WorkDrive - Frequently Asked Questions

Zoho WorkDrive is a secure online file storage and collaboration platform for modern teams, small businesses, and large enterprises.

A Super Admin is the creator and owner of the team or organization account on Zoho WorkDrive. All important emails containing payment invoices, plan upgrade details, member requests, and product updates will be communicated to the Super Admin.

A Team Admin will have access to the Admin Console through which they can do the following:

- Manage team members: invite, suspend, delete, and change roles

- Manage Team Folders

- Find and restore Team files (via the Data Administration tab)

- View Team Activity

- Manage Team Settings: branding, external sharing, file conversion, roles and permissions, and security

Team members are simply people from your team joining together to achieve common objectives. Team members can access and manage files and folders based on the roles and permissions assigned to them by the Team Admins and the Super Admin.

• Starter
• Team
• Business

For more details, please visit our pricing page.

Zoho WorkDrive works best in the latest version of these browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

To make sure you have the best experience possible, we recommend you update your browser to its latest version.

If you are a multi-language team, you can set the necessary language for every team member. As of now, Zoho WorkDrive's web and mobile apps are available in 40 languages. Check here for the list of supported languages.

Note: If the language you prefer to use is currently unavailable, please send a request to support@zohoworkdrive.com, We will do our best to help you.

Yes. With the built-in Zoho Office Suite in WorkDrive, you can easily create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using Writer, Sheet, and Show, respectively.

You can upload, store, and collaborate on all type of files, including ZIP and PDFs.

Zoho WorkDrive supports preview for 160+ file formats. Learn more

The Cloud Picker option in Zoho WorkDrive lets you upload files from other cloud storage services like Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, and Evernote. Learn more

You can search by file or folder name, author's name, or with any keywords inside the file.

Once you get the search results for your keywords, you can further narrow down your search by adding filters such as Locations, File Types, and Dates.

Note: WorkDrive now supports searching text (Optical Character Recognition) and objects (Object Detection) in images.

Only users with Edit or Organize permission on a shared folder can add new files and folders to it. Any new files and folders you add will have the same sharing permission as that of the parent folder.

For our Starter edition, storage starts at 1 TB/Team. After 10 users, you will get additional shared storage of 100 GB/new user.

For our Team edition, storage starts at 3 TB/Team. After 10 users, you will get additional shared storage of 300 GB/new user.

For our Business edition, storage starts at 5 TB/team. After 10 users, you will get additional shared storage of 500 GB/new user.

If your team needs additional storage, you can easily buy storage add-ons. For more details, please visit our pricing page.

Starter plan:  10 GB file upload limit

Team plan:  50 GB file upload limit

Business plan:  250 GB file upload limit

Yes, for WorkDrive trial accounts, the maximum allowed external share and download links per team are 5.

If your team has already reached the limit, you can delete existing links to create new links or upgrade your account for unlimited links.

Zoho Directory helps you manage users and applications in one place. You can quickly add or invite users, change roles, and enable or disable access to apps. You can also mandate custom security policies to your users, which include password policy, two-factor authentication, and allowed IPs. Learn more

Zoho Directory is only supported in WorkDrive's Business plan

Zoho Directory Sync is a simple and secure directory and password synchronization tool, which helps in syncing user objects and their passwords in Active Directory (AD) with Zoho accounts. Active Directory (AD) by Microsoft is a centralized and standardized system that automates network management of user data, security, and distributed resources.

Zoho Directory sync automatically synchronizes user accounts in Zoho to match the user data in AD. Since the synchronization always happens from AD to Zoho, the data in AD is never compromised. Learn more

Team Folders give teams a communal space where members can create, upload, edit, and share files and folders for collaboration. They allow you to add specific people from your team and assign appropriate roles (Admin/Organizer/Editor/Commenter/Viewer) as needed.

There are two types of Team Folders: private and public.

Based on the team settings, Team Folders can be created by Team Admins only or Anyone on the team.

Only members with Organizer and Admin roles can share files and folders in a Team Folder. Learn more

You cannot share an entire Team Folder with external users on WorkDrive. You will only be able to share files and folders inside a Team Folder externally. Learn more

Note: External sharing has to be enabled at both Team level (by Team Admin) and Team Folder level (by Team Folder Admin) to share any files and folders externally.

For files, the available access permissions are View and Edit.

(Edit permission is only available for Zoho format files—i.e., Writer, Sheet, and Show files.)

For folders, the available access permissions are View, Edit, and Upload.

Refer: Share files and folders externally from a Team Folder

Only members with Organizer and Admin roles can delete files in a Team Folder. When deleted, files will be moved to the Team Folder's trash. Admins and Organizers can restore files from the trash, if needed. Learn more

Note: 

- Only Team Folder Admins can delete files from Trash.

- Files deleted from Trash can be restored from the Admin Console for a period of 120 days.

Only Admins and Organizers can view activity in their Team Folders. Learn more

Note: Support for viewing Team Folder activity is only available in WorkDrive's Business plan. Check the details of all WorkDrive plans here.

For both private and public Team Folders, a member must have the Editor role or higher to view the access stats and activity of files. Learn more

For shared files, a member must have the share permission to view them.

Note: 

- Support for viewing file activity is only available in WorkDrive's Team and Business plans.

- Support for viewing file access stats is only available in WorkDrive's Business plan.

- Check the details of all WorkDrive plans here.

1. Go to a Team Folder, then click Manage Team Folder -> Settings.

2. Under Settings, toggle OFF Allow files and folders to be shared outside this team to disable external sharing. Learn more

Note: Only Team Folder admins can manage this setting.

Yes, you can restrict downloads for Team Folder members with viewer role, and team members with view-only access on shared files and folders in a Team Folder.

1. Go to a Team Folder, then click Manage Team Folder -> Settings.

2. Under Settings, toggle OFF Allow Download. Learn more

Go to a Team Folder, then click Manage > Settings > External sharing.

The External share links tab will show all the externally shared files and folders in a Team Folder. You will have the following options over external share links: Copy Link, View Stats, Settings, and Delete Link.

Note: Only Admins and Organizers in a Team Folder can view and manage the external links. Learn more

No.

No.

No.

Yes, you can leave a Team Folder at any time.

1. Go to a Team Folder, then click the dropdown arrow next to the Team Folder name at the top.

2. Click Leave Team Folder from the dropdown.

Note: Every Team Folder must have at least one Admin. If you are the only admin in the Team Folder, you can make another member the Team Folder Admin before you leave.

As Team Folders are a shared folder, when someone leaves a Team Folder, all their files and folders will remain in the Team Folder, and other members can still access them.

Yes, Team Admins can restore the deleted Team Folders from Admin Console based on the team's data retention policy. 

To restore, go to Admin Console, then click Team Folders > Deleted Team Folders > Restore Team Folder. Learn more

1. Click your team name at the top-left corner.

2. Select Invite New Member from the dropdown.

3. Enter team member email addresses and assign each person a team role (admin or member). You can also invite multiple people with the same role at once by clicking Bulk invite members.

4. Click INVITE MEMBERS.

Your invitees will receive an email and will need to accept the invitation to join the team.

1. Go to Admin Console -> Admin Dashboard.

2. Click Manage subscriptions under Account Details.

3. Click Upgrade User or Downgrade User under Manage Subscription.

4. Enter the number of users and make the payment to upgrade or confirm to downgrade.

Refer: Manage Subscription

1. Go to Admin Console -> Admin Dashboard.

Under Storage, click View All Storage to view the storage used by each Team Folder or member.

Yes, the Super Admin can assign their role to a Team Admin by changing the email address in Profile Settings.

Refer: Change Super Admin

1. Go to Admin Console, then select the Settings tab in the left panel.

2. Select Branding.

3. Under Branding, click on the existing image.

4. Click Upload From Computer and choose a new image from your computer.

You can delete the member who is leaving your team and transfer all files and folders from their My Folders to another team member.

1. Go to Admin Console, then click the Members tab in the left panel.

2. Hover your mouse over the member's name, then click the more actions icon.

3. Select Delete Member.

4. Select a member you would like to transfer the data to.

5. Click DELETE MEMBER.

A suspended member will immediately lose access to the team account and any synced files. Files and folders uploaded or created by that member will remain active and be accessible to other team members.

You can then activate or permanently delete them from your team.

No, once you suspend users, their licenses will be freed and you can use them for other users.

1. Go to Admin Console, then select the Settings tab in the left panel.

2. Select Sharing.

3. Toggle OFF Allow files and folders to be shared outside this team.

1. Go to Admin Console, then select the Settings tab in the left panel.

2. Select Content.

3. Toggle ON/OFF Convert All Files to Zoho WorkDrive's Format on Upload to enable or disable file conversion, respectively.

4. Select the checkbox if you want to allow Team Folder Admins to choose whether to convert all files to Zoho WorkDrive format on upload in their Team Folders.

1. Go to Admin Console, then select the Settings tab in the left panel.

2. Select Roles and Permissions.

3. Under "Public Team Folders Can Be Created By", choose Team Admins Only.

Yes. All exported reports will be saved automatically into the "Activities" folder inside your My Folders. The report will be saved as a CSV (comma-separated values) file. From there you can download the CSV file to your computer.

Support for generating activity reports is only available in WorkDrive's Business plan. Check the details of all WorkDrive plans here.

By enabling Zoho Directory for WorkDrive, you can configure the below security policies for your team:

1. Password policy

2. Two-factor authentication

3. Allowed IPs

Refer: Configure Security Policies

You can only create one team account per email address (as the super admin), but you can be part of multiple team accounts simultaneously (as admins or members).

The desktop apps for WorkDrive are Sync and TrueSync.

Sync downloads and backs up your WorkDrive items right on your computer.
TrueSync creates a virtual drive of your WorkDrive account and doesn’t download your files immediately in order to save space.

Check out the detailed feature comparison here.

Sync: Windows, MacOS, and Linux
TrueSync: Windows and MacOS

There is no limit to your uploads on your desktop apps. However, it's recommended that you upload files and folders in multiple batches so that you don't have to wait for a long time to start your work.

The maximum file size that can be uploaded on the desktop apps is based on your current WorkDrive plan. It is 10 GB for the Starter plan, 50 GB for the Team plan, and 250 GB for the Business plan.

You can drag and drop or copy and paste files and folders from your computer to the chosen folder to add them.

Files are synced instantaneously any time a new file is added or a change has been made to the file.

The selective sync option helps you to sync only the required folders or their subfolders. By default, all the folders (i.e., My Folders, Shared with Me, and Team Folders) will be synced.

Overlay icons may not appear on your sync folder due to OS level restrictions or some other reasons. Please refer to the help article here for a detailed info: Missing Overlay Icons

.zdoc, .zsheet, and .zslides are Zoho format files referring to documents (Writer), spreadsheets (Sheet), and presentations (Show) respectively. All these Zoho format files will only be shown as a link file and when you open it for editing, it loads in the browser or web.

You cannot create or edit Zoho format files (i.e., Writer, Sheet, and Show) from your computer. To create or edit these files, you need to go to the web app.

You can create, edit, copy, rename, and delete files and folders using the desktop apps.

The apps follow the same hierarchy as with the web app; the permissions of Team Folder roles (Admin, Organizer, Editor, Commenter, and Viewer) remain the same. A user can only perform the above actions in a team folder if they have the required access permissions.

No, you can't create or delete a Team Folder using the desktop apps. To do this, please use the WorkDrive web app.q

Files and folders deleted from the Sync or TrueSync folders will also be deleted from all other connected computers, as well as the web app. Deleting files from shared folders and Team Folders will remove the access for other users in those folders as well.

Yes, you can change the upload and download speed of your desktop app by going to Settings > Preferences > Bandwidth.

Sync: Zoho format files (i.e., Writer, Sheet, and Show files) are saved as link files in the Sync folder, so these files won't take up much space in your computer.

Other files that you sync, such as images, videos, and other non-Zoho format files (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations), are stored just like any other physical copies, and will take up your computer storage as per their sizes in the WorkDrive web app.

TrueSync: Since TrueSync creates a virtual drive, none of your files gets downloaded by default.

Once you open a file via TrueSync, it gets downloaded to your desktop temporarily and stays until you quit the application. You can manually choose to save a file for offline usage by right clicking it then selecting Zoho Workdrive > Available Offline.

All your files will be scanned for viruses once they are uploaded to the sync folder. Files infected with viruses won't be synced with WorkDrive.

Note: If your anti-virus software did not mark the file as a virus, and you also think it is a genuine file, but the Sync app says it as a virus file, then please contact our Support Team at support@zohoworkdrive.com.

A WorkDrive account can be connected to a maximum of 20 computers.

Note: You can choose to selective sync files and folders differently in each computer using WorkDrive Sync.

Using TrueSync you can link a maximum of 3 WorkDrive accounts to the same computer.

Check out the detailed explanation here.

Sync: The default sync folder location will be User Profile > Zoho WorkDrive (Team name), but you can change this to your preferred location.

To view your current location, go to Settings > Preferences > Account > WorkDrive location.

TrueSync: The virtual folders in TrueSync get mounted on your virtual drive (which is Z:/ by default) whenever you start the application and the location will be User Profile > WorkDrive TrueSync, but you can change the virtual drive location.

Zoho WorkDrive uses the best tools and engineering practices available to keep synchronizing data secure. We have a dedicated security team making sure that Zoho WorkDrive on your desktop remains secure. All files are stored and backed-up securely. Your account login is protected by many layers of security. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and AES-256 bit encryption are used for securing the data.

Yes. However, this applies to WorkDrive Sync and not for WorkDrive TrueSync.

Note: When you use an external drive or network drive as your sync folder location, there may be some lag in real-time syncing between your system and web app. If you face any such syncing issues, please restart the app.

No, always keep your WorkDrive folder in a location that is not used by any other apps, such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Otherwise, the overlay icons may not appear, and even the sync will not work properly.

We don't recommend using thumb drives or external hard disk drives to sync files with WorkDrive.

When you disconnect a computer, the syncing between that computer and the Zoho WorkDrive account will be stopped.

For Sync, the files and folders that have already been synced to the computer as well as the web app will remain intact, and will not be deleted.

For TrueSync, the files and folders will be removed from your computer.

Sync: Yes, you can access the files that were previously synced to your computer.

TrueSync: No, once TrueSync has been uninstalled, you lose the ability to check any WorkDrive item from your desktop.

Yes. We provide a 15-day free trial period when you first sign up with WorkDrive.

You can start out with our free trial without providing your credit card information. You can choose to cancel or upgrade to a higher plan during or at the end of the free trial. Upgrade

Yes, you can. Zoho WorkDrive is a pay-as-you go service, so you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time. 

Refer:  Manage WorkDrive Subscription

We accept payments via Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and PayPal. For yearly subscriptions, you can also make payments through bank transfer or check transfer.

No. When you don't renew the plan, your files will still be there safely, but your account will be downgraded and you will not be able to access any files until you renew/upgrade.

If the purchase is made via credit card (for monthly subscriptions), payment will be done automatically on a recurring basis every month. The payment will only stop when you opt to downgrade by yourself or when the credit card expires.

If the purchase is made via debit card (for yearly subscriptions), you will be notified well in advance to renew the subscription. If you don't renew the plan on time, we will remind you to renew for up to 15 days. After that, your plan will be downgraded and you will not be able to access any files.

We won't delete your files during the retention period of six months. In this period, you can upgrade WorkDrive and access the files again without any issues.

1. Go to workdrive.zoho.com. 

2. Click Upgrade.

Refer to Upgrade for more details.

Note: If your WorkDrive Trial expires, you won't be able to access any files. Only when you upgrade your WorkDrive account will you be able to access all your files again.

If your team needs additional storage in WorkDrive, you can easily buy storage add-ons.

Available storage add-ons are 10 GB, 100 GB, and 1 TB.

You can select the number of units you need for the required storage add-on. For example, if you need 50 GB, you can choose the 10 GB add-on and enter the units as 5 to get the required 50 GB.

The add-on amount will be automatically added to your WorkDrive subscription for both monthly and yearly plans.

Yes. Please contact our support team at support@zohoworkdrive.com to buy less than three licenses.

Kindly note that this purchase has to be done offline, and you can only subscribe to an yearly plan of WorkDrive.

Yes! We offer 15% discount on all yearly plans for Non-Governmental Organizations and Educational Institutions.

Please contact our support team at support@zohoworkdrive.com.

To provide the discount, we will ask you to submit a copy of your organization's certificate for non-profit business.

You can currently migrate from Google Workspace, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive using our built-in migration tool.

Google Workspace: All Google Workspace plans
Dropbox: All Dropbox Business plans
Microsoft OneDrive: Microsoft Office 365 Business Standard plan only

Note: If you use a storage service other than those mentioned above, please contact our support team and they will help you with the best possible ways to perform the migration by yourself.

A WorkDrive Admin or Super Admin can perform the migration. However, this person also needs to have an equivalent or higher level of access to the service they’re migrating from.

Here’s a list of the roles that are needed to perform a migration to WorkDrive:

The migration tool is not enabled in your WorkDrive account by default. If you wish to migrate, a WorkDrive Super Admin or Admin must raise a request for migration from the Admin Console. Once the requirements are met, we will enable the migration tool in the Migration tab within the Admin Console.

Some native files from the service(s) you migrate from can’t be opened on Zoho WorkDrive. Those files will not be migrated to your WorkDrive account. For a more detailed list of files that cannot be migrated, check out these links:

Google Workspace
Dropbox
Microsoft OneDrive

Files in .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx formats can only be previewed in WorkDrive. To edit these files, you need to convert them to Zoho format (Writer, Sheet, or Show), which will create a copy of the original file in WorkDrive.

Files in Google format (i.e., Docs, Sheets, and Slides) will automatically be converted and migrated as Zoho format files.

You will get a complete log of any data that failed to migrate. You can select the required files and retry migration.

Alternatively, you can manually download those files from your previous service and upload them to WorkDrive.

No, we have our own in-house migration tool. When we transfer a file, we download the file directly to our servers. We do not make a temporary copy of the file, and we do not perform any actions other than copying files and folders.

Any log data expires in 90 days, and is never retained by us.

No, we do not perform any deletions from the source service (Dropbox, Google Workspace, or OneDrive). All your data will remain intact.

You can create a new migration, upload a CSV file containing only the new users, and initiate their migration.

Note: Share permissions on already migrated files and folders will not be retained for users who join or become active in WorkDrive later.

No, duplicate entries will not be migrated to WorkDrive. This means data from multiple accounts cannot be migrated to a single WorkDrive account, and data from a single account cannot be migrated to multiple WorkDrive accounts.

If you wish to move data from one user to another, you can transfer ownership of the user's files before performing migration from your source service to WorkDrive.

Yes, you can map a user from your source service with any user (new or existing), or simply update the name or domain of the user's existing email address in WorkDrive.

Note: Migration can only be performed once per user.

Click the Unmapped Users tab to view the list of unmapped users and the reason they are unmapped.

To map all users, please ensure that all the users in your source service’s account/team/organization are associated with your WorkDrive account.

If the user's email address in WorkDrive is different from the email address associated with their source service, ensure the WorkDrive email address is correctly updated in the CSV file.