Client folders
Sync a folder from Google Drive or SharePoint into a workspace, so the agent works on the client's current files and can write results back.
On this page7 sections
How it works#
Clients keep their documents in their own Google Drive or SharePoint. Instead of downloading and uploading copies, you bind the folder to a workspace. Its files then appear in the workspace and stay in step with the client's folder.
There are two parts: an organization admin connects the storage provider once, and then folders are bound to workspaces as needed.
Connect a storage provider#
Open Settings, then Storage.
Google Drive. Click Connect Google Drive. This creates an address for your organization. Anyone can then copy that address from the page. The client shares their folder with it. Viewer access is enough to read; they need to give edit access if you will write back.
Microsoft SharePoint. Click Connect Microsoft and complete Microsoft's consent step. A work OneDrive is bound through the same connection. The client's SharePoint admin also has to grant access to the site; the binding dialog shows exactly what they need to run.
Bind a folder to a workspace#
- In the workspace, open External folders in the left bar. Or right-click in Files and choose Bind External Folder.
- Pick the folder from those shared with your organization, or paste a link to a Drive folder or a SharePoint library or folder.
- Confirm.
The folder appears in Files under External drives, and syncs straight away. A new binding is read-only.
Who can bind#
- An organization admin can bind any folder shared with the organization's connection.
- A workspace's owner who is not an organization admin has to show that they can open the folder themselves, by signing in to Google or Microsoft once with the same email address as their Refactor account. Nothing about that sign-in is kept. If this option is not available in your organization, ask an organization admin to bind the folder.
Keep it in sync#
A bound folder syncs when the workspace is opened and when the provider reports a change. To sync on demand, click Sync Now on the folder.
Each folder shows a badge.
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| read-only | Changes come in from the client. Nothing is written back. |
| read-write | Edits made in the workspace are written back to the client's folder. |
| unsynced edits | Edits are waiting to be written back. |
| sync broken | The last sync failed. Click Sync Now to try again. |
Files in a bound folder cannot be renamed, moved, deleted or added from the workspace's file list. Its contents come from the client's folder.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides arrive as Word, Excel and PowerPoint copies, and open read-only.
Write back to the client's folder#
- On the bound folder, choose Enable Read-Write.
- Confirm. Refactor checks that the client has given edit access.
From then on, edits made in the workspace are written to the client's folder a few seconds later.
- If both sides changed a file, the client's version is kept and the workspace's version is saved beside it, with "workspace conflict" in its name.
- A file deleted in the workspace is not deleted from the client's folder. Client files are never deleted by a sync.
Choose Switch to Read-Only to stop writing back.
Stop syncing#
On the bound folder, choose Revoke Binding. Syncing stops and the workspace's copy of the folder is removed. For a read-write folder, the last edits are written back first; if that fails, nothing is removed, so you do not lose them.
Limits#
- Files over 50 MB are skipped.
- A bound folder can hold up to 2 GB and 2,000 files.