Find files by project or canvas

Use scope when the file belongs to a known place

Files can show attachments across the whole workspace, inside one project, or inside one canvas. The fastest path depends on what you remember. If you remember only a file name, start at workspace Files. If you remember the project, narrow to that project. If you remember the exact canvas, open the canvas-scoped file list so you are not searching the whole workspace for one local attachment.

This matters because ALLO work is contextual. A project can contain many canvases, and each canvas can contain multiple uploaded files or attachments. Project and canvas scopes reduce noise and make it easier to answer practical questions like “Which file did the launch team use?” or “Which attachments are still on this client review canvas?”

For the general Files model, start with Files overview. For project structure, read Understand projects. For finding canvases first, use Find canvases.

Choose the right starting point

Use workspace Files when you do not know where the file is. This is the broadest view. It is best for searching by filename, filtering by uploader, checking recent uploads, or investigating storage usage across the current workspace.

Use project Files when you know the file belongs to a project but not which canvas. This is common for launches, workshops, client rooms, and recurring team projects. Project Files helps you avoid unrelated files from other teams while still covering all canvases inside the project that you can access.

Use canvas Files when you know the file belongs to one canvas. This is the most precise view and the safest place to remove a file because you can open the canvas and understand exactly where the file appears.

Open Files from the workspace

Open the workspace navigation, then choose Files. This shows files for the current workspace. If you belong to multiple workspaces, confirm the workspace name before searching. A file in one workspace will not appear in another workspace’s Files view, even if you use the same ALLO account.

Use the search box for a filename or recognizable word, then add filters if the list is still too large. For example, search roadmap, filter to PDFs, and sort by newest to find the latest roadmap deck. See Filter files for the full filtering workflow.

Open Files for a project

Start from the project when you already know the project context. You can open a project from the sidebar, Home, All canvases, Search, or a direct link. From the project, use the project’s Files entry or file-related view to see attachments connected to canvases inside that project.

Project-scoped Files is useful when a project has many canvases with similar names. For example, a launch project might have planning, design review, legal review, campaign assets, and retrospective canvases. Searching workspace Files for banner could return every banner in the company; searching inside the launch project keeps the results tied to that launch.

If a file you expect is not in project Files, check whether the containing canvas is still in the project. A canvas moved out of the project can make its files disappear from the project-scoped list even though the files still exist in the workspace. Open All canvases, search for the canvas, and confirm its project location.

Open Files for a canvas

Use canvas Files when you know the exact canvas. Open the canvas, then use the file or attachment entry for that canvas. This view is best for auditing what is attached before a presentation, removing outdated material, or checking whether a file a teammate mentioned is actually on the canvas.

Canvas Files can also help with duplicate-looking rows. If the same filename appears across workspace Files, opening the canvas-specific view tells you which copy belongs to the current canvas. That is important before removal, because removing a file from one canvas does not automatically remove every similar-looking file elsewhere.

For canvas file actions, see Preview, open, and download files and Remove a file from a canvas.

How the file tree behaves

The Files tree loads workspace, project, and canvas areas as you open them. If a large workspace has many projects or canvases, you may need to expand the area you care about rather than expecting every nested item to appear immediately.

When you choose a scope in the tree, the file list updates to match that scope. The search and filters you apply work inside the current scope. If you search from project Files, ALLO searches files in that project scope. If you then move back to workspace Files, clear or review your filters so you do not accidentally carry a narrow filter into a broader search.

If the tree looks incomplete, refresh the page and confirm that you still have access to the project or canvas. Recently removed permissions, archived work, or deleted canvases can change what the tree is allowed to show.

Permissions and shared work

Files follows the access you have to the containing work. If you can open a shared canvas but not the whole project, you may see files from that canvas without seeing every project file. If a project was shared with you but one canvas inside it has tighter permissions, that canvas’s files may not appear for you.

Permission can also affect actions. You may be able to preview or open a file, but not remove it. If you need to remove a file and the action is unavailable, ask a canvas editor, project owner, or workspace admin to help. For shared access problems, see Fix shared access and Members, guests, and external collaborators.

Examples

To find all files for a product launch, open the launch project, then open project Files. Filter by file type if needed: images for campaign assets, PDFs for review decks, documents for briefs, or videos for recordings. Sort by newest to review recent uploads or by largest when storage cleanup is the goal.

To find the file behind a comment, open the canvas mentioned in the comment, then open canvas Files. If the attachment is still present, preview it before downloading. If it is missing, check Trash in case the file was removed.

To find a file from a shared canvas, open Shared with me, open the shared canvas, and use canvas Files from there. If the file does not appear in workspace Files, that can be normal when your access is limited to the shared item.

Troubleshooting scope issues

If project Files looks empty, confirm that the project still contains canvases and that those canvases have files you can access. A project with tasks but no uploaded files can have an empty Files view.

If workspace Files finds the file but project Files does not, open the containing canvas from the file row. The canvas may be outside the project, moved to a different project, or accessible to you through a share rather than through project membership.

If canvas Files finds the file but workspace search does not, clear workspace-level filters and try a shorter filename. Files search is best for file names and visible file details; it is not a promise that every word inside every file will be searchable. See When search misses a result.

If you opened a direct link and Files says you cannot access the item, check that you are signed in with the right account and workspace. Then ask the sender to confirm whether they shared the canvas, the project, or only a link that later changed. Use Fix shared access for the full checklist.