Files: Finding files

Find files

There are many ways to find files. We can sort, filter, switch between different display options, and search using keywords or wild cards.

Before you log in, we can search for public files. After you log in, we can search for and view files you have pinned, our own files, files shared with you, files shared by you, and community files to which you have access.
We can control how files appear in the Files views, by clicking one of the three Display style icons or by clicking Customize and selecting the columns to display in the file lists.
In some file lists, private files are marked with a private icon, shared files are marked with a shared icon, and public files are marked with a public icon. If a file is both public and shared with specific people, it is marked with a public icon.

Do any one of the following to find files:

Option Description

To find a file in any Files view

Click the Thumbnails display option to open a gallery of images that represent files.
Hovering over a thumbnail image toggles the image to its reverse side where we can see file details and status.
Click anywhere on the back of the thumbnail to select actions such as preview and download.

To find files you pinned

Click Pinned Files in the navigation box.
To pin a file, click the thumbtack icon next to the file in a list, or open the file and click the pin icon.

To find files you uploaded

Click My Files in the navigation box.

To find files people shared with you

Click Shared With Me in the navigation box.
These are files shared by other people specifically with you.
Files shared with you might also be public.
External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.

To find files you shared with people

Click Shared By Me in the navigation box.
These are files you shared with specific people.
Files shared by you might also be public.
External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.

To find community files you have access to see

Click Community Files in the navigation box.

To find public files

Click Public Files in the navigation box.
External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.

To search by string or using a wildcard character

Select a files search category, such as My Files or Shared With Me. Type characters into the search field such as a file name, or a string containing the wildcard character *, and then click the search icon.
See Advanced search options for more information.

Do any of the following to further filter or access files:

Option Description

To show files by tag

Expand the Tags or Public Tags section and click a tag in the tag cloud or type a tag in the field and click the search icon to return files with that tag. To learn more about searching for files using tag filters, see Use file tags.
We can also open a file to which you have access and see the assigned tags.

To show files by how they are shared

We can limit the display of files in a view by how the files are shared.

Click Pinned Files or My Files.

Expand the Sharing section.

Click any of the following links to filter file display:

with everyone (public)

with one or more people

with no one (private)

Click Shared With Me or Shared By Me.

Expand the Sharing section.

Click and public or and not public. Or find a specific person by typing their name in the search field.

External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.

To show files by date

Expand the Date Updated section and click any of the following links:

Today

Last 7 days

Last 30 days

Last 365 days

Expand the date section. It could be any of the following, depending on the file list we are viewing:

The Date Updated section is in the Pinned Files and My Files lists.

The Date Shared section is in the Shared With Me and Shared By Me lists.

The Date Created section is in the Public Files list.
External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.

File dates also appear in the various file list views.

To show other people's files that we can edit

In the Shared With Me view, expand the Role section, and then click editor.

To show the files that other people can edit

In the Shared By Me view, expand the Role section, and then click editor.

To add columns to a view

In any folder view, click Customize. Select data to display in columns in the view, and then click Show.

To download all the files in a view

Click Download All Files to download a compressed file containing all of the files in the view, including files not on the current page. The compressed file can be a maximum of 4 GB.
If any of the file names we are downloading to the compressed file contain non-English characters, we can use the Global (default) setting. This setting informs the compression program to use UTF-8 characters so that all file name characters can be properly processed during compression. If the file names inside the compressed file are not displayed correctly after choosing the Global (default) setting, click Global (default), specify a language value when prompted, and reprocess the download.
If we perform multiple compressed file downloads, the first is named files.zip. Subsequent downloads are named the same but with numbers appended, such as files(1).zip, files(2).zip.

To receive feed notifications when changes are made to a view

Click Feed for These Files and create a feed reader subscription as prompted.

Related concepts:

Files overview
What can external users do?

Related:

Use file tags
Search IBM Connections
Advanced search options

Option	Description
To find a file in any Files view	Click the Thumbnails display option to open a gallery of images that represent files. Hovering over a thumbnail image toggles the image to its reverse side where we can see file details and status. Click anywhere on the back of the thumbnail to select actions such as preview and download.
To find files you pinned	Click Pinned Files in the navigation box. To pin a file, click the thumbtack icon next to the file in a list, or open the file and click the pin icon.
To find files you uploaded	Click My Files in the navigation box.
To find files people shared with you	Click Shared With Me in the navigation box. These are files shared by other people specifically with you. Files shared with you might also be public. External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.
To find files you shared with people	Click Shared By Me in the navigation box. These are files you shared with specific people. Files shared by you might also be public. External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.
To find community files you have access to see	Click Community Files in the navigation box.
To find public files	Click Public Files in the navigation box. External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.
To search by string or using a wildcard character	Select a files search category, such as My Files or Shared With Me. Type characters into the search field such as a file name, or a string containing the wildcard character *, and then click the search icon. See Advanced search options for more information.

Option	Description
To show files by tag	Expand the Tags or Public Tags section and click a tag in the tag cloud or type a tag in the field and click the search icon to return files with that tag. To learn more about searching for files using tag filters, see Use file tags. We can also open a file to which you have access and see the assigned tags.
To show files by how they are shared	We can limit the display of files in a view by how the files are shared. Click Pinned Files or My Files. Expand the Sharing section. Click any of the following links to filter file display: with everyone (public) with one or more people with no one (private) Click Shared With Me or Shared By Me. Expand the Sharing section. Click and public or and not public. Or find a specific person by typing their name in the search field. External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files.
To show files by date	Expand the Date Updated section and click any of the following links: Today Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 365 days Expand the date section. It could be any of the following, depending on the file list we are viewing: The Date Updated section is in the Pinned Files and My Files lists. The Date Shared section is in the Shared With Me and Shared By Me lists. The Date Created section is in the Public Files list. External users do not have access to, nor can they upload to, public folders and files. File dates also appear in the various file list views.
To show other people's files that we can edit	In the Shared With Me view, expand the Role section, and then click editor.
To show the files that other people can edit	In the Shared By Me view, expand the Role section, and then click editor.
To add columns to a view	In any folder view, click Customize. Select data to display in columns in the view, and then click Show.
To download all the files in a view	Click Download All Files to download a compressed file containing all of the files in the view, including files not on the current page. The compressed file can be a maximum of 4 GB. If any of the file names we are downloading to the compressed file contain non-English characters, we can use the Global (default) setting. This setting informs the compression program to use UTF-8 characters so that all file name characters can be properly processed during compression. If the file names inside the compressed file are not displayed correctly after choosing the Global (default) setting, click Global (default), specify a language value when prompted, and reprocess the download. If we perform multiple compressed file downloads, the first is named files.zip. Subsequent downloads are named the same but with numbers appended, such as files(1).zip, files(2).zip.
To receive feed notifications when changes are made to a view	Click Feed for These Files and create a feed reader subscription as prompted.