Folder Dashboard – Quick Guide

Keep this file in the same folder as folder-dashboard.html.

What it is

The Folder Dashboard is a web page that shows what is in the shared office folder and what has changed in it. It covers every folder and file inside the folder you select, and it updates itself while it is open. It reads the folder from your own computer, and nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Before you start

• Use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a desktop or laptop. Firefox and Safari do not work.
• Open the dashboard from the Folder Dashboard shortcut on your desktop (if it was installed for you), or by double-clicking folder-dashboard.html.
• Check that the shared folder is visible in File Explorer or Finder. The dashboard can only show what your computer can reach.
• Everyone should select the same folder level, so that tags and history line up.

Where to keep the files

• Easiest: use the installer. If your administrator has put the installer in a shared folder, double-click Install-FolderDashboard.bat once. It puts a private copy on your computer, adds a desktop shortcut and switches on the Open in Explorer buttons. See Installing from the shared folder.
• Keep the two files together. folder-dashboard.html and folder-dashboard-guide.html must sit in the same folder with these exact names, or the Guide button will not find the guide.
• Give each person their own copy on their own computer, for example in Documents\FolderDashboard (the installer uses %LOCALAPPDATA%\FolderDashboard). This is the setup we recommend.
• Do not put them inside the shared folder you are monitoring. The dashboard would list its own files and report them as changes every time you update them. Keep them in a separate folder beside it or on your computer. The same applies to the installer folder.
• Open it the same way every time: the same copy of the file in the same browser (Chrome or Edge, not both). Your remembered folder, branding and history are saved per browser, so a second browser or a moved file may need you to click Select folder again. Nothing is lost when that happens, because tags live in the shared folder itself.
• Make it easy to reach: bookmark the page in your browser, or right-click the file and create a desktop shortcut.
• Select the same folder level as everyone else: the shared folder your office has agreed on. If your shared drive has a drive letter, use the same letter on every computer.
• When you receive an update, replace both files in the same place. Do not keep old copies next to the new ones, because it is easy to open the wrong one. If you used the installer, use Update Folder Dashboard in the Start menu instead.

Connecting to the shared folder

1. Click Select folder.
2. Choose the shared folder you want to monitor, then allow access when the browser asks.
3. Wait a few seconds while it scans. The status at the top right shows the time of the last scan.

Next time you open the page, click Reconnect and it picks up where it left off. To monitor a different folder, click Change folder.

Finding your way around

• Overview: totals for files, folders, clients and size, a card for each main folder, and client cards with the most recently active first.
• Sidebar: jump to a main folder or a client. The search box filters client names, and typing two or more characters searches file and folder names across everything.
• Folder view: click a folder to open it, use the path at the top to go back, and sort by name, last modified or size.
• Opening a file: click its row to open the folder that holds it in File Explorer (when the installer has been run; otherwise the click opens the file). To open the file itself, click Open file on its row: PDFs and images open in a new tab, and other file types download.
• Restricted folders: if you do not have permission to open a folder, it shows an amber Restricted badge (and a 🔒 in the sidebar). Its contents are not listed, and its files are not included in the counts, change activity or name checks. A folder your account cannot see at all will not appear, so there is nothing to mark. Ask whoever manages the shared drive if you need access.
• Finding a file's folder: every file row has a Copy path button (and Open in Explorer when it is switched on, see below), and in search, tag and Needs attention lists there is also Open folder. Open folder jumps to that folder inside the dashboard. Copy path copies the folder's full path so you can paste it into the File Explorer address bar. The first time, enter the full path of the folder you selected (for example S:\Shared) under Set path at the top, unless the installer already filled it in. It is saved in your browser only, and it must match what File Explorer shows on your computer. The Copy folder path button at the top right copies the path of the folder you are viewing (the whole shared folder on the Overview).

Opening a folder in File Explorer

A web page cannot start File Explorer by itself, so this feature needs a one-time setup on each Windows computer (the installer does it, see below). Once it is set up:

• An Open in Explorer button appears at the top (it opens the folder you are viewing, or the whole shared folder on the Overview) and on every file row and Needs attention row (it opens the folder that holds that file).
• The first time, Chrome or Edge asks whether to allow the page to open Folder Dashboard. Tick the box to always allow it and click Open.
• It only ever opens an existing folder inside your shared folder. It cannot open files, run programs or open anything outside the folder your administrator listed.
• If the button is missing, the installer has not been run on your computer, and Copy path is still available.
• If nothing happens when you click it, or you see a message that the folder is not found, check that the shared drive is connected and that Set path matches how your computer names the shared folder.

Installing from the shared folder

For staff: open the installer folder your administrator told you about, double-click Install-FolderDashboard.bat and wait for the confirmation message. No administrator rights are needed. It affects only your Windows user account. If Windows shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” message, click More info, then Run anyway. If you see a line about “UNC paths are not supported”, ignore it. To run the installer again later (for an update), use Update Folder Dashboard in the Start menu. To remove everything, use Apps & features in Windows and uninstall Folder Dashboard.

For the administrator:

1. Put these files together in one folder on the network, outside the shared folder the dashboard monitors: Install-FolderDashboard.bat, Install-FolderDashboard.ps1, Uninstall-FolderDashboard.ps1, FolderDashLauncher.ps1, config.json, folder-dashboard.html and folder-dashboard-guide.html.
2. Edit config.json. allowedRoots lists the only folders the Open in Explorer button may ever open. List every way your staff reach the share (for example S:\\Shared and \\\\fileserver\\Shared). basePath is the folder staff select in the dashboard, exactly as File Explorer shows it. Use double backslashes in this file.
3. Give staff read-only access to the installer folder, and keep write access for yourself. Everyone who runs the installer runs whatever is in that folder, so anyone who can change it can run code on staff computers.
4. To install silently for everyone (for example from a logon script), run powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "\\server\tools\FolderDashboard\Install-FolderDashboard.ps1" -Quiet. With -Quiet it does nothing when the computer is already up to date.
5. To release an update, replace the files in the installer folder (and bump the version in folder-dashboard.html and version.json). Staff pick it up with Update Folder Dashboard, or at the next logon if you use the logon script.

Filtering a folder

When a folder holds six or more items, a filter bar appears above the list.

• Type part of a name or tag. Several words must all match, so john 2025 finds "John Smith – Policy 2025.pdf".
• Click a type chip (Folders, PDF, Word / text, Excel, Images, Slides, Other) to show only that kind. Each chip shows how many items it holds.
• Changed (24 h) shows only items added or edited in the last day.
• Clear resets everything. Filters also reset when you open a different folder.

Watching for changes

• The page rescans the folder automatically. Pick the interval at the top right (5 seconds to 5 minutes, or off), or click Refresh now.
• New and Updated badges mark items changed in the last 24 hours. A folder shows Changes when anything inside it changed.
• The Activity panel lists added, edited and deleted items with the time. Clear empties it.
• When you reopen the page, it also shows what changed since your last visit.
• The dot beside the scan time is green when live, amber while scanning, and red when something is wrong. The message next to it says what.

Tagging files

1. Click + tag on a file row (it shows ✎ once the file has tags).
2. Type one or more tags and press Enter. Separate several tags with commas, for example kyc, 2026, signed, or paste a comma-separated list. Click × to remove one.
3. Click Save. The first time, the browser asks for permission to edit the folder. Allow it.

To find tagged files, click a tag on any row or in the sidebar Tags list. The filter box and the search box match tags too.

Tags are saved in a hidden file called .folder-dashboard-tags.json in the shared folder, so everyone using the same folder sees the same tags. They follow a file's path: if someone renames or moves a file outside the dashboard, its tags stay behind. Do not put confidential notes in tags, because anyone with folder access can read that file.

Why we follow a naming standard

A name that follows the pattern tells you who a file is for, what it is and when it is dated, without opening it. The return grows with every file saved:

• Findable years later. The client code and date mean anyone can locate a document without knowing who saved it. Sorting by name groups a client's files by type and date on its own.
• Clear about what was agreed. The document date and the _signed ending show which copy is the executed one, and a draft is never mistaken for an instruction.
• Mistakes show up. A file whose client code does not match its folder is flagged, so a misfiled document is caught early.
• Easy to hand over. A new colleague, or whoever takes over a client, can read the folder without asking.
• Safe to share. Names appear in emails, sync logs and screenshots, so they never carry ID numbers, dates of birth or a client's status.
• Ready to move. Every part of the name is a field. If the files move to a document system later, the client, type and date can be read straight from the names.

Every name that slips makes the next one easier to let slip, and correcting thousands of files later takes far longer than naming each one properly now.

Naming folders and files

Consistent names keep the shared folder searchable and let the dashboard sort and filter properly. The dashboard checks client folders and the files inside them against these rules (client folders are the folders directly inside any top-level folder whose name ends in ClientFiles, such as SharedClientFiles or st_clientfiles. Subfolder names inside a client folder are never checked, and nothing is checked if no such top-level folder exists). Anything that does not follow them gets a red Check name badge with the reason underneath. The Overview shows a Names to fix tile that opens a full list, the sidebar has a matching Needs attention entry, and inside a folder the Needs attention filter shows only the problem items. The dashboard only flags: it never renames or moves anything. Correct the name in File Explorer or Finder and the flag clears at the next scan. With Open in Explorer switched on, you can jump straight to the folder that holds the file.

Client folders

<ClientCode>_<Surname-or-CompanyName>_<FirstName-or-Type>

C00123_Nel_Johan
C00124_Kalahari-Greens_PTY

• Client code: the letter C followed by 5 digits. It never changes, even if the client's name does, and it comes first so folders sort and match reliably.
• Underscores separate the parts. Hyphens join words inside a part (Du-Plessis, Kalahari-Greens). Extra underscores, as in C35278_Van_der_Linden_Liza-Marie, are accepted and not flagged, but hyphens (Van-der-Linden) are preferred because they keep surname and first name clearly separate.
• Letters, digits and hyphens only. No spaces, accents, apostrophes or other symbols (write OBrien, not O'Brien).
• Never put an ID number, policy number or date of birth in a folder name. Names appear in sync logs, screenshots and shared links.
• Never put a status in the name (such as ACTIVE or CLOSED). Renaming breaks links and tags. Use a tag instead.

Files

<ClientCode>_<DocType>_<YYYY-MM-DD>_<descriptor>[_vNN][_signed].<ext>

C00123_KYC-ID_2026-10-23_certified-copy.pdf
C00123_ROA_2026-10-20_life-cover-review_v02.docx
C00123_ROA_2026-10-20_life-cover-review_signed.pdf
C00123_CHG_2026-10-23_add-vehicle_signed.pdf
C00123_CLM_2026-09-14_vehicle-damage-front.jpg

• Client code: always repeat it in the file name and make sure it matches the folder the file sits in. Files get emailed and downloaded, and without the code they cannot be identified.
• Date: the date of the document itself, in the form year-month-day. Not the day you saved it.
• Descriptor: short, lowercase, words joined by hyphens, at most 40 characters. Keep it neutral: no diagnoses, ID numbers or other sensitive details.
• Version (_v02, _v03): only on editable files such as Word and Excel. Never use "final", "final2" or "new".
• Signed copies: the executed document is a PDF with _signed at the end and no version number. Treat signed files as final: never save over them. If something needs correcting, issue a new dated document.
• Related files share a base name. The Word working copy and the signed PDF of the same document differ only in _signed and the extension.
• Allowed file types: pdf, docx, xlsx, jpg, jpeg, png, webp, always in lowercase. Keep the extension your camera or phone gave the file; do not change it.
• Length: keep the whole name under 80 characters. Long names inside deep folders can hit Windows and SharePoint path limits.
• Rename before you tag. Photos and scans arrive as IMG_4471.jpg or Scan0012.pdf. Give them a proper name first, because tags follow the file name and are lost if the file is renamed later.

Document types

Change requests

• One change request, one dated base name, for example C00123_CHG_2026-10-23_add-vehicle. Two requests on the same day need different descriptors.
• A CHG file without _signed is a draft, not an instruction. Only act on the signed PDF.
• File the insurer's confirmation as COR, for example C00123_COR_2026-10-25_add-vehicle-confirmation.pdf.
• Keep the evidence of signing (the email or signature record) with the signed PDF. The _signed name is a label, not proof.

Branding

Click Branding at the top to set the company name, a tagline, a logo and an accent colour. These are saved in your own browser, and Reset all restores the defaults. To brand the file for everyone, the person who maintains it edits the BRAND_DEFAULT lines near the top of the script.

Best logo size

• Ideal: a PNG about 320 × 88 pixels, wide rather than square (a width-to-height ratio of roughly 3:1 to 4:1), on a transparent background.
• Shown size: the logo appears at most 44 pixels tall and 200 pixels wide in the top bar. A 320 × 88 image looks sharp on high-resolution screens too.
• Too big is fine: when you upload through the Branding button, larger images are shrunk automatically to fit within 320 × 96 pixels. Logos smaller than about 200 × 44 pixels can look blurry.
• SVG files also work and stay sharp at any size, so use one if you have it.
• Square logos work but show small, because the height is limited to 44 pixels. Crop empty space around the logo before uploading.
• Dark mode: the top bar turns dark when the computer is in dark mode. Avoid a logo that is only dark text, or use one with a light outline or background.
• Logo file for everyone: if the maintainer sets a logo file name in BRAND_DEFAULT, that file is not resized, so make it about 400 × 88 pixels and keep it in the same folder as the dashboard.

Updates

The version number is shown at the bottom of the dashboard. If your administrator has set up update checks, a banner appears at the top when a newer version is available, listing what changed. If the dashboard was installed with the installer, ask your administrator to release the update to the installer folder, then use Update Folder Dashboard in the Start menu. Otherwise click Download to get the new file, then replace the old folder-dashboard.html (and the guide) in your folder with it. Your tags, history and settings are not affected. Dismiss hides that version's banner, and Check for updates at the bottom checks again on demand. The dashboard never changes its own files.

Troubleshooting and limits

Changes are found by checking at the chosen interval, not instantly. If two people save tags in the same second, one change can overwrite the other.