In This Article: Learn how to work with files and folders in Harness using the comprehensive action menu, collaborate through comments and tasks, manage user access, and leverage both individual and bulk operations to keep your team productive and your content organized.
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Accessing File Actions
Ontario makes it easy to take action on any file or folder in Harness. The actions menu is accessible in two ways, giving you flexibility in how you work.
Three-Dot Menu
Click the three-dot icon that appears when you hover over a file or folder name in the table view.
Best for: Precise selection when working with multiple items or when browsing through lists
Right-Click Menu
Right-click directly on any file or folder to access the same complete set of actions instantly.
Best for: Quick actions and familiar desktop-like interactions for faster workflows
Pro Tip: Both methods provide identical functionality—choose whichever feels more natural for your workflow. Power users often prefer right-click for speed, while those managing complex folder structures may prefer the precision of the three-dot menu.
Screenshot: The three-dot action menu showing the complete list of available actions for a folder
File and Folder Actions Reference
Harness provides a comprehensive set of actions accessible through the three-dot menu or right-click. Here's what each action does:
| Action | What It Does | Available For |
|---|---|---|
| Rename | Update the name to reflect current content or maintain naming conventions | Files & Folders |
| Favorite | Pin to the top of Harness in a dedicated Favorites section for quick access | Folders only |
| Create Folder | Create a new child folder within the current folder | Folders only |
| Upload | Add files to the folder (up to 25MB per file, multiple files supported) | Folders only |
| Move | Relocate to a different location (drag-and-drop also supported) | Files & Folders |
| Duplicate | Copy folder structure only (files within are not duplicated) | Folders only |
| Preview | View file contents without downloading (documents, PDFs, images, spreadsheets) | Files only |
| Export | Download to your local system (folders export as compressed archives) | Files & Folders |
| Manage Access | Control who can view and edit, assign roles (Owner, Editor, Viewer) | Files & Folders |
| Archive | Move to Archive for long-term storage (remains accessible, logged in comments) | Files & Folders |
| Delete | Permanently remove (confirmation required, cannot be undone) | Files & Folders |
Important: The Duplicate action for folders only copies the folder structure, not the files within. If you need to duplicate both folders and their contents, you'll need to manually copy files after duplicating the structure.
Screenshot: Folder details panel showing the Details, Comments, User Access, and Tasks tabs with the Upload button visible
Collaboration Features
Ontario's Harness isn't just about file storage—it's designed for active collaboration. Every file and folder becomes a hub for team communication and coordinated work.
Working with Comments
Comments provide a threaded discussion space directly attached to files and folders, ensuring context is never lost and conversations stay organized alongside the content they reference.
Comment Types
User Comments
Comments posted by team members appear with their profile icon and timestamp. Use these for questions, feedback, status updates, or discussions about the file or folder.
System Comments
Automatically generated when actions are performed on files or folders. Labeled "System" with the Ontario icon, these log moves, archives, access changes, and other important actions for audit trail purposes.
Accessing Comments: Click on any file or folder to open the details panel, then select the Comments tab to view the conversation history and add new comments.
Screenshot: Comments tab showing both user comments with profile icons and system-generated comments with timestamps
Managing User Access
Control exactly who can access specific files and folders through granular permission management. Clicking on any file or folder opens a side drawer with multiple tabs—Details, Comments, User Access, and Tasks. Navigate to the User Access tab to view current permissions and add or remove users.
Open the Details Panel
Click on any file or folder to open the side drawer with Details, Comments, User Access, and Tasks tabs.
Review Current Access
Select the User Access tab to view all users who currently have access. Ontario Admins automatically appear with full access to all folders across the project.
Add or Remove Users
Click to add new users, assign their role (Owner, Editor, Viewer), and click Share. Remove users by clicking the X next to their name.
Access Inheritance: Users with project-level access automatically have access to all files and folders within that project unless explicitly restricted. Folder-specific permissions provide additional control when needed.
For comprehensive details on permission levels and access control strategies, see File Permissions and Sharing.
Linking Tasks to Files
Files and folders in Harness can be connected directly to tasks, creating clear relationships between work items and the files they reference. The Tasks tab in the file details panel shows all linked tasks.
Ways to link tasks and files:
- From Harness: Open a file or folder, navigate to the Tasks tab, and view any tasks already attached to that content
- From Task Manager: When updating or actioning tasks, team members upload files to Harness, which automatically links them to the task and provides immediate access to relevant documents
- Quick Upload: Upload new files directly from a task's file attachment section to automatically link them
This bidirectional linking ensures that everyone working on a task has instant access to supporting files, while also making it easy to see which tasks reference specific documents.
Screenshot: Task detail view showing attached files in a table with Upload button for adding more files
Understanding the Action Workflow
Actions in Harness follow a consistent pattern that makes the system predictable and easy to learn. Here's how the typical action flow works.
System Feedback: Ontario provides clear feedback for every action:
- Success notifications confirm when actions complete successfully
- System comments log important actions (moves, archives, access changes) in the Comments tab for audit purposes
- Confirmation dialogs appear for destructive actions like Delete to prevent accidental data loss
- Progress indicators show when actions like uploading or moving large folders are in progress
Bulk Actions for Efficiency
When working with multiple files or folders, you can select several items at once and apply actions to all of them simultaneously—saving time when reorganizing or managing large sets of content.
Selecting Multiple Items
Use the checkboxes that appear when you hover over files or folders. Select as many items as needed, then choose an action from the bulk actions toolbar that appears.
Available Bulk Actions
Move, archive, export, and delete are all available as bulk operations. Not all actions support bulk mode—those requiring individual configuration (like Rename) must be done one at a time.
Efficiency Tip: When reorganizing project structures or cleaning up old content, use bulk actions to move or archive dozens of files at once rather than processing them individually. This is particularly useful during project phase transitions or quarterly cleanups.
Check Your Understanding
What happens when you duplicate a folder in Harness?
Answer: Only the folder structure is duplicated—the hierarchy of child folders is recreated, but files within those folders are not copied. If you need to duplicate both structure and content, you'll need to manually copy the files after creating the duplicate folder structure.
What are the two types of comments you'll see in Harness?
Answer: User comments and system comments.
User comments are posted by team members and show their profile icon. System comments are automatically generated when actions are performed (moving, archiving, access changes) and are labeled "System" with the Ontario icon, creating an audit trail of what happened to the file or folder.
How do you access file actions in Ontario?
Answer: You can access actions in two ways: clicking the three-dot menu that appears when hovering over a file or folder, or by right-clicking directly on any file or folder. Both methods provide access to the same complete set of actions, so you can choose whichever method feels more natural for your workflow.
What's Next
File Permissions and Sharing
Learn how to control access to files and folders with granular permissions and secure sharing options
Finding and Searching Files
Discover powerful search and filtering tools to quickly locate any file across your projects
Creating and Managing Tasks
Attach files to tasks and coordinate work around the documents your team needs
File actions and collaboration features in Harness are designed to keep your team working efficiently while maintaining complete visibility into what's happening with your content. Every action leaves a clear trail, comments keep discussions contextualized, and flexible access controls ensure the right people always have the right level of access. As your projects grow in complexity, these tools scale with you to support increasingly sophisticated collaboration patterns.
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