Let’s get behind the wheel of Canopy Virtual Drive for file and folder management.

In this video:

• About the Virtual Drive
• Download the Virtual Drive
• Uploading, Downloading, and Offloading Files and Folders

6:34

About the Virtual Drive

• You can use the virtual drive to access your files from Canopy on your desktop - an environment you’re likely already used to.
• With Virtual Drive, you don’t have to have to be logged in to Canopy to access, organize, or edit files. 
• Files can be downloaded and offloaded so that they can be viewed without internet access.
• The Canopy Virtual Drive also makes migrating and downloading files super easy during the onboarding process.

Basically, Virtual Drive is virtually awesome for document management and rivals the slickness of Pizza Delivery Trackers. 

Download Virtual Drive

If you have a Document Management License with Canopy and are not a legacy user, you can download the Virtual Drive from the Integrations page.

1. Go to your profile pic or initials button   
2. Select Settings   
3. On the left-hand side, choose Integrations.   
4. Select Virtual Drive.   
5. Once downloaded and installed, login and authorize the sync.

Next time you open up the File Explorer, your Canopy files appear and synced.

The file structure mimics the folder structure in Canopy, with a folder for:   

• Contact Files   
• Internal Files   
• My Files

Let’s click the Contact Files. You’ll see all of your contacts in this folder!

When a new Contact is created in Canopy, a new folder is added in the Contact File section in Virtual Drive - it looks just as it would for your other Contacts!

And as you rename, archive or delete contacts, those changes or updates are immediately reflected correctly in Virtual Drive.

Also, if you remove team member’s access to a contact, they no longer have access to their files on the drive.   

Upload Documents

Uploading files to the drive is super easy. So easy, you don’t even need to log into Canopy!

You can just drag and drop files and folders to the drive in the folder where you want them to be and see them automatically show up in Canopy, exactly where you put them in the drive.

For example, you might have an existing folder structure for tax or accounting forms. You can drag that folder from your Desktop and into the Virtual Drive window.

Now, when you click on that Contact’s file tab, you can see the folder here!

Offload and Download Documents

In the Virtual Drive, you have options to offload and download documents.

To offload and download a file:   

1. Right-click on a file in the Virtual Drive   
2. In the menu, select Canopy.   
3. Then choose Download or Offload.

Offloading a File   
Offloading a file allows your file to be in the Virtual Drive, but not take up any space on your computer. It’s stored on the cloud.

An offloaded or non-downloaded file is designated with a white icon with a green checkmark.

Downloading a File   
Downloading a file allows you access to the file even without having access to the Canopy cloud. But remember, a downloaded file takes up space on your computer!

A downloaded file is designated with a green icon with a white checkmark.

Downloading a document is like downloading your music playlist (like Awesome Mix Volumes 1 and 2) from your music streaming service before taking off on the plane. Doing this takes up space on your device, but now you can access without having access to the service’s cloud.

When to Use Them   
So when should you offload and download documents?

Well, it really comes down to preference for certain files. If it’s a file you use often (songs like The Chain from Fleetwood Mac or Mr. Blue Sky from ELO), then downloading it might be better. 

Maintaining Documents   

You can also delete, rename, or move files or folders in the Virtual Drive, just as would if you were doing normal maintenance for folders and files.

Any time you make these changes, the updates are shown in Canopy! 

You can also easily make any annotations on files by clicking into a file in the drive. Once the file is saved, the annotations you made in the Virtual Drive are reflected in Canopy.

It also works the other way around. If you annotate in Canopy, those changes are mimicked in the Virtual Drive.   

When to Use Desktop Assistant vs. Virtual Drive

You might be wondering how this works differently than the Desktop Assistant. Let’s go over when you use each of them:

• The Desktop Assistant prints and scans documents from any application on your computer to Canopy’s cloud storage. This means:   
  • You can only see files that you uploaded via the Assistant.
• The Virtual Drive acts like a driver on your computer like Dropbox, One Drive, or iCloud. This means:   
  • All your files are visible all of the time   
  • Able to reorganize/rename/delete files   
  • Able to put files in the drive anywhere you can “Save as” on your computer

You can use either method to suit your situation. You can migrate, edit and organize files with either method. It’s just a matter of your preference:

• If you prefer to print and scan files from your computer into Canopy and initiate file actions within Canopy, then the Desktop Assistant is your play.
• 
  If you prefer keeping your filing system on your Desktop and mimicking it into Canopy, then Virtual Drive would be the way to go.