Delta Drive, Delta Trust & My Drive
What the Delta Drive badges mean
Small marks beside each item in Delta Drive and My Drive tell you where it is right now — online only, ready to read, or always on this Mac — and whether it keeps versions, is shared, or is linked to a folder on your Mac.
Every item in the Delta Drive window carries a small mark that answers one question: if you lost your connection right now, could you open this? A few extra marks say whether a folder keeps old versions, whether somebody else can see it, and whether it is linked to a folder on your Mac. Hover over any mark to see its explanation.
Where an item is
Each item has exactly one of these:
| Mark | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Grey cloud | Online only | Opening it downloads it, so it needs a connection. |
| Orange bolt | Ready to read | A copy is here from when you last opened it, so it opens straight away if it hasn't changed. That copy is tidied away after the number of days you choose, so it isn't the same as keeping it on this Mac. |
| Filled down-arrow circle | Always on this Mac | It stays here whether or not you open it, so it works offline. |
| Outlined down-arrow circle | Will be kept on this Mac | Set to be kept here, but the copy hasn't finished coming down yet. |
"Ready to read" is only ever shown on a file, never a folder, and a folder shows where it is only when you keep it on this Mac. The difference between it and "Always on this Mac" matters most when you are offline: a folder you opened yesterday is not the same as a folder you chose to keep. To keep something for good, right-click it and choose Always keep on this Mac.
Flowchart outline: How the where-is-it mark is decided
- An item in your drive
- leads to Set to Always keep on this Mac?
- Set to Always keep on this Mac?
- Yes, and the copy is here: leads to Always on this Mac
- Yes, still downloading: leads to Will be kept on this Mac
- No: leads to A file with a recent copy here?
- A file with a recent copy here?
- Yes: leads to Ready to read
- No: leads to Online only
Extra marks
These can appear alongside the one above:
| Mark | What it means |
|---|---|
| Purple clock | Versions are kept for this folder — you can go back to earlier copies of what's inside it. |
| Teal two-person mark | Somebody else can open this. Check who, and withdraw it, under Shared. |
| Blue link | Linked to a folder on this Mac. Its files are copied here as they change (or kept in both places). |
| Orange link | Linked to a folder on this Mac and kept there. You see names and sizes; the files themselves are only reachable while that Mac is on. |
A file inside a shared or versioned folder carries that folder's mark too, because being inside it means the same thing. The shared mark only counts shares that are still live — a withdrawn or expired share removes it. A My Drive of your own does not show the version mark.
See also: Sharing files from Delta Drive and My Drive, My Drive, Online-only file.