🚀 WorkDrive 5.0: Evolving from a file sharing app to an intelligent content management platform: Phase 2

🚀 WorkDrive 5.0: Evolving from a file sharing app to an intelligent content management platform: Phase 2

Hello everyone,

WorkDrive's primary focus has always been to provide an intelligent and secure content management platform, simplify collaboration, and be the central repository of files for all Zoho apps.

In our previous announcement, we unveiled the first set of WorkDrive 5.0 features, including watermarking, bulk version deletion, image annotation, Outlook add-in, and more. Today, we’re excited to introduce the next set of WorkDrive 5.0 feature updates, packed with new features to boost collaboration, strengthen security, and optimize data management.

With 5.0 Phase 2, we’ve now added some of the most-requested tools, including Workflows, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, custom folder permissions, AI features, and advanced sharing options.

Let’s dive into what’s new!

Protect Sensitive Data with DLP Policies (Beta)


Worried about data security? 
WorkDrive’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies automatically classify files containing sensitive information and control what actions can be taken with these files – whether it’s sharing, downloading, copying, or printing.

Automatic Classification
Admins can leverage the following methods to enable automatic classification through DLP policies:
  • Built-in Sensitive Content Identifiers: Choose from 149 pre-defined types spanning 47 countries/regions, such as National ID cards, Bank account details, Social Security numbers, and more. View the full list of supported sensitive information types 

  • Custom Rules: Use keywords, file names, or file extensions to create tailored rules for classification.
Disclaimer: Automatic classification enhances security by identifying and labeling sensitive data automatically, but it may not always be 100% accurate. To ensure full protection, WorkDrive provides manual classification, allowing users to manually label files that may be missed.

Manual Classification
Admins can create custom classification labels and enable team members to apply these labels to sensitive files. This allows warnings to be displayed or specific actions—such as external sharing, downloading, copying, or printing—to be blocked.

InfoImportant: In automatic classification, newly created DLP policies will not be applied to existing files. Only new, modified, or uploaded files after the policy is created will be scanned and enforced if they meet the policy criteria.

Supported plans: Business plan and Zoho One bundle.

Automate and optimize processes with Workflows (Beta)

Workflows automate routine, content-specific tasks, helping your team save time, reduce manual effort, and maintain consistency. WorkDrive supports both automatic workflows (triggered by specific events) and manual workflows (initiated manually by right-clicking a file or folder).

To help you get started quickly, we've enabled three ready-to-use manual workflows (Review, Approval, Review and Approval). You can also use the no-code workflow builder to design and deploy custom workflows tailored to your team’s unique needs.
  • Managing and Tracking Workflows: The Workflows tab in the left panel helps you manage workflows effortlessly. It provides two sections: Waiting for my action and Started by me, ensuring you can keep track of workflows assigned to you and those you’ve initiated.

  • Centralized Workflow Management for Admins: Team admins can access all team workflows from the Admin Console > Workflows, where they can view, edit, delete, or clone workflows, toggle them on or off, and track their activity—all from one place.
Feature Rollout Plan
  • Enabled for new users: The Workflows feature will be automatically activated for all new signups. It will be gradually rolled out to organizations with existing accounts that have not yet used Zoho Writer workflows.

  • Seamless migration for existing users: For organizations that are already utilizing Zoho Writer workflows, our team is working to migrate existing workflows to Zoho WorkDrive Workflows. This ensures a smooth transition to your ongoing processes.

Supported plans
  • Default Workflows (Review, Approval, Review and Approval): Available for all plans except the WorkDrive Individual plan.
  • Custom Workflows: Available only for WorkDrive Business plan and Zoho One users.

Full Folder Customization: Manage Access and Permissions with Ease


WorkDrive’s Team Folders let you collaborate effectively by assigning specific roles to members, such as Admin, Organizer, Editor, Commenter, and Viewer. By default, all Team Folder members can access every file and folder within it. However, with folder customization, you can:
  • Restrict a member’s access to certain folders.
  • Hide specific folders entirely from other members or collaborators.
You can customize folder permissions while creating the folder or after the folder is created. Only users with the Admin/Organizer role or Organize-level access can customize folder permissions.

Once a folder is customized:
  • New members added to the Team Folder or parent folder won’t automatically have access. You’ll need to manually share the folder if needed.
  • Team Folder roles and parent folder permissions won’t apply.
  • Team folder admin roles cannot be restricted or modified with folder customization.
If folder customization is removed:
  • Team Folder members regain access based on their roles.
  • Individual collaborators who had access to the customized folder will lose it.
Notes:
  • Folder customization is only available for Team Folders.
  • It is not supported in My Folders. While you can grant higher permissions to a child folder, you cannot restrict access or lower permissions if the parent folder has higher-level permissions.

Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundles.

AI-Powered Transcription: Making Audio and Video Content More Accessible (Beta)


WorkDrive now supports generating transcripts (text-version) for audio and video files using our native Zoho AI service. Transcripts are widely used in various fields such as media, education, healthcare, research, and business for documentation, accessibility, and analysis.

Click on a timestamp to jump straight to that part of the file, saving you time on reviews.
  • Supported language: English
  • Supported video formats: mp4, mpeg, mpg, mov, avi, flv, webm, wmv, swf, mkv 
  • Supported audio formats: wav, flac, mp3, opus, m4a

Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundles.

Boost Productivity with our in-house AI service - Zoho AI (Beta)


We’re excited to unveil Zoho AI, our very own in-house AI service powered by open-source large language models. Until now, Zia has leveraged OpenAI services for AI-powered content creation, image generation, and comment refinement.

Highlights of Zoho AI:
  • With Zoho AI, you get intelligent AI capabilities—completely free and with no third-party configuration!
  • Secure and private as your data stays within Zoho.
Flexible AI selection: Team admins can now enable both supported AI services (Zoho AI and OpenAI) and set a preferred AI service for each feature.

Smarter AI features to improve your workflow:
We’ve already made content creation, image generation, and comment refinement easier with Zia. Now, we’re adding even more intelligent AI features to help you get more done with less effort!

Comment translation
Break language barriers with seamless comment translation. Zia helps you understand and respond in your preferred language or share comments in a language others understand. We currently provide comment translation support for about 74 languages. Learn more about translating comments using Zia 

File Summarization
No more sifting through lengthy documents! With Zia’s AI-powered summarization, you can instantly extract key highlights from your files, helping you focus on essential insights. Plus, you can save these summaries directly to WorkDrive in .zdoc format for easy access and future reference. Learn more about summarizing files using Zia 

Note: Image and cover image generation features are only available through OpenAI services and are not yet supported by Zoho AI.

Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), WorkDrive Individual Free Plan, Zoho Workplace, and Zoho One bundles

File Version Settings: Manage Storage with Smart Retention Controls


One of WorkDrive’s key benefits is its unlimited file versioning, allowing users to effortlessly access and manage different versions of a file. However, for large files like videos and designs, storing multiple versions can quickly consume your team’s storage.

To help you optimize space while maintaining control over file history, we’ve introduced Version Retention Settings. With this feature, team admins can define how many versions to retain, ensuring efficient storage management without compromising accessibility.
  • Need to hold onto only the latest updates? Choose your version limit and free up storage automatically!
  • And for quick clean-ups from individual files, you can use Bulk Version Deletion to clear old versions and keep your projects organized.
Notes: 
  • You can mark a version as "Keep Forever" to prevent them from being deleted automatically based on the team's version settings.
  • Version retention settings currently do not apply to office suite files (Writer, Sheet, and Show) where storage is completely free.

Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundles

Take Complete Control Over External Sharing


WorkDrive’s advanced sharing settings provide precise control over who can access your files and how they are shared, tailored to meet your organization’s needs. Whether you’re sharing directly via email, creating a custom link, or embedding a file, you will now have the flexibility to enable or disable sharing options individually.
  • Whitelist domains and email addresses for secure sharing
    For an extra layer of security, you can whitelist specific email addresses and domains to ensure files only go to trusted collaborators while sharing externally via email address.

    Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundle

  • View and remove share permissions in bulk
    From the Shared Items section in Data Administration, you can view all the shared items based on their share types. You can now easily remove access or links from multiple files and folders in bulk.

    Supported plans: Business plan and Zoho One bundle


Link: A smarter way to keep your important links handy


WorkDrive now offers the Link feature, allowing you to manually store and organize URLs, just like files, creating a personal hub for quick and easy access. Whether it’s an important contract, a frequently referenced spreadsheet, or a key website, Links help you keep everything you need at your fingertips.

Here's how Link feature help you work smarter:
  • Save web URLs: The Link feature allows you to store important web links directly within WorkDrive, ensuring quick access to essential webpages without the need to search for them repeatedly.

  • Organize WorkDrive files & folders: No need to duplicate files across multiple locations. With the Link feature, you can organize frequently accessed WorkDrive documents from various folders into one central location for easy access.
Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundles

Index View: Simplified Navigation for your folders


An Index view is an effective way to present users with a summary of what's available in a folder, sparing them the effort of opening each item manually. It serves as a dynamic guide, allowing users to quickly locate frequently accessed or critical files and folders.

For instance, in a project folder, you can create a Writer document with organized links to key resources such as Getting Started guides, essential steps, and troubleshooting tips. By setting this file as the Index for the folder, team members can instantly access important documents and navigate to relevant sections with ease.

Notes:
  • Supported file types for Index view: Zoho Writer files only
  • Only users with Edit access or higher can add or remove Index for a folder.

Supported plans: All WorkDrive plans (Starter, Team, & Business), Zoho Workplace and Zoho One bundles

Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)


Tired of manually backing up your important desktop files and folders?

With WorkDrive TrueSync, you can now select specific desktop folders to sync automatically to WorkDrive web. Any changes or new files added to these folders via desktop or via the WorkDrive web app will be instantly backed up, ensuring seamless two-way synchronization.

Feature availability:
  • Currently, this feature is supported only on Windows OS.  Mac support will be available soon.
  • You need to manually download and install the beta version of WorkDrive TrueSync to utilize this functionality.

Explore and share feedback: With WorkDrive 5.0 Phase 2, you’re equipped with a powerhouse of tools to manage files, protect data, and keep collaboration running smoothly. Whether it’s fine-tuning permissions, enhancing security, or streamlining your business processes, these new features have got you covered.

Try out WorkDrive 5.0, and let us know what you think!

Happy collaborating!


    • Sticky Posts

    • Ask the Experts: Five-hour live Q&A session with Zoho WorkDrive product experts

      Have questions about WorkDrive 5.0? Let’s talk! We recently launched Zoho WorkDrive 5.0, packed with powerful updates to help your team work smarter, stay secure, and get more value from your business content. From content-centric workflows and AI-powered

    • Support for auto-upgrade in TrueSync (for Windows)

      WorkDrive TrueSync app now supports auto-upgrading to the latest version for Windows OS. You must manually download and install the TrueSync app version 3.4.0 to avail this feature. Download the latest TrueSync app for Windows (version 3.4.0) Supported

    • WorkDrive API Documentation

      WorkDrive provides users and developers an extensive set of APIs to help integrate functionalities of Zoho WorkDrive with other Zoho applications and third-party tools. We have published the official WorkDrive API Documentation page for all external users.

    • March 15, 2023: Zoho Docs is discontinued

      As of today (March 15, 2023) Zoho Docs is discontinued for all users. We would like to thank our customers for trusting us for so many years! Going forward, we're confident you'll enjoy using Zoho WorkDrive for all your advanced file management and collaboration

    • Introducing WorkDrive 4.0: Enhanced productivity. Advanced data administration. (Phase 1)

      Hello All, We're excited to share the release of WorkDrive 4.0, which includes important new features and enhancements focused primarily on productivity, secure collaboration, data administration, integrations, and user experience. Read the official announcement

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Team Inbox - roadmap

      Hi, would be good to understand the Teaminbox roadmap, in particular: 1. API / Zoho Deluge connections. We have a process where the each email needs to be either tagged or assigned daily. It would be great if we could automate a 5pm alert for any exemptions

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2026 | Part 1

      Hello everyone, July is here! The first two weeks brought six CRM updates ranging from privacy-ready webforms to a significantly more powerful Layout Rules engine, two community wins worth a look (a dashboard workaround for spotting leads with no activities,

    • How do I migrate from Office 365 to Zoho Mail?

      Check out Advik Email Migration Wizard, this software is specially developed to move mailboxes from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail. In addition you can migrate from Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail and 80+ webmail servers to ZOHO MAIL. Isn't it amazing? This is an all in one email migration solution. Steps to export emails from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail are as follows; Run Advik Email Migration Tool in your system. Select Office 365 as source and enter its login credentials. Select mailbox folders and choose

    • Topics not loading in individual contact records in Zoho Marketing Automation

      When working correctly, an individual contact record in ZMA shows a "Topics" section in the "Subscription" tab of the individual record. However, in 2+ different Zoho accounts and different browsers, the "Topics" section doesn't load and instead it spins

    • Help: Capture full page URL in hidden field when same Zoho Form is embedded on multiple pages (iframe)

      Hi all, Goal Use one Zoho Form across multiple pages and record the exact page URL (incl. subdomain + path + hash) where the user submitted it. Example pages: https://www.example.com/cargo/ https://www.example.com/cargo/containers/#contact https://cargo.example.com/auto/

    • how to get transcripts with speaker and time marks?

      Hello, I downloaded the transcript of a recent meeting and noticed that the TXT file does not bring the speaker name and the time mark. Is there any way to make it happen using ootb resources from Zoho Meeting? best

    • SalesIQ's Summer '26 Release: For The Moments That Matter

      Every customer journey is made up of moments. The moment someone discovers your business. The moment they need help. The moment you decide to reach out. The moment a simple chat turns into something more. And the moments that continue long after the conversation

    • Cannot deploy digital employee-

      I followed the guide here https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/salesiq-2-0/for-administrators/operators/articles/zia-agents-in-zoho-salesiq#Supported_SalesIQ_Tools but no matter how many times I try I cannot for the love of god make it work I get this error

    • Displaying only unread tickets in ticket view

      Hello, I was wondering if someone might be able to help me with this one. We use filters to display our ticket list, typically using a saved filter which displays the tickets which are overdue or due today. What I'd really like is another filter that

    • 【受付開始】Zoholics Japan 2026 開催のご案内

      Zoho が年に一度開催するユーザー向けイベント「Zoholics」。 今年は 「AI-Powered DX with Zoho」 をテーマに、2026年9月25日（金）に 東京駅直結の会場とオンラインのハイブリッド形式で開催します。 今すぐ申し込む AIの活用が加速する今、業務効率化やDX推進に取り組む企業にとって、 「どのようにAIを業務へ取り入れ、成果につなげるか」が重要なテーマとなっています。 Zoholicsでは、Zohoの最新AI機能や製品アップデートに加え、実際の活用事例や業務改善のヒントをご紹介します。

    • Print checks for owner's draw

      Hi.  Can I use Zoho check printing for draws to Owner's Equity?  This may be a specific case of the missing Pay expenses via Check feature.  If it's not available, are there plans to add this feature?

    • Reconciliation: don't auto-select transactions outside the entered Period

      When initiating a reconciliation for a defined Period (say April 1 to April 30), Zoho Books auto-checks transactions whose Statement Detail dates fall after the period end date. With "Show based on grouped bank statements" enabled (the default), the screen

    • How can be requests for new job managed in Zoho recruit?

      If we use both Zoho people and recruit, can our managers (heads of department) use Zoho products to create requests for new job to HR department? The current workflow is following: a head of department needs some extra HR, he creates a request describing the job and send it to HR director, HR director approves a request and forward to a HR manager. I see only one way to partly solve the problem - grant the heads of departments recruit administrator permissions, so they could create new jobs. It is

    • Linking the Overview window between reports on a dashboard

      Is there a way to link the Overview window for two or more charts on a dashboard? We have several dashboards where users often want to set the window for 3 or 4 reports to the same time period. Doing it manually is time-consuming and cumbersome, but I

    • Subforms and automation

      If a user updates a field how do we create an automation etc. We have a field for returned parts and i want to get an email when that field is ticked. How please as Zoho tells me no automation on subforms. The Reason- Why having waited for ever for FSM

    • "code":3001 ["Failed to update data."]

      I would like to seek your expertise - I might be wrong on my approach also.. I highly appreciate your advice. 1 problem remains is when a new row was added on the existing one [from another form that trigger upon Successful form submission ], it gets

    • BUG: If you put "Blueprint" at the top of Workqueue, tab switching leads to long loading and no display

    • WORKFLOW ISSUE: Zoho Finance Extension

      Workflows are no longer triggering in my extension. This is true for the testing environment and 5 other organizations it is installed on. There are no conditions set for the workflow, and this is true for both create and delete related actions. Workflows

    • Drive Zoho CRM adoption and usage through our native integration with Zoho DAP

      You chose Zoho CRM for its depth: its powerful automation, its rich analytics, and its extensive customizability. But there's a hidden last mile in every rollout: the gap between the software's capabilities and your team's daily execution. When new hires

    • Moving from Office365 to Zoho Mail

      I have few mailboxes on Office365. One of the mailbox is coming up for renewal. How can I move this mailbox to Zoho Mail and continue to have other mail boxes continue to use Office365 mail? Thanks, -Naveen

    • Best sales insights for target accounts?

      Question for all the sales power-users out there: I would like to gain insights from Zoho CRM for a rotating list of target accounts. Each Outside Salesperson has 5 target accounts, and they can change these targets quarterly with management approval.

    • WhatsApp Vendors

      Hello, so WhatsApp works with the below, mainly with the customer side modules. Can we get functionality on the vendor side modules? WhatsApp is often the preferred method of communication with some vendors. Credit Notes Payment Receipts Sales Receipts

    • Text on Zoho Sign confirmation dialouge is very small compared to text used everywhere else on Zoho Sign.

      I've reported multiple times through Zoho's support email that the text on this notification is very small in contrast to all the other text on the Zoho Sign app. I think it's a bug and it just needs the font size to be increased. It's very minor but

    • Time Zone is incorrect

      Time zone is not working properly...I've checked it twice. I'm eastern U.S. time it's currently 12:22 pm EST. CRM shows 3:22 pm EST.

    • Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates for V3 Attendee Apps | Zoho Backstage

      Keeping participants on the latest version of your event app shouldn’t depend on App Store or Play Store review timelines. With Over-the-Air (OTA) updates for our V3 attendee app, the latest version is delivered directly to participants through an in-app

    • Please Remove the Confirmation Popup

      Currently, every time a recruiter changes the status of a candidate in Zoho Recruit, a popup confirmation appears that requires clicking “OK, Got it” before proceeding. This creates unnecessary friction in the workflow, especially for users handling high

    • Zoho Projects: Q2 Updates 2026

      Dear Users, During the first quarter, we launched our most advanced version of Zoho Projects, namely Zoho Projects Infinity. With support for Custom Modules, Custom Dashboards & Reports, along with built-in AI tools, we enabled users to create their own

    • Overview on users IMAP settings

      We have about 30 users who all have the channels/email/email configuration/IMAP integration/O365 enabled and emails are synchronized. Here my problem: Passwords for the email accounts are expiring on individual bases and most of the users forget to update

    • What is a realistic turnaround time for account review for ZeptoMail?

      On signing up it said 2-3 business days. I am on business-day 6 and have had zero contact of any kind. No follow-up questions, no approval or decline. Attempts to "leave a message" or use the "Contact Us" form have just vanished without a trace. It still

    • crm to books

      We currently sync CRM Contacts to Zoho Books Customers using two-way sync. We now wish to change to "Accounts & their Contacts". What happens to existing Books customers? Will they be merged with CRM Accounts, duplicated, left unchanged, or recreated?

    • Alternate color rows

      After I changed the background color to a dark gray and changed the alternate rows to a light gray. I have discovered that I can no longer change the text in the light gray rows to Bold.

    • Tax/Vat Number Field As Standard - Customer & Vendor

      Hello, when are you'll going to have the customer & vendor tax/vat number as a standard field under the relevant profile pages? I find it strange that after 6 years of using Zoho Inventory that I still have to use a custom field for a tax/vat number,

    • Restricting coupon codes and plans to specific customers

      Having the ability to restrict coupon codes, plans and add ons to specific customers (new or existing) e.g. sending an invite link out to a certain customer or allowing a certain group of customers the ability to use a certain promo code or sign up to

    • Coupon Management Lacks functionality

      Hey Zoho Team, Let me start of by saying I'm a huge fan of the entire Zoho suite. I have a couple of thoughts about the way coupons are handled and believe there they are in need of some improvement. There are a couple of key issues: 1. Coupons need to

    • Free Webinar Alert! Zoho Mail + Zoho CRM: Turn inbox replies into CRM deals

      Hello Zoho Community! Are your sales conversations happening in Zoho Mail while your customer data lives in Zoho CRM? Join our upcoming webinar to learn how integrating the two can help you automate follow-ups, capture leads faster, and keep every customer

    • Introducing the Employee Portal for internal job posting

      Employee referrals and internal applications are one of the most trusted hiring channels. But in many organizations, employees only hear about openings through messages, word of mouth, or after the role has already been open for a while. When employees

    • Marketing Tip #42: Keep policy pages updated and accessible

      Policy pages may not be the most exciting part of your store, but they play a big role in building trust. Before buying, many customers look for information on shipping, returns, refunds, privacy, and terms. If these pages are missing, outdated, or hard

    • Extend the Image Choice Field

      Hi, The New Yes/No field is great for what it does, and the Image Choice Field is good but could be better with some functions from the Yes/No field. Take an example, rather than just Yes/No you want Yes/No/Maybe (Or more than 3 choices), but unlike the

    • Migrate from Zoho Mail to G Suite

      I am unable to find any documentation on how one can migrate from Zoho Mail to another platform, like G Suite or Office 365. Please point me to the right documentation. Thank you.

    • The All New Attendee App | Zoho Backstage

      The Zoho Backstage attendee app is the primary touchpoint for attendees, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors during an event. It helps participants access event information, manage their schedules, connect with other participants, engage with exhibitors

    • Next Page