Folder Archive (Read-only Folders)

Blue Synergy lets you mark a folder as read-only (archive). Archived folders act as a frozen subtree — their clips can’t be deleted, moved out, or overwritten, and retention rules skip them. Use it for collections you want to keep forever, references you don’t want to lose to retention cleanup, or grouping spaces for smart filters.

Shipped in 0.7.34.

What “archive” actually blocks

Once a folder is read-only, Blue Synergy blocks every write operation against clips inside it:

Action Result on archived folder
Delete clip (Delete key / context menu) Blocked with error toast
“Delete Permanently” (skip trash) Blocked — unless the clip was already in trash before the folder was archived
Delete in folder view (which normally removes from folder) Blocked — the clip stays where it is
Drag / drop clips out Blocked — the drop effect shows “not allowed”
Drag / drop clips in Blocked
“Import clips from folder…” into the archived folder Blocked at import time
Edit clip content, title, tags Allowed — archive locks movement, not metadata
Opening the folder and reading clips Allowed — normal access

Trash cleanup (permanent delete of soft-deleted clips) keeps working, otherwise previously trashed clips would become unpurgeable zombies.

Two toggles that come along for the ride

When you enable Read-only on a folder, two other folder settings are auto-adjusted in the same save:

  • Accept incoming clips → OFF — an archived folder should not be the default destination for new captures. You cannot re-enable Accept clips while Read-only is on; disable Read-only first.
  • Exclude from retention → ON — retention rules now skip the folder AND every clip inside it. This is what makes archive actually preserve content (earlier versions left a gap where you could archive a folder but retention would still delete its clips).

Both cascades are one-way. Turning Read-only off later does not automatically re-enable retention — you have to opt the folder back into retention on purpose.

Archive inherits down the tree

A subfolder inside an archived folder is archived too, automatically. You don’t need to flip Read-only on every descendant — the setting at the root applies to the whole subtree.

What the tree shows Meaning
🔒 next to folder label This folder is archived directly
🔐 next to folder label This folder inherits archive from an ancestor — unset it at the parent to unlock

Inherited archive is non-negotiable at the descendant level. The Read-only toggle on a child of an archived folder is greyed out with a tooltip telling you which ancestor is the source.

How to toggle archive

Quick toggle — context menu

Right-click the folder → Read-only (archive) at the top of the toggle block. Single click flips the state.

When Read-only is on, the Accept clips and Exclude from retention rows are disabled (with a tooltip explaining why) — they’re implied by Read-only.

Full control — Properties dialog

Right-click → Properties. The same three toggles appear with live cascade:

  • Check Read-only → Accept clips auto-unchecks, Exclude retention auto-checks, both go disabled
  • Uncheck Read-only → the two stay as they are (no silent re-enable)

The dialog also surfaces an “Archive inherited from <parent>“ info row when relevant, and disables the entire toggle block — un-archive has to happen at the parent level.

Seeing the archive state at a glance in the clips table

The clips table has three optional columns for protection state:

Column header Shows a glyph for clips that…
🛡️ are excluded from retention (cascade from an archive, or explicit per-clip flag)
🔒 live in an archive at this level (their direct parent folder is Read-only)
🔐 live in an archive inherited from an ancestor

All three are hidden by default. Show them via the column chooser (right-click a table header). Each entry has a tooltip in the chooser explaining the column.

Useful patterns

Namespace folder for smart filters

Create a manual folder, drop one or more virtual folders (smart filters) inside, then archive the parent. Archive prevents accidental writes, retention won’t touch anything, and Create virtual folder still works inside so you can add more smart filters over time. Many users rename it with a distinct emoji prefix (e.g. 🗂 Smart Filters) for visual separation.

Reference library

Hand-curate a folder of reference snippets (meeting templates, legal clauses, code scaffolds). Archive it. Retention cleanup can’t delete them; a slip of the Delete key can’t delete them; they’re just … there.

Before a retention sweep

Worried a retention rule is about to chew through something valuable? Move the worthwhile clips into a folder and archive it. They’ll be skipped on the next sweep and every sweep after.

Edge cases & known limits

  • Moving a clip out of an archive requires un-archiving first. The restriction is intentional — “archive” wouldn’t mean much if a random drag could drain it.
  • Properties → Delete folder works on archived folders. Archive protects clips inside, not the folder itself.
  • Virtual (smart filter) folders don’t have an archive setting. They’re query views, not containers. If a virtual folder lives inside an archived parent it inherits the lock visually, but the “lock” applies to the view, not the matched clips’ underlying folder.
  • Existing clips in Trash stay purgeable. If a clip was soft-deleted BEFORE the folder was archived, you can still permanently delete it from Trash — otherwise Trash would accumulate unremovable entries.