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A Collection is a curated, virtual library of files that you assemble from anywhere in your catalog. Unlike Sources, which mirror the physical contents of a single drive, a Collection exists independently of any storage device. You pick exactly which files belong, and those files can come from any number of different drives and Source Groups. The Collection lives in your organization’s catalog and stays accessible to your team regardless of which drives are currently connected. Think of a Collection as a mood board, a project deliverable package, or a client-facing selection. You might pull a hero shot from last year’s archive drive, a few behind-the-scenes clips from a shoot drive that’s still in the edit suite, and a final logo lockup from a network share, and group them all into a single Collection called Brand Campaign Q3.

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Collections vs. Sources

It helps to understand the distinction clearly:

Sources

Mirror the physical contents of a storage device. The files in a Source are determined by what is on the drive, not by your choices.

Collections

Virtual groupings you assemble by hand. You decide which files are included, regardless of which drive they live on.
Moving a file from one folder to another on a drive changes what the Source shows. It does not affect any Collections that file belongs to, the Collection references the file by its identity in the catalog, not its location on disk.
If a drive is disconnected, files from that drive are still listed in your Collections. Thumbnails and metadata remain available, but the original files cannot be opened or exported until the drive is reconnected.
Collections can be shared outside of the 1Archive desktop application using a web link. When you generate a share link for a Collection, anyone with that link can view the Collection in a web browser, no 1Archive account or desktop install required. This is useful for sharing selects with clients, presenting deliverables for review, or giving external collaborators a read-only window into a curated set of assets. Key things to know about Collection links:
  • One Collection can have multiple links. You might generate one link for a client and another for an agency partner, and revoke them independently.
  • Links are revocable. Deleting a link immediately prevents access; the Collection itself and its other links are unaffected.
  • Shared links are read-only. Recipients can browse and download files if permitted, but they cannot add or remove files from the Collection.
Generate a new link for each external recipient so you can revoke individual access without disrupting others.

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Organization Scope

Collections belong to your organization, not to an individual user. Any team member with appropriate permissions can view, edit, and manage Collections. This makes them a reliable handoff mechanism, a Collection you create today will still be accessible to a colleague who joins the project next month.
Collections are visible to all members of your organization. If you need to limit who can see a specific set of files, use Source Groups with Restricted visibility instead.