Typical use: feedback workflows, reviews, approvals.
    • Viewer - Can preview and download. Typical use: sharing documents for review or reference.
    • Uploader - Can upload new files and folders, can list files but cannot preview or download. Cannot overwrite existing files. Typical use: file requests.
  3. Optionally send an e-mail notification with a custom message directly from the sharing panel.
  4. Click Save. The item is now shared.

The shared items are marked with a small icon.

All shared files and folders are listed under Shared by me. Items shared with links are also listed under Shared by me → Shared with link.

Sharing with links

You can use web links to share files, folders, or collections with anyone, including people without a FileRun account. People opening shared links get the full FileRun browsing and collaboration interface.

To create a web link:

  1. Right-click a file, folder, or collection and select Share from the contextual menu.
  2. Under the links section, create a new link.
  3. Assign a role to set what visitors can do (the same roles as above apply).
  4. Optionally set a password, an expiration date, or a download limit.

Visitors interact with shared links under the system user account Visitor. If signed in, actions are logged under their own account.