The short version:
A folder is where a file lives. Use folders to structure your library and control who can see what.
A project is what a file is for. Use projects to group the files that belong to one campaign or request, give them a shared audience for compliance scans, and move them through approval together.
A single file can sit in a folder and belong to one or more projects at the same time.
At a glance
Folder | Project | |
Purpose | Storage and organization | A campaign or request that moves through review |
Where to find it | Folders > All Assets | Inside the folder it sits in (filter a folder's contents to Projects) |
Can contain | Files, subfolders and projects | Files |
Can a file be in more than one? | Yes, but every file must be in at least one folder | Yes, a file can belong to any number of projects, or none |
Compliance context | None. Folders don't affect scans | The project's Audience is used when scanning files in the project that don't have an audience of their own |
Status | No status | Rolls up from its files (for example In Review, Changes Requested, Approved) |
Approvals | Submit selected files | Select the project's files and submit them together |
Permissions | Share with users or groups; contents inherit the folder's permissions | Inherits from the folder it sits in, unless you set its own in the project's Permissions section |
Folders: organize your library
Folders work like the folders on your computer. Every file in Warrant is stored in at least one folder, starting from All Assets, the top level of your company's library.
Use folders to:
Build a structure your team recognizes, such as by line of business, channel or year.
Control access. Share a folder with specific users or groups and choose their level (view, comment, edit, approve or admin). Anything inside the folder inherits those permissions unless you set custom permissions lower down.
Share by link. Create a link to a folder for people who are allowed to see it.
Hold projects. You can place a project inside a folder so it sits alongside related work.
Folders don't change how a file is scanned and don't have an approval status of their own.
Projects: run a campaign through review
A project groups the files that belong together, such as every variation of a campaign's collateral, so reviewers can understand the campaign as a whole and then review each piece.
Use projects to:
Set the audience once. If a file in the project doesn't have an audience of its own, the project's Audience is used when the file is scanned. A file's own audience always takes priority. Changing a project's details doesn't re-scan its files, so re-run a scan on affected files if you need updated results.
See where a campaign stands. A project's status rolls up from the approval status of its files, based on each file's primary version. The project reads Approved only when all of its live files are approved. Archived files don't count toward the project's status.
Submit files together. When all the files are uploaded, select them on the project page and click Submit for Approval in the selection bar to send them into your approval flow together instead of file by file.
Route approvals to an owner. Each project has an owner. If your approval flow includes a Project Owner step, that step goes to the person who owns the project.
Review quickly. Open files in a gallery view to see what's been submitted and reviewed, and click through files one after another without returning to the project page.
How they work together
Projects can go inside folders, but folders can't go inside projects. Think of folders as the filing cabinet and projects as the campaign binders you keep in it.
A file keeps its home when you add it to a project. Adding a file to a project doesn't move it out of its folder.
A file can be in several projects. Useful when one asset, such as a standard disclosure sheet, supports more than one campaign.
Add files to a project from a folder
Open the folder and select one or more files.
Click Move in the selection bar.
In the Folders section, keep at least one folder checked. In the Projects section, check each project you want to add the files to. Uncheck a project to remove the files from it.
Click Save Changes.
You can also pick folders and projects as destinations when you upload, or add existing files from inside a project with Select from Library.
Which should I use?
"Where should this file be kept, and who can see it?" Use a folder.
"What campaign is this for, and is it approved?" Use a project.
Most teams use both: a folder structure for the library, and a project for each campaign or marketing request that needs review.
In Reach (Social)
When you switch to Social, the sidebar's Posts section shows My Posts and All Social Posts (your post folders). Projects tagged for Reach appear under Reach Projects when you open All Social Posts. To file a post, select it and use Move.