Phials documentation
Developer docs

Vials

A Vial is an ordinary folder that you’ve asked Phials to keep extra information about: ratings, tags, your own custom fields, per-file notes, links between files, and saved views. That information is stored right inside the folder, so it travels with your files if you copy, move, or sync them.

Vials are entirely opt-in. A normal folder stays a normal folder until you decide to make it a Vial, and your existing files are never changed.

When to use a Vial

Use a Vial when a plain folder isn’t enough, when you want to:

  • Rate and tag files so you can find the good ones later.
  • Track your own fields on each file (a status, a due date, a client, a link).
  • Keep a note attached to a file without cluttering the folder.
  • Link related files together and see what points back.
  • Save several views of the same folder and switch between them.

A photographer culling a shoot, a writer organizing research, or anyone running a project folder all benefit from a Vial.

What a Vial adds

  • Custom properties on each file: text, numbers, dates, checkboxes, links, ratings, single- and multi-select lists, tags, status, and relations.
  • Per-file notes written in Markdown.
  • Relations that link files together, with backlinks shown automatically.
  • Saved views that travel with the folder.
  • Boards, a Kanban-style view that sorts files into columns by one of your properties.

Key ideas

  • Vial root: the folder you turned into a Vial. While you browse it (or anywhere inside it), the Vial’s toolbar and panels are available.
  • Properties: the fields you define for the Vial and fill in per file. See Properties.
  • Known Vials: Vials you’ve opened before, which Phials remembers so you can jump back to them from the Vials panel in the sidebar.
  • Child Vial: a subfolder that is its own Vial. It keeps its own information separately; the parent doesn’t absorb it.

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