Organize files with folders

When a product delivers more than a handful of files, a flat list is hard to use. Folders group those files inside the product, and customers see the same grouping on their download page.

Folders belong to a digital product, not to your whole content library. The same file can sit in a folder on one product and loose on another.

Before you begin

• Set up the product and link its files first. Folders organize files that are already attached. See Create a digital product.
• Folders are for presentation. They do not change who gets which file, or any download limits.

Set it up

There is no separate “new folder” button. You make a folder by moving files into one, so start by picking the files.

Folders are worth it once a product has several files attached. You cannot tick files on the product page itself, so you have to open Edit files first.

1. Click Filemonk in the left menu of your Shopify admin.

2. Click Digital products in the app’s menu and open the product.

   

3. Under Content by variant, find the card for the variant configuration whose files you want to group. It lists them under Content linked, with no checkboxes.

4. Click Edit files on that card. The Edit variant page opens, and this is the only place the checkboxes exist.

   

5. Scroll to Deliver these files. Now that you are in Edit files, each file has a checkbox to the left of its name. Tick the ones you want to group. The move button stays greyed out until at least one is ticked.

6. Click Move n files to folder in the top right of that section. The button counts your selection, so it reads Move 3 files to folder for three files.

   

7. In the Move n files window:

   1. Under Select destination folder:, pick an existing folder, or
   2. Type a name under Or create new folder to make a new one.

8. Click Move.

   

There is no save step. Folders are applied as soon as you click Move.

The folder now appears in the section with its files inside, and a file count beside its name. Files you leave outside a folder sit below under Files.

Rename, delete, or move files out

Each folder has an edit and a delete icon beside its name.

• Edit opens Rename Folder, where you set a New folder name and click Rename.
• Delete asks you to confirm. Deleting a folder does not delete its files: they move back out into Files, still attached to the product.
• To take files out of a folder without deleting it, select them, click the move button, and choose No folder.

What customers will see

On the download page, folders appear as groups with a file count next to each, so a customer can see “3 files” without opening anything. The label for that count is yours to change in the download page editor. See Customize the download page.

Check your setup

Place or open a test order for the product and view its download page. The folders should appear with the right files inside, and loose files below. See Create a test order.

Troubleshooting

The folder I made on one product isn't on another

That is expected. Folders are per product, so each product’s grouping is its own. Create the folder again on the second product.

I deleted a folder and can't find its files

They are still attached to the product, listed under Files outside any folder. The confirmation says so: deleting a folder moves its files out rather than deleting them.

Customers see files that should be in a folder

Those files were never moved in. Select them under Deliver these files, click the move button, and pick the folder.

The move button is greyed out

Nothing is selected yet. The button only becomes active once you tick at least one file, because a folder is created by moving files into it.

There are no checkboxes next to the files

You are looking at the Content linked list on the product page, which is read only. Click Edit files on that variant card first. The checkboxes are on the Edit variant page, under Deliver these files.

The folder is empty on the download page

Every file in it is linked to a variant the customer did not buy, so there is nothing to show them. Check how each file is linked. See Manage your files.

FAQ

Can I nest a folder inside another folder?

No. Folders are one level deep. For deeper structure, upload a zip archive with the folders inside it.

Does moving a file into a folder affect past orders?

Customers see the current grouping when they open their download page, so an existing order’s page reorganizes too. The files they can access do not change.

Can a file be in two folders at once?

Not on the same product. It sits in one folder there. On a different product it can be filed differently.

Do folders change download limits?

No. Limits apply per file and per order regardless of grouping. See Limit the number of downloads per order.

Related guides

• Manage your files, for the library behind the product.
• Create a digital product, to attach files in the first place.
• Customize the download page, to change how groups are labelled.