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Files extension

A document only those who know the code can open. Not even the administrator.

Right-click a file, move it to the vault and choose a numeric code. The file stays visible in the list, but its content opens only with that code, which you decide who to tell. For the documents that concern precisely the people who hold the system keys: payslips, disciplinary measures, minutes, whistleblowing reports.

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Permission before the code, always

The code is a second factor, not a parallel channel. Every opening checks the folder permission first and the code second: whoever lost access — a revocation, an expired assignment, leaving a group — does not open the file even with the right code. The opposite would turn a secret written on a slip of paper into a pass that survives revocations. Closing a file requires the “Vault” privilege on the folder and being either the uploader or whoever governs its access: with edit permission alone a colleague cannot lock your document with a code of their own.

How it works

  1. Move to the vault

    Right-click the file → “Move to vault”, choose a numeric code. From then on the file is encrypted with a key derived from the code: it shows in the list, its content does not.

  2. Unlock when needed

    Enter the code and a time-limited session opens, yours and yours only, on that file. You can lock it again at once, change the code or open it for good. Five consecutive errors and the file locks for a few minutes, with progressively longer blocks: Files always tells you how many attempts are left.

  3. Decide on plan B

    By default the administrator keeps a spare key for emergency unlock: without the code, but with a mandatory reason, a notification to the owner and a line in the log. The tenant can waive it in the settings: in that case a forgotten code is a permanent loss of data, and a declared choice.

The code does not replace the permission: it adds to it.

What you can do

  • Out of everything else

    A vaulted file is no longer searchable by content, disappears from the document chat and the Gallery, does not open in the online editor, in public links, in the desktop app. That is the price of protection, and it is stated.

  • Clean derivatives

    Previews, text indexed for the AI, derived copies: when you lock a file Files removes everything that had been generated from it, in the trash too. No thumbnail is left to tell the content.

  • Counted attempts

    The code is checked on the server with a deliberately slow function, and every attempt is booked before it is tried: no offline guessing, no bursts. The block is progressive, not a hard padlock after a typo.

  • Three conditions, all visible

    The vault appears when the extension is on, the administrator has chosen the mode (with or without spare key) and the privilege is granted to the user type. A status page shows the three conditions, so nobody switches it on and then finds nothing.

  • Logged, like everything

    Locking, unlocking, code change, permanent opening and emergency unlock all land in the audit log. The “View as user” preview does not open the vault: it is read-only and has no code.

  • In the “Vault” collection

    All your vaulted files in one place, among the Collections, with the state of each: locked, open in session, how many attempts are left.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I forget the code?

If the tenant kept the spare key, the administrator can perform an emergency unlock: they must write a reason, you get a notification and the event stays in the log. If the tenant waived the spare key, the content is lost: there is no back door, by design.

Why can’t I find a vaulted file by searching for a word?

Because the indexed text is removed when you lock the file: a readable search index would be a copy of the content outside the vault. You find it by name, in its folder or in the “Vault” collection.

Can a colleague with edit permission lock my file?

No. Locking takes access away from others, so it is the act of whoever governs access: you need the “Vault” privilege on the folder and you must be the uploader or whoever manages its permissions.

Can I vault a file shared with a public link?

Yes, but the link stops showing its content: the public surface of a vaulted file is closed like everything else. If the file must remain reachable from outside, the vault is not the right tool.

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