How to Use Vault

After installing Vault and connecting to a file storage service, you are ready to use Vault to store files securely.

Look to our “Vault Installation and Set Up” article to help you get started if you have not already installed Vault.

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Connect a local folder

1. From the Vault Services page, click Connect next to Local folder.

2. In the pop-up, click Select Folder.

3. Select a folder to mount Vault to and click Select Folder.
4. Click Connect.

Note: Vault will not connect to a folder of any kind (Local, OneDrive, Google Drive) if it contains unencrypted content. Please ensure the folder you are tying to connect to is empty or contains only XQ-encrypted content (files with a “.xqf” extension)

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Connect Google Drive

Note: If you have not downloaded or set up Google Drive, click Connect and select one of the available download or set up resources in the pop-up modal before connecting Vault.

1. From the Vault Services page, click Connect next to Google Drive.

2. In the pop-up, click Select Folder.

3. Select a folder from your Google Drive to mount Vault to and click Select Folder.
4. Click Connect. 

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Connect Microsoft OneDrive

Note: If you have not downloaded or set up Microsoft OneDrive, click Connect and select one of the available download or set up resources in the pop-up modal before connecting Vault.

1. From the Vault Services page, click Connect next to Microsoft OneDrive.

2. In the pop-up, click Select Folder.

3. Select a folder from your Microsoft OneDrive to mount Vault to and click Select Folder.
4. Click Connect. 

If you are using a Mac, your OneDrive folder should appear in the “Locations” section of Finder. If you don’t see it, you can try restarting Finder. To do this, press Command+Option+Escape, select Finder, and click Relaunch.

On Mac, Connected Folders will appear as Mounted Drives/Remove Volumes on the desktop as well as in Finder.

On Windows, Connected Folders will appear as Network Drives with unique drive letters.

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Open your Vault

Your Vault contains all of the encrypted files you have saved, with a designated folder for each file storage service you have connected to. You can access and manage your files in two ways: 

• Using the Vault folder on your Desktop (Mac) or This PC (Windows)
• Using the Services page in the Vault application

To open Vault using the Services page, refer to the following steps:

1. Launch Vault and click the Services tab in the navigation menu.
2. Click the Open Vault Folder button.

3. This launches your Vault folder, the location where you will drag and drop files to be encrypted automatically. 

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Add files to your Vault

You can encrypt all types of files in your Vault. Some examples include:

• Documents: PDF, DOCX, XLSX…
• Images: PNG, JPG, GIF…
• Audio: MP3, WAV…
• Video: MP4, MPEG…
• And more.

Vault supports files smaller than 2GB for encryption and decryption. Vault also supports the Office365 and Google Workspace Suites of products for editing while in Vault. Some other filetypes may not support editing.

When you add files to your Vault, the files are automatically encrypted. Refer to the following steps to add files to your Vault: 

1. Launch Vault and click the Open Vault Folder button.

2. Once Vault has launched, double-click the folder that corresponds to your connected service (Vault, Local folder, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.)
3. Drag and drop or copy files into the connected folder. These files will be automatically encrypted. 

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Open files stored in your Vault

1. Launch Vault and click the Open Vault Folder button. 

2. Once Vault has launched, double-click the folder that corresponds to your connected service (Local folder, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.)
3. Open files as you normally would open them. 
4.  You can edit the opened file and close it. It will automatically re-encrypt with the changes.

Tip: Vault works by encrypting files automatically. Because of this, it can be difficult to know if Vault is working or not. See How do I know my file is secure? for more information on testing Vault.

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Manage files

If you need to manage your encrypted files (moving or deleting them, for example), you can do it from two locations:

• Connected folder – This is the folder you drag and drop files into when you are using Vault to encrypt data. This can be a local folder, a Google Drive folder, or a Microsoft OneDrive folder. This folder works by sending your files to the Vault and then sending your encrypted file to your target folder as a .xqf file.
• Vault folder – This is the folder where your secure .xqf files are stored on your machine. The files in this folder are encrypted.

You can rename, move or delete your files from any of the mentioned folders, and an action on one will be reflected in the other.

Important: if you use Microsoft 365 (Excel, Word, and PowerPoint), you need to turn off the AutoSave feature to avoid files from Vault being saved into OneDrive without encryption.