Folder template
A job runs better when RFIs, contracts, specifications, drawings and closeout each have an obvious home from the first week. This page walks through the folder tree Fidrel offers a US building project, why it mixes project phases with document types, and how to restrict a folder.
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Without a master structure, one job files bids under Preconstruction and the next under Procurement. Nobody can find an addendum on a project they did not set up, and a controller who moves between jobs relearns the layout every time.
A tree by phase hides the contract from the person who needs it in the field, while a tree by document type scatters one stage of work across ten folders. Most jobs need a bit of each, and decide it badly in a hurry.
The budget folder is created next to the drawings and inherits the same access, so a subcontractor on the drawings can also read the owner’s figures. The restriction is an afterthought, if it happens at all.
The prepared project tree has 23 top-level folders. The US edition puts Owner’s project requirements, Contracts and Permits and AHJ approvals first, then RFIs, Inspections and closeout, Specifications, Images and CAD files. After those come the design and bidding stages, Design deliverables, Design development, Bid documents and Addenda, followed by Drawing and document indexes, Quality, environmental and safety, Memos and studies, Meeting minutes, Drawings, Schedule, Construction documents, Record documents, Closeout, O&M manuals and warranties, and Archive and records retention. Under Drawings sit the disciplines: Architecture, Structural engineering, Mechanical and plumbing, Electrical and more.
Documents, drawings & models
The tree answers the question both ways on purpose. The folders you work in all day, such as Drawings, Specifications and Contracts, are by document type, so the foreman and the estimator find them in the same place on every job. The folders that change character over time, such as Design development, Construction documents, Record documents and Closeout, are by phase, so a handover package is already collected when it is needed. If you prefer one rule, use the empty structure and build to it.
Step 1
When the project is created you choose Prepared folders for the US edition, with a Folder preview of every folder, or Custom structure – start empty if your company already has a tree it wants to build by hand.
Step 2
The preview lists the top-level folders and their subfolders, and marks the ones that are administrators only by default. Adjust names and add your own folders afterwards; nothing in the tree is locked.
Step 3
On an existing project open Ready-made folder templates and choose Add folders. It adds only the missing folders, existing files and permissions stay unchanged, and any new sensitive folder is visible to administrators only.
Step 4
Lock a folder or a single document to selected people when a subfolder holds something only part of the team should read, such as pricing, and keep the rest open to the project.
Finance and budget is created as a restricted folder: it is marked with a shield in the preview and visible to administrators only by default. For any other folder, lock it to selected people from the folder’s access settings. Everyone who can open a file gets a notification when it is uploaded, so restrict before you upload, not after.
The prepared folders are an adaptable starting structure, not a certification of legal or standards compliance, and Fidrel does not stand in for any public agency’s records system. Adding a template never renames, moves or deletes a folder that already exists, so a tree you have already shaped is left as it is. Fidrel does not number folders for you, and it does not build the folder tree from your specification book.
Your trial applies to your first own project and starts when that project is created. No card required. Afterwards, choose card or invoice to continue.
The project system of the future connects people, documents and decisions. Discover the thinking behind Fidrel.
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On site, answers need to be close at hand. Fidrel displays DWG drawings in your mobile browser, within the project’s document structure.
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When everyone can see the next step, moving the project forward becomes easier. Fidrel brings activities, dates and reported progress together in a shared Gantt view.
Read moreFolder template
Anything else on your mind? We are happy to help.
Talk to usYes. Choose Custom structure – start empty when the project is created and build the folders you want, or add the prepared folders later and rename or add to them. Nothing in the tree is fixed.
Fidrel adds only the folders that are missing. Existing files and permissions stay unchanged, and new sensitive folders are visible to administrators only until you open them up.
Finance and budget is created as administrators only. The rest of the tree is open to the project’s members until you lock a folder or a document to selected people.
The tree has an RFIs folder for the documents around your questions. RFIs themselves are records in Fidrel with an answer and a history, not files, so the folder holds the attachments and correspondence.
No claim is made. It is an adaptable starting structure, not a certification of legal or standards compliance. You can name folders after your specification divisions if your team works that way.
Yes. The Export center downloads folders as one ZIP file with a CSV list of the files, and a selection of up to 100 files, no more than 100 MB in total, can also be downloaded as a ZIP.
