Getting Started
Files.com can be a place where files live, a secure way for people and systems to exchange them, or the orchestration layer between existing systems. Start with one real file flow rather than trying to configure every part of the platform at once.
For that first flow, identify five things:
- Source: Where does the file begin?
- Destination: Where must it end up?
- Actor: Is a person, a business partner, or another system moving it?
- Timing: Does the transfer happen on demand, on a schedule, or in response to an event?
- Proof: How will your team confirm that the transfer succeeded or notice that it did not happen?
Those answers determine which part of Files.com to configure first.
Choose The First Path
| What you need to do | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Move files between a person's computer or mobile device and Files.com | Preferred Apps for File Transfer | Choose the Files.com app that fits the user's device and transfer volume. |
| Connect an application, device, or counterparty that requires SFTP, AS2, WebDAV, or another protocol | Clients & Protocols | Choose the connection method required by the system on the other end. |
| Work with files that remain in cloud storage, another server, or an on-premise system | Remote Servers | Connect the existing storage, then decide whether users need real-time mounted access or a recurring transfer. |
| Replicate files between two locations or route them according to rules | Syncs vs. Automations | Use a Sync for ongoing one-way replication; use an Automation for event-driven or scheduled actions, routing, renaming, or multiple destinations. |
| Send files to someone or collect files from them without creating a user account | Sharing & Collaboration | Use Share Links for web-based sharing and Inboxes for inbound collection. |
| Give an outside organization its own users and a strictly isolated area | Partners | Manage the organization, its users, and its access as one unit. |
If your first decision is how to divide the site among internal teams, environments, and outside organizations, read Child Sites, Workspaces, Partners, and Admin Permissions: When To Choose Each before creating that structure.
Build The Smallest Complete Workflow
Configure one source, one destination, and one access path. Move a representative file through the workflow manually before adding scheduled or event-driven behavior. This confirms that credentials, folder permissions, network access, filenames, and destination behavior are correct while the setup is still easy to inspect.
Once the manual path works, add Automation & Flow only where the process needs repeatability. A Sync can replicate files between two locations. An Automation can react to file activity or a schedule and then move, copy, rename, import, or delete files. Expectations can detect a missing or invalid recurring delivery, while Notifications and Event Channels can tell people or systems about activity and failures.
Set Access Deliberately
Decide who owns the workflow and who should be able to use or change it. Users & Groups explains user accounts, groups, authentication, folder permissions, provisioning, and lifecycle management. Use groups for shared access among people in your organization and Partners for external organizations that need their own users and isolated access.
Avoid granting broad access simply to make the first transfer work. Build the path with the permissions it will use in normal operation so the test represents the finished workflow.
Verify Before You Expand
Run the workflow with a representative file and confirm all three parts of the result:
- The file arrived in the expected location with the expected name and contents.
- Only the intended people and systems can access it.
- The transfer and any automated steps appear in Logs & Reports.
Then test the failure you are most likely to encounter, such as an unavailable destination, an expired credential, an unexpected filename, or a missing scheduled delivery. Add the appropriate retry, alert, or Expectation before repeating the pattern for more folders, systems, or partners.
When the first workflow is reliable, use Guides for the cross-feature decisions that arise as you scale the site.