Data and Automations Across Child Sites

This page explains how parent and child sites interact for file transfers, automations, and API access. Use it when you need to move data between sites or automate work that touches child sites.

Transferring Data Between Parent and Child Sites

Within the parent site, Site Administrators can choose a child site folder as the destination for moving or copying files. They can copy between different child sites by using a child site's folder in the underscore folder.

Users logged directly into a child site cannot move or copy files to the parent site, or to any other child sites.

Automations with Child Sites

Parent Site Administrators use the underscore folder to create Automations to interact directly with child sites. Each parent site automation that moves or copies can use child site folders as the source, destination or both. Automations on a parent site can create folders or delete files from folders on the parent site or any child sites.

Every automation belongs to only 1 site, and it can only be managed through its site. Even when a parent site automation uses a child site for source or destination folders, the automation and its run logs exist only within the parent site because it relies on the underscore folder of the parent site.

Automations File Action Triggers & Child Sites

This isolation of automations within their sites affects how file action-based triggers can be used. File action triggers start automations when specific file events happen inside Files.com folders.

Only actions recorded within the automation's site can trigger an automation. This means that parent site automations triggered by file activity within a child site's folder are only triggered when the activity's user is connected to a parent site. That parent site automation cannot be triggered by file activity carried out directly in the child site.

Automations in child sites have no way to interact with parent sites or any other child sites. This means that a child site automation with a file action trigger is not started when file activity occurs within a parent site process or session, even if that file activity is changing the contents of the child site.

Syncs with Child Sites

Parent Site Administrators can target child sites with Syncs that exist in the parent site. A child site can be the source or the destination of the sync. This means that parent Site Administrators can synchronize files from the parent to a child, from a child to the parent, or from 1 child site locations to a different one.

All of the file actions performed by a Sync are logged only in the site where the Sync exists. This means that these changes are only captured in the parent site's logs, and they are not logged within the child site.

Syncs in child sites have no way to interact with parent sites or any other child sites. They can only synchronize files between folders in the same child site.

Using API Keys with Child Sites

API Keys are linked to exactly 1 site. It doesn't matter if the key is for the whole site or for 1 user - it only works with the site it was made for. If an API key was made for a parent site, it can only be used with that parent site. If it was made for a child site, it only works with that child site.