Vault File Tree
The Vault file tree is the left-hand panel of the Vault page. It lists every place you can move files between from tiCrypt: the sections of your Vault, the drives of your own computer through tiCrypt Connect, and the VMs you are connected to. Clicking a folder in the tree shows its contents in the file list in the center, and dropping items on a folder in the tree uploads, moves, copies or transfers them there.
The tree is not one file system. My Files, Inboxes, Downloads and Trash are real folders in your Vault. Group Directories gathers the folders of the groups you belong to, and Shared With Me and Shared By Me list files by who shared them. My Computer and the VMs are not in the Vault at all.
Why the Vault page is one tree
Every transfer is a drag from one place to another. Uploading, moving, sharing with a group, copying into a VM, downloading to your computer and pushing to an SFTP server are all the same gesture. The place you drop decides which of them happens, and whether it is allowed. Showing every place in one tree is what makes that possible, and it is why the same drag uploads in one place and is refused in another.
Sections are separate because their files have different owners and rules. Files in My Files are yours. Files in a group's folder belong to the group and are shared permanently with every member. Files in Shared With Me belong to someone else, so you cannot add to that section. Keeping them apart tells you, before you drop, who will be able to see the result.
My Computer and VMs sit outside the Vault. A Vault file dragged to My Computer is decrypted on your computer, and one dragged into a VM is copied onto that VM's drives under the VM's project rules. Showing them as separate sections below the Vault makes that boundary visible every time you cross it.
When to use each Vault section
- My Files: keep your own files here, organize them in folders, and start shares from here.
- Group Directories: put files that everyone in a group should have into that group's folder.
- Inboxes: create an inbox here to receive files from people who have no tiCrypt account.
- Shared With Me: look here for files other users have shared with you directly.
- Shared By Me: look here to review the files you have shared with individual users.
- Downloads: look here for files you have downloaded through the browser.
- Trash: restore something you deleted by mistake, or delete it permanently.
Parts of the Vault page
The following table describes the parts of the Vault page, from top to bottom and left to right.
| Part | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Across the top | Shows "Vault /" and the path of the open folder. It holds the buttons the open section allows (New directory, Create inbox, Empty trash) and Refresh. When items are selected, it also shows their pinned actions and the Open full menu button. |
| Upload Files | Top of the left panel | Uploads Files or Directories from your computer into the open Vault folder. It reads Cannot upload here where uploads are not allowed. |
| Vault | Left panel | The seven Vault sections, described below. |
| My Computer | Left panel, below Vault | Your computer's drives, cloud services and SFTP servers, reached through tiCrypt Connect. |
| Connected VMs | Left panel, below My Computer | One section for each running VM you are connected to. |
| Storage total | Bottom of the left panel | "size total storage used": the total size of your files in the Vault. |
| File list | Center | The contents of the folder selected in the tree. |
| View switch | Bottom of the file list | Grid view, Table view or Compact table view. Your choice is remembered. |
| Groups | Right panel | The groups you belong to. |
The dividers between the panels can be dragged, and tiCrypt remembers where you leave them.
Vault sections
The following table describes the sections under Vault, in the order they appear.
| Icon | Section | What it holds | Can you add files? |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Files | Your own files and folders. The Vault opens here. | Yes. Upload or drop files, and create folders with New directory. | |
| Group Directories | One folder for each group you belong to, named after the group. | Inside a group's folder, if the group lets you add files. Uploading asks Share files? first, because files in a group folder are shared permanently with all its members. Not on Group Directories itself. | |
| Inboxes | The folders you have turned into inboxes. | Create inbox on the section. Inside an inbox folder, the same as in My Files. | |
| Shared With Me | Files other users have shared with you. Files shared with your groups appear in Group Directories instead. | No. | |
| Shared By Me | Files you have shared with individual users. | No. Upload a file to My Files first, then share it. | |
| Downloads | Vault files you have downloaded through the browser: with Download via Browser, from a file preview, or by dropping them on Downloads. Files sent to your computer through tiCrypt Connect are not listed here. | No. Dropping Vault files on Downloads downloads them. | |
| Trash | Items you have deleted. Restore to My Files brings them back. Delete or Empty trash removes them permanently. | No. Dropping Vault items on Trash moves them to the trash. |
Download sends files to My Computer through tiCrypt Connect and does not add them to Downloads. Download via Browser, offered only when you use tiCrypt in a web browser, does. Empty trash asks for confirmation, then gives you 25 seconds to cancel before anything is deleted. See Delete.
Work with the tree
- Open a section or folder: click its name. Its contents appear in the file list.
- Expand without opening: click the chevron or the folder icon. The tree shows folders only; files appear in the file list. Shared With Me, Shared By Me, Downloads and Trash do not expand.
- Use the keyboard: the tree is a single Tab stop. Up and Down move between folders, Home and End jump to the first and last row, and Right and Left open and close a folder or move to its first child or its parent. Moving with the arrow keys also shows that folder's contents in the file list. Enter or Space opens or closes a folder, and opens a section.
- Use the folder menu: right-click a folder for New Subdirectory, Rename, Compute disk usage, Make inbox or Manage inbox, and Delete inbox. Section names offer only the items that apply to them.
- Read folder sizes: after Compute disk usage, the size appears in parentheses after the folder name.
My Computer
My Computer is your own computer, seen through tiCrypt Connect. It is not part of the Vault: files there are not encrypted by tiCrypt, and moving a Vault file there decrypts it. The section lists your local drives first, then any cloud service and SFTP drives you have connected, then your access directories.
The following table describes the controls and drive icons in the My Computer section.
| Icon | Control or drive | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer files between My Vault and My Computer | Opens a window with the Vault on one side and My Computer on the other, for dragging files between them. See Transfer. | |
| Settings button next to My Computer | Opens the Credentials and Drives tabs, where you manage cloud credentials and choose which drives are mounted. Screen readers announce it as "Manage transfer and connect settings". | |
| Add new cloud service | Connects Box, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. These drives only bring files into the Vault. | |
| Connect to SFTP server | Connects an SFTP server with SFTP inbound or SFTP bidirectional. See SFTP Connections. | |
| Local drive | A drive of your computer. | |
| Cloud service drive | A connected Dropbox, Box, Google Drive or OneDrive account. Pull-only. | |
| SFTP drive, inbound | An SFTP server connected with SFTP inbound. Pull-only. | |
| SFTP drive, bidirectional | An SFTP server connected with SFTP bidirectional. Files can move both ways. | |
| Access Directories | Folders on your computer that you have set up as access directories. |
Add new cloud service and Connect to SFTP server are greyed out when tiCrypt Connect cannot be reached. Start tiCrypt Connect and reload the Vault. See tiCrypt Connect.
Connected VMs
Below My Computer, the tree has one section for each running VM you have connected to in this session, in alphabetical order, with the VM's state shown next to its name. Clicking one of its folders shows the VM's files in the center panel, with their own view switch. A VM appears only after you connect to it. See Connect and Access.
While a VM or My Computer folder is open, the header reads "VM /" and Upload Files reads Cannot upload here, because uploads go into the Vault. If the VM's project is not active in your session, its folders cannot be opened from the tree.
Drag and drop
You drag items from the file list and drop them on a folder in the tree, or on a folder row in the file list. Tree rows themselves cannot be dragged. The following table describes what a drop does, by where the items come from and where you drop them.
| From | Dropped on | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Your computer's desktop or file manager | My Files, or a folder in My Files, a group folder or an inbox folder | Uploads the files. |
| The Vault | Another Vault folder | Moves the items. They are copied instead when they move between your folders and a group's, when they come from a section other than My Files or Trash, or when you lack permission to delete them. |
| The Vault | Trash | Moves the items to the trash. |
| The Vault | Downloads | Downloads the files through the browser. Directories cannot be downloaded this way. |
| The Vault | A group in the Groups panel | Opens the Share n files? form, then shares the files with every member of the group. Directories cannot be shared this way. See Groups. |
| The Vault | A folder of a connected VM | Copies the items into the VM, if the VM's project allows the files' project. |
| The Vault | A folder under My Computer | Downloads the items to your computer, or pushes them to an SFTP bidirectional server, after a Download ... to your computer? confirmation. |
| A VM or My Computer folder | A Vault folder | Copies the items into the Vault. |
| A VM folder | Another folder on the same drive of the same VM | Moves the items. |
Move or copy
A drag between Vault folders moves the items by default. Hold Ctrl (Command on macOS) while you drop to copy them instead, or Shift or Alt to ask for a move. tiCrypt copies even when you ask for a move if the items cross between your folders and a group's, come from a section other than My Files or Trash, or if you lack permission to delete directory entries.
A copy asks first. The Confirm file copying dialog reads "Copy n item(s)? x files and y directories will be copied recursively". Click Copy to go ahead. A copy does not duplicate file content: it adds the same files to the new folder and recreates the folders around them. Copying into a group folder shares the files permanently with the group. Files whose project is not active in your session are skipped.
Moves and copies never overwrite. When the destination already has an item with the same name, the
new one is renamed, for example "report (1).pdf", and the characters / \ | " : * ? < > { } in a
name become _. When the drop finishes, a message reads "Moved items to folder" or "Copied
items to folder", or "Failed to move items" if it did not work. Uploads, copies and deletes run
one at a time, so a new one shows "Waiting for previous file operation to finish" in the task tray
until the previous one ends.
Refused drops
While you drag, a box next to the pointer says what the drop will do, or why it is refused. The following messages explain the refusals:
- "You cannot manually add items to section": Group Directories, Inboxes, Shared With Me and Shared By Me cannot receive Vault items on the section itself. Drop into one of their folders, or into My Files.
- "You cannot transfer items to section": VM and My Computer items can go only into My Files or an ordinary folder.
- "You cannot put files here because drive is read-only": cloud service drives and SFTP inbound drives only bring files into the Vault.
- "You cannot drag files between different VMs": items cannot go straight from one VM, or from My Computer, to another. Copy them into the Vault first.
- "You cannot upload files directly to a VM": files from your desktop go into the Vault first.
- "Drag ignored: too fast": the drop came less than half a second after the drag started. Drag again.
- "Cannot move or copy "name" into itself or one of its subfolders": a folder cannot go inside itself. Pick a destination outside it.
- "You don't have access to the project associated with "name". Actions are unavailable.": the destination folder, or a folder you are dragging, belongs to a project that is not active in your session or that restricts you. Activate the project first.
- "Cannot download items in the trash": restore the items before you drop them on Downloads.
- "Directory downloading is not supported": only files can be dropped on Downloads.
- "You lack permission to download files", "You lack permission to move nodes between directories" or "You lack permission to add nodes to directories": your account does not have the permission the drop needs. Ask an administrator.
- "You lack permission to move nodes from the trash (must be able to delete entries)": items can leave the Trash only by a move, which needs the permission to delete directory entries.
- "You must upload files before you can share them": files from your desktop cannot be dropped on Shared By Me. Upload them to My Files, then share them.
- "You lack the permissions needed to upload files (in general)": your account cannot upload files.
- "You lack permission to add files to this group's filesystem": the group does not give you Add Directory Entries.
File list and views
The file list shows the contents of the folder selected in the tree. Grid view shows tiles, and Compact table view fits more rows on the screen. The file list has no search or filter box.
The following table describes the columns of Table view.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The file or folder name. Folders are always listed before files. Click the header to sort. |
| Sharing | Up to three user icons and three group chips that the item is shared with, then "+n" for the rest. A file shared with you shows the owner's icon, an arrow, and "You". Click the header to sort. In Grid view the tile tooltip reads "Shared with n other user(s) or group(s)" or "Shared with me and n other users or groups". |
| Project | The item's project tag, shown only when it differs from the open folder's project. This column cannot be sorted. |
| Size | The file size. Click the header to sort. |
Select items
- Click: selects one row. Clicking a row that is already selected clears the selection.
- Ctrl+click (Command+click on macOS): adds a row to the selection or removes it.
- Shift+click: selects every row between the last row you clicked and this one.
- Right-click: opens the actions menu. If no row or one row was selected, the row you right-click becomes the selection; with several rows selected, the menu acts on all of them.
- Ctrl+A and Ctrl+D: select all rows, and clear the selection.
Keyboard shortcuts in the file list
- Enter: opens a folder, or previews a file.
- Space: opens the actions menu for the focused row.
- Arrow keys, Home and End: move to another row and select it. Shift with an arrow key extends the selection. In Grid view, the arrow keys move the focus without selecting.
- A: opens the actions menu for the focused row. It is a single-key shortcut, so it stops working when you turn single-key shortcuts off in User Settings.
- Backspace: moves the selected items to the trash. In Trash it runs Delete, with its confirmation. Where neither is allowed, it shows "Operation not supported.".
Opening a file or folder from a project you are not active in shows "You are not an active member of project", and a project that restricts you shows "You are restricted from viewing files in project".
Actions on selected items
Selecting items shows their actions in three places, with the same list in each: the header, where pinned actions appear as icons next to Open full menu; the right-click menu; and the A key. View, Download and Manage Share are pinned by default. Pin action in Open full menu pins or unpins any other action, and tiCrypt remembers your choice in this browser.
The following table describes the actions in the order they appear, and when each one is offered.
| Action | Offered when |
|---|---|
| View | One file is selected, you can download files, and the file's project is active and lets you view it. See View. |
| Restore to My Files | You are in Trash and can move directory entries. See Delete. |
| Manage inbox | One folder is selected outside group folders, and you can view inboxes. See Inboxes. |
| Transfer | The transfer window is open and the folder on its other side can receive files. See Transfer. |
| Download | You can download files, and every selected folder's project is accessible. See Download. |
| Download via Browser | The same as Download, when you use tiCrypt in a web browser rather than tiCrypt Connect. |
| Manage Share | One file that you own is selected. See Share. |
| Share with group and Share with user | Two or more files and no folders are selected. |
| Remove Share | You are in Shared With Me and the selected files belong to someone else. |
| Rename | One item is selected in My Files, an ordinary folder, a group folder or Downloads, and you can rename directory entries. Not offered for items directly under Group Directories, Inboxes or Shared By Me. See Rename. |
| Change project | You can edit project tags and no group's top folder is selected. See Change Project. |
| View history | One file is selected and you can view file history. See View History. |
| Compute disk usage | Always. See Compute Disk Usage. |
| Compute SHA-256 | The same as View. |
| Delete inbox | You are in Inboxes, every selected folder is an inbox, and you can delete inboxes. |
| Move to trash | You can move directory entries, in My Files, an ordinary folder, a group folder or Downloads. |
| Delete | You are in Trash and can delete directory entries, and also directories if folders are selected. |
Trash offers only View, Restore to My Files, View history, Compute disk usage, Compute SHA-256 and Delete. Shared With Me offers View, Download, Download via Browser, Remove Share, View history, Compute disk usage and Compute SHA-256.
Empty and error messages
The following table describes what the file list shows when it has nothing to list.
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "This directory is empty." | The folder has no items. Upload files or drag them into it. |
| "You have not uploaded any files." | My Files is empty. |
| "Your trash is empty." | Trash has no items. |
| "You have not downloaded anything." | You have not downloaded any files through the browser. |
| "You are not part of any groups." | Group Directories is empty because you belong to no group. |
| "You have not shared any files with other users." | Shared By Me is empty. |
| "Nobody has shared any files with you." | Shared With Me is empty. Files shared with your groups appear in Group Directories. |
| "You do not have any inboxes." | Inboxes is empty. |
| "No directory selected." | Select a folder in the tree. |
| "The server is being very slow.." | The folder has taken more than a few seconds to load. Wait, or click Refresh. |
| "Failed to load directory entries." | The folder could not be loaded. Click Refresh, and contact your administrator if it keeps failing. |
| "This directory cannot be accessed." | The folder's project is locked in your session. The project tab gives the reasons. The folder offers no actions until the project is active. |
If your account can view neither files nor directories, the Vault shows "Nothing to show" and "You do not have permission to view files or directories." If it can view files but not directories, the Vault opens on Shared With Me, and the tree shows only Shared With Me and Shared By Me.
Groups panel
The Groups panel on the right lists the groups you belong to, with your role, the number of members and any project tag. Click a group to open it, or use the ⋮ menu next to a group, or right-click the group, for its actions. The Create group button at the top of the panel makes a new group. Dropping Vault files onto a group shares them with all of its members. See Groups.