Keeping your document library organized makes it easier to find and share the right resources with the right clients at the right time. Practice Better's folder system lets you build a structure that fits your practice — and share handouts with individual clients, specific groups, or your entire client base in just a few clicks.
In this article:
- Creating Folders in My Documents
- Renaming and Deleting Files and Folders
- Moving Files into Folders
- Sharing Handouts with Clients
- Managing Sharing Settings
- Understanding Folder vs. File Sharing Settings
Creating Folders in My Documents
Folders live in the My Documents section of your Documents page and help you organize your uploaded resources before sharing them with clients. You can create as many folders — and nested subfolders — as your workflow requires.
A common approach is to create a top-level folder like "Client Handouts" and then build subfolders within it for categories like Meal Plans, Course Materials, or Lab Resources.
Learn more about Managing, Uploading, and Sharing Documents →
To create a folder:
- Go to My Practice > Documents.
- Click the New Folder button in the top-right corner.
- Enter a name for your folder and click Create.
📍 Note: Folders can be created within your custom folders if you need an additional layer of organization.
Renaming and Deleting Files and Folders
You can rename files you uploaded or those uploaded by clients, and delete any folder you've created at any time.
To rename a file you uploaded:
- Select the file and click the Edit icon.
- Type to update the file name.
Important: Don't change the file type extension (the characters after the period). - Click Save Changes.
To rename a file from a client:
- Open the client's Shared Uploads folder.
- Click the Rename/Edit icon.
- Type to update the file name in the pop-up field.
Important: Don't change the file type extension (the characters after the period).
- Click Done.
To rename a folder:
- Select the folder you want to rename.
- Click the Edit icon.
- Enter the new folder name and click Done.
To delete a file you uploaded:
- Select the file you want to delete.
- Click the Trash icon.
- Confirm the deletion. This action can't be undone.
To delete a folder:
- Select the folder you want to remove.
- Click the Trash icon.
- Confirm the deletion.
⚠️ Important: Deleting a folder permanently removes all files and subfolders inside it. This action can't be undone. Make sure you no longer need any of the contents before proceeding.
Moving Files into Folders
Once your folder structure is set up, you can move files into the right locations — either one at a time or in bulk.
Learn more about Using Cloud Storage Integrations in Practice Better →
Moving a Single File
To move one file into a folder, press and hold the file, then drag it over the destination folder. The folder will highlight in a darker shade of gray when the file is positioned over it. From the pop-up, click Move to confirm.
Moving Multiple Files
- Click the Select multiple button in the top-right corner.
- Check the boxes next to the files you want to move.
- Click the Move files button in the top-right corner.
- Select the destination folder from the pop-up.
- Click Select folder to confirm.
- Choose your preferred sharing settings: if the destination folder has different file sharing settings than the file/folder(s) you're trying to move.
- Use original settings: The file’s original sharing settings will be retained.
- Use destination settings: The folder’s sharing settings will apply to the file(s) being moved.
Sharing Handouts with Clients
With your folders organized, you're ready to share. You can share individual files, multiple files, or entire folders — with specific clients, client groups, or all clients at once. Clients will receive both an email and an in-app notification when new files are shared with them and are available to view and download in their Client Portal.
📍 Note: File sharing is only available with clients who have access to the Client Portal. Clients can manage their notification preferences from within their portal.
To begin sharing, you'll first need to select your files:
- Click the Select multiple button in the top-left corner.
- Check the boxes next to the files you want to share.
- Click the Manage Sharing Settings button in the top-right corner.
Sharing with Specific Clients or Tags
From the File Sharing Settings pop-up:
- Select Share files with a specific client(s) from the Share with... dropdown menu.
- Search by client name, email address, or tag to find your recipients.
- Check the box next to each client or tag group you want to share with.
- Click Update.
📍 Note: Sharing with a client tag is a static selection — it targets the clients currently assigned to that tag at the time of sharing. If a new client is added to that tag later, they won't automatically receive access to previously shared files. To share with new clients, you'll need to update the sharing settings manually.
Sharing with All Clients
From the File Sharing Settings pop-up:
- Select Share files with all clients from the Share with... dropdown menu.
- Click Update.
✅ All set: All clients with access to the Client Portal will now have access to the selected files.
Managing Sharing Settings
You have full control over your shared files and can update access at any time.
Unsharing Documents
To remove access from a previously shared file:
- Select the file using the Select multiple button.
- Click Manage Sharing Settings.
- Uncheck the clients you wish to remove, or select Private (not shared) from the Share with... dropdown.
- Click Update.
Sharing with Additional Clients
To extend access to more clients after initial sharing:
- Select the files using the Select multiple button.
- Click Share with more clients in the top-right corner.
- Select the additional clients and click Update.
Understanding Folder vs. File Sharing Settings
It's worth understanding how folder-level and file-level sharing settings work together — they can operate independently, giving you precise control over what each client can see.
Sharing a folder makes it visible to the clients you select and automatically shares the files it already contains. However, each file within that folder can still have its own sharing settings that differ from the folder's settings if they are updated manually.
Similarly, changing a folder's sharing settings after the fact will affect the sharing settings of individual files already inside it.
This means you can, for example, share a "Client Handouts" folder with all clients while keeping specific files within that folder private or limited to select individuals.
💡 Tip: Think of folder sharing as controlling the visibility of the folder structure itself, while file sharing controls access to the actual content. Managing both gives you the most flexibility.