---
title: Organizing assets with folders and subfolders
slug: organizing-with-folders
category: managing-assets
tags: folders, organization, subfolders, uncategorized, structure, display-panel, thumbnail-size, marquee
summary: Create root folders and subfolders, understand the Uncategorized folder, and switch views to keep assets tidy.
updated: 2026-08-07
url: https://support.collage.inc/articles/organizing-with-folders
---

# Organizing assets with folders and subfolders

Folders in Collage help you organize your assets — images, videos, documents, and audio — in a clean, structured way. You can create folders from several places, nest them into subfolders, and view them however you prefer. This article walks through creating folders, handling uncategorized uploads, and choosing a view.

## Create a root folder

Collage gives you four entry points for creating a top-level folder:

1. **Sidebar** — click **+ New**, then select **New Folder**.
2. **Dashboard** — if you have no folders yet, click the **Create your first folder** button on the Dashboard.
3. **Folders page** — open the **Folders** tab, then click **+ New Folder** at the top right.
4. **Move dialog** — while moving an asset, click **+ Create Folder** to make one on the spot.

## Fill in the New Folder dialog

Every entry point above opens the same **New Folder** dialog:

1. In the name field (placeholder **"Type Folder Name"**), enter a name (required). The **Add Folder** button stays disabled until you type a valid name.
2. Optionally choose a **parent folder**. Leave it blank to create the folder at the top level, or pick one to nest inside. Use the search box to find an existing folder quickly.
3. Click **Add Folder** to finish.

> If the **Add Folder** button won't activate, check that the name isn't empty or spaces only.

## Add a subfolder

Subfolders are managed from **Folder Details** (not the list or grid view):

1. Open the folder you want to nest inside.
2. Click its three-dot menu and choose **Add Subfolder**.
3. Enter a name, optionally add a **description**, and click **Add Folder**.

## Folder structure best practices

A good structure mirrors how your team actually looks for assets — not your internal org chart. A few patterns that hold up as libraries grow:

- **Lead with your top way of finding things.** Most brands organize the top level by **brand or product line** or by **asset type** (Photography, Video, Logos, Documents). Pick the one your team reaches for first.
- **Keep the tree shallow.** Two or three levels is usually enough — for example, `Product Line → Asset Type`. Deep nesting hides assets and makes them harder to move and share.
- **Keep temporary or cross-cutting groupings out of the tree.** A campaign is temporary and pulls many asset types from across folders, so it works better as a **Collage** than a folder. Reserve folders for an asset's stable, structural home. See [Folders vs Collages](https://support.collage.inc/articles/folders-vs-collages).
- **Let tags and custom fields do the cross-cutting work.** Attributes that span folders — season, region, status, channel — belong in **tags** and **custom fields**, not in ever-more subfolders. That keeps the tree clean while still letting people filter across the whole library. See [Searching and discovering content](https://support.collage.inc/articles/searching-and-discovering-content) and [Tagging and custom fields](https://support.collage.inc/articles/tagging-and-custom-fields).
- **Name folders consistently.** Agree on a convention (for example, `Footwear-Product-Shots`) so folders sort predictably and stay easy to scan.

A clean top level often looks like this:

- **Photography** → *Product Shots*, *Lifestyle*, *Events*
- **Video** → *Product*, *Social*, *Brand*
- **Logos & Brand** → *Logos*, *Colors & Fonts*, *Guidelines*
- **Sales & Partner Assets** → *Sell Sheets*, *Decks*, *One-Pagers*

## Find assets in the Uncategorized folder

When you upload assets without assigning a folder, they land in **Uncategorized** — listed at the top of your folder list. Opening it actually takes you to the same **Uploaded** page you land on right after uploading, not a folder detail page — so it has the bulk action bar and click-and-drag selection described below, but not the Display panel. Use **Move to Folder** (on its own or as a bulk action) to file those assets where they belong.

## View and organize inside a folder

Open any folder and click **Display** (the gear icon) to control how its contents look:

- **View** — Grid or List. (Mosaic isn't available at folder level — that's a Collage-only view.)
- **Sort by** — click a field to sort by it; click again to flip between ascending and descending.
- **Thumbnail size** — in Grid view only, a slider with five steps from Extra Small to Extra Large.

These preferences are remembered for folder pages specifically, separate from how you view Collages or search results.

Select assets and folders the same way you would anywhere else in Collage. See [Acting on many assets at once with bulk actions](https://support.collage.inc/articles/bulk-actions) for how selection and the bulk action bar work.

## Switch views on the Folders page

On the root Folders page, toggle **List** (detailed rows) or **Grid** (visual cards), and sort by name or date to order your folders.

- **List** — shows each folder's name, description, date modified, date added, and subfolder/asset count, plus its option menu.
- **Grid** — shows folders as visual cards with name and asset count only; description and date fields are hidden to keep the layout compact.