HACKER Q&A
📣 usernamed7

Do you share files at work?


At my last startup, we used very little email and nearly everything was shared via links, not files. There was a google drive, but only used by older staff.

I am wondering what file sharing looks like for others in 2024 and if they have also shifted more to use links.


  👤 solardev Accepted Answer ✓
What kind of files? If it's code, it goes into a repo or a gist. Images/design stuff are best kept with their originating services so the originals can be easily accessed (e.g. Photoshop stuff in Creative Cloud, Figma files in Figma, flowcharts in whatever created them, etc.)

For the occasional one-off screenshot or whatever, we just paste them into Slack because they're not meant to be either permanent or super secure, just a convenient part of a message.

Long-lived stuff that should remain accessible for later people (like third-party PDFs associated with something we build) get uploaded to a Confluence page alongside the rest of the docs for that thingy.

Inside GDrive, teams (instead of individuals) can also own folders/drives, and use that to organize files by roles and then by different folders: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/7212025?hl=en


👤 melaniecrissey
My default working mode is: - Create GDoc - Open up link sharing - Paste link in Slack - Get notifications about file sharing in Slack (email for external comms only)

However! Right now I'm working with a team that's BIG on Shared GDrives so I have to adjust my workflow so that I always move a doc from my personal drive into a shared team drive before sharing. It's hard to remember to do every time.

Personally I don't like Folders in GDrive because I have to do a lot of x-functional work and it's too hard to consider which folder is most logical for the work. Much prefer links to files pinned in Slack channels or project mgmt systems vs. nested in GDrive structure.


👤 JohnFen
We share most of our stuff using shared networked drives. Our company does also have OneDrive, but it's really problematic and so isn't used by many.

If the files to be shared are small, then it's usually done through email.

> nearly everything was shared via links, not files.

I'm confused by this, though. Isn't the question about file sharing? What do you mean by "via links"?


👤 neofrommatrix
Like go/links?