Guide
Smart Folders can be created inside Spaces and on the top level. They show a nested list of entities in the sidebar, and allow you to create automatically filtered Context Views inside entities. Smart Folders support filtering and sorting.
You can organize your sidebar by products, clients, teams, or any other high-level Entities by creating Smart Folders. Add Views and Docs that are unique for each product/client but also mirror the same kind of View to all of them to save time.
When Smart Folders are useful
Typical use cases:
You have several Teams and want to aggregate information (Views, Documents, etc) by teams.
You have several ongoing Projects and want to quickly explore the same information by Project (Plan, Report, etc).
How to create a Smart Folder
Click + near Space name and select Smart Folder.
Select a database to be visible as the first folder level.
Filter the database with conditions if you want to restrict the list of entities.
You can created nested hierarchies as well.
Click + button near top level database.
Select nested database.
How to create context Views that filter data automatically
Smart Folders are usually most valuable when you add Context Views inside:
Check out the dedicated guide on how to automatically replicate a View across all Entities of a Smart Folder to avoid double work.
How to rename Smart Folder
Click ••• near Smart Folder name and select Rename action.
Type a new name.
Push Enter to save the changes.
How to show nested hierarchies
You can visualize self-referenced hierarchies as well. For example, you have a hierarchy of projects that are nested. In this case select Project as a database and click this weird Group by the same database relation action — and projects will be nested.
You can also visualize recursive relationships at any level in List, Table and Smart Folder. For example, if you have Product Areas (nested) and Features (nested), you can see them like this
Product Area 1
- Product Area 1-1
- Feature 1
- Feature 1-1
- Feature 1-2
- Feature 2
Product Area 2
- ...
How to filter and sort entities in a Smart Folder
Click ••• near Smart Folder name and select Configure action.
Click Filter tab to create some filters.
Click Sort tab and create a sorting criteria.
Who can see a Smart Folder and entities inside
The access to the Smart Folder itself depends on where it is located:
Within a Space: anyone with access to this Space can see it.
Outside Spaces: anyone, including Guests, can see it. In fact, top-level Smart Folders might be a great way to organize navigation for Guests who otherwise have nothing in their sidebar.
Inside a Smart Folder, each user will only see entities they have access to. See Sharing & Permissions for all the ways to provide access to entities, ranging from Space level to individual entity level.
Access to Context Views depends on whether they are mirrored or not. Check out the corresponding guide for the details.
FAQ
How can I restore Smart Folder?
When a Smart Folder is deleted, it does not appear in the Trash the same way Entities, Documents, or Views do. Therefore, it cannot be restored from the Trash. However, if you create a new Smart Folder with the same Database, it will restore the path, and the Views can be found again in the sidebar. Check the full explanation here.