Configuring Zip Files and Zero Trust File Sharing

Functionality for creating and working with content in zip files in My Files is available beginning with FileCloud 22.1.
Functionality for creating and working with content in zip files in Network Shares is available beginning with FileCloud 23.232.

Users can create and upload zip files into their My Files and Network Shares folders, and then preview, download, add, and delete contents of these zip files. 

When users create Zip files within FileCloud, they may add a password to them to create them as encrypted Zero Trust folders The password (decryption key) must be entered by the user who created the zip file or anyone they share the file with to access it. Note that the decryption key is not stored in FileCloud or known by the FileCloud system, and therefore makes the file invulnerable to attacks where the system is compromised.

For information about how users add and work with zip files, see Working with Zip Files.

By default, after the password is entered the first time during a log-in session, it does not have to be entered again during that session, but a setting in policies enables you to require users to enter the password each time they access it during a session.

To enable the zip file feature

By default, the zip file feature described above is disabled. Please Contact FileCloud Support to enable it.


Zip File Settings

The following are default settings for zip files. 

SettingDefault value
Encryption methodWinZip AES-256
Compression level Normal
Compression methodDeflated
Fallback character set None
Max zip file size100 MB

WinZip AES-256 encryption is not supported in Windows. If you are using Windows, Contact FileCloud Support to change your setting for the encryption method.

To require the password each time an encrypted zip file is accessed:

  1. In the admin portal, go to Settings > Policies, and open the policy you want to change.
  2. Click the User Policy tab:
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the tab.
    By default Save Zip File Session Password is set to Yes. This enables users to enter the password once per log-in session to access the contents of the zip file.
  4. Change the value of Save Zip File Session Password to No.
  5. Click Save.
    Now users must enter the password each time they access the contents of the zip file.


Permissions in shared zip files

When a zip file is shared publicly, share users can view the contents of the zip file and download them. When a zip file is shared privately, the operations that share users can perform on its contents depends on their share permissions.

The following table shows what each share permission allows share users to do with the contents of a zip file

PermissionDescription
ViewPreview files and open folders in the zip file.
DownloadDownload files in the zip file and save them. Downloading folders in the zip file is not permitted.
UploadUpload files into the zip file and delete files in the zip file.
ShareShare the zip file. Sharing of files and folders inside the zip file is not permitted.