# folio or a shared drive for the records you have to keep

> A shared drive is a good place to work on files, but it won't enforce a retention period or ask why someone opened a file. folio will do that for the records you have to keep, and leave the everyday work where it is.

Source: https://unforged.ai/folio/compare/shared-drive

Most records start life on a shared drive or in a cloud folder, and plenty stay there. This is how that compares with folio on the questions a records owner gets asked.

## Side by side

| | Unforged folio | A shared drive or cloud folder |
|---|---|---|
| How records are organised | Each record will be filed in a folder by your unit of work, such as a matter, a client's year or a tenancy, under a retention class. | Folders by whatever scheme people agree on, which tends to drift as teams and years change. |
| How long things stay | Each record will stay for as long as its class says, and a Locked record will be write-once until then. | Files will stay until someone deletes them, and any period will live in a policy document rather than in the drive. |
| Removing something early | A Retained record will be kept until retention ends, and deleted early only by two people with a reason. | Anyone with edit rights will usually be able to delete a file at any time, on their own. |
| During a dispute | You'll be able to place a hold on a record, a folder or a matter, and nothing under it will be disposed of until two people release it. | You'll need to copy files somewhere else, or ask people not to touch them, since there usually won't be a hold as such. |
| Views and reasons | Every view will go in your ledger, and you'll be able to set a folder so nobody opens it without giving a reason. | Activity history varies by service and plan, and it won't ask anyone why they opened a file. |
| Showing nothing has changed | Each record will carry its fingerprints and an outside time-stamp, and the ledger will show any change. | Version history shows edits, but there's usually no outside proof of when a file was filed or that it hasn't changed since. |
| Finding things | You'll be able to search by name, folder, matter or the words inside, scanned paper included. | File names and, on many services, the words in typed documents, though scanned paper often won't be searchable. |
| Where it's stored | Your documents, and anything we make from them, will stay in the region you choose. | Wherever the service and your plan put it, which won't always be a region you choose. |
| At the end of the period | When retention ends, folio will dispose of the record, and the disposal will go in your ledger. | Nothing happens at the end of a period unless someone remembers to clear things out. |
| Everyday work on documents | folio won't be an editor. It will look after the finished record, beside the tools your team works in. | Made for it: drafting, sharing and working on files together. |

## When a shared drive is enough

folio is for the records you have to keep. A drive is the better place for:

- **Work in progress**: Drafts and documents you're still working on belong where your team works on them.
- **Files no rule applies to**: If nothing says how long a file stays and nobody will ever ask who opened it, a drive is simpler.
- **Sharing with people outside**: Day-to-day sharing with clients and colleagues is what drives are made for.