folio.

WORKING WITH SOURCES / PRACTICAL GUIDE

Install shared directories and make your version

Bring a useful directory into your workspace without duplicating every chapter. Unchanged files remain Shared; the first saved title or text modification creates Your version inside the installed directory.

Try it in your workspace →Explore shared documents

PUT IT TO WORK

Step by step

  1. Find a public directory from the homepage and choose Preview directory. Read the structure and any files you need to assess.
  2. Sign in and choose Install shared directory. Use Open installed directory preview to enter that directory in your private workspace.
  3. Open a Shared file. Its original text is provided through the API instead of being copied into a new private note just for reading.
  4. Modify the title or text to fit your own work. When the change saves, Folio creates your private user version at that file's installed location.
  5. Continue working in the same directory. Your version replaces the shared entry for your account; other unchanged chapters remain shared.

What installation creates

Installing creates the directory structure and lightweight shared entries needed to navigate it. It does not create a private body copy of every public file. A file's text is fetched when you open it, and the installed preview distinguishes Shared, Your file and Your version.

This approach suits collections you only partly use. You can keep a complete outline available while writing private changes to the few chapters relevant to your project. Searching, previewing and reading do not materialize unused documents.

The moment a private version is created

An actual title or text change followed by a successful save is the boundary. Autosave counts as a save. Simply opening the file, pinning it, moving its shared entry or pressing Save on unchanged text does not create your own content copy.

Later edits update the same private file rather than generating another copy every time. Your changes do not rewrite the author's public original or another user's version. Existing save-conflict handling prevents a second session from silently overwriting newer work.

Shared sources are not an offline backup

Untouched files depend on the available public source. If the author withdraws that source, an unchanged shared entry can become unavailable. Folio does not silently turn every inaccessible source into a private copy.

A private user version is your independent working file, but it does not automatically synchronize when the public original is updated. Keep the original attribution and decide deliberately which source changes you want to incorporate into your own work.

Keep in mind

Public access is not a blanket permission to redistribute copyrighted material. Keep attribution and follow any applicable reuse terms.

Common questions

Does installing a shared directory use my upload allowance?

No. Shared installation and first-modification versions do not consume the uploaded-text allowance.

Where is the modified file stored?

Your private version stays inside the installed directory at the shared file's workspace location, rather than being added to an unrelated top-level collection.

Find a useful starting point.

Search the shared notes and directory collection, then open your own workspace when you are ready to work. Reading a shared document does not create a private file.