Set notifications for Files and Folders

If you are permitted to to override your administrator's default settings, you can specify which actions you are notified about for specific files and folders. The notifications tell you when other users that have access to the file or folder (either because they own it or you or another user has shared it with them) perform an action on it. You can also notify yourself when you perform an action on the file or folder.

The following procedure shows you how to set notifications for an individual file or folder from its row in the user interface. If you want to set notifications for an individual file or folder from its effective (combined) notifications in the Details pane, see Effective Notifications.

Customize notifications for a file or folder:

  1. In the user interface, hover over the row for the file or folder, click the More icon (3 dots) and click Notifications

    Go to a Folder's Notifications

  2. In the Notification Settings dialog box, choose Use my own notification settings.
    (If you are not permitted to override default settings, Use my own notification settings and the options under it cannot be edited.)
    Click radio button for Use my own notification settings

    The Notification Settings expand to display the different actions that can trigger notifications.
  3. Leave Send Notifications checked.
  4. Check the types of actions on the file or folder that you want to receive notifications about.
    Check actions for notifications


  5. To receive notifications when you perform an action on the file or folder, check the last checkbox, Self Notifications.

    If you do not check Self Notifications, you only receive notifications when a user you have shared a file with performs an action on that file.

    If you do check Self Notifications, you also receive a notification when you perform an action on a file you own or a file that has been shared with you.

  6. Click Save.
    When you hover over the row for the file or folder, the notification (bell-shaped) icon at the end appears enabled, and if you select the file or folder, the notification icon in the Details panel also appears enabled. 

    View notification icon

    When you go to Settings > Notifications, the file or folder path is listed under Path Notification Rules. 

Disable custom notifications for a file or folder without removing custom settings:

  1. In the user interface, hover over the row for the file or folder, click the More icon (3 dots) and click Notifications.
  2. In the Notifications Settings dialog box, uncheck Send Notifications.
  3. Click Save.

Return to the default notification settings

  1. In the user interface, hover over the row for the file or folder, click the More icon (3 dots) and click Notifications.
  2. In the Notifications Settings dialog box, choose Use default notification settings.
  3. Click Save.
    If you want to return to your custom settings, you must reset them manually.

Priority of Notification Settings

The notification settings which take top priority are those you set on the specific file or folder that you are working on. The order of priority for notifications from top to bottom is:

  1. The specific file or folder you are working on.
  2. Its parent folder.
  3. Each higher level of parent folder.
  4. Your user settings.
  5. Your policy settings.
  6. Your administrator's global settings.