Navigating Your Files
Poly organizes your files in a familiar folder hierarchy. You navigate it the same way you'd navigate any file manager, with some extra shortcuts for power users.
Opening folders
Double-click a folder to open it. The main panel updates immediately and the breadcrumb trail at the top of the panel shows your current path.
Click any segment of the breadcrumb trail to jump back to that level. Click Home at the far left to return to the root of your storage.
Keyboard navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Move selection through files and folders |
Enter | Open the selected folder or preview the selected file |
Backspace | Go up one folder level |
Cmd+A / Ctrl+A | Select all items in the current folder |
Cmd+K / Ctrl+K | Open search |
Space | Toggle quick preview for the selected file |
Selecting multiple files
Click a file to select it. Hold Shift and click another file to select a range. Hold Cmd (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows/Linux) and click to add or remove individual files from the selection.
Sidebar navigation
The sidebar on the left gives you quick access to your Home, Archive, and Agent, your favorites, your shared drives, and files shared with you. Folders in it expand in place, so you can browse without leaving the file you're viewing. See Sidebar for the full tour.
About local files
Poly is a cloud-first file system. The file browser shows only files that are stored in your Poly account — it does not let you browse folders on your local hard drive or desktop yet. This is by design. Poly is built to be an intelligent, agentic file system that goes with you everywhere. When your files are in Poly, they're instantly available on your phone, your colleague's machine, or any browser in the world — no syncing required on your end.
To bring local files into Poly, use the upload tools described in Uploading files.