Preserve Folder Structure on Uploads & Document Requests
V
Valère HUPPERTS
Current behavior:
When uploading a folder containing subfolders, Sinosend currently flattens all files into a single directory.
This leads to:
In Safari: each file is downloaded independently, causing loss of the original folder hierarchy.
Recipient side: download pages display one very long unorganized list of files, making navigation difficult.
The same issue occurs during document requests: if a client uploads a folder with subfolders, the original structure is not preserved, and everything gets merged into one flat directory.
Expected/Desired behavior:
Preserve the original folder and subfolder hierarchy both when:
Uploading files from the sender’s side.
Clients respond to a document request with folders/subfolders.
Deliverables/download pages should maintain this folder organization for clarity and easier navigation (e.g., a zip download that reproduces the same folder tree).
Why this matters:
Preserving folder structures saves time, prevents confusion, and maintains professional delivery of large or complex file sets.
It also ensures recipients can understand at a glance where each file belongs, rather than sorting through a flat list of scattered items.
Rishi U.
We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We've been looking into this issue and found a few things on our end.
First, you're spot on about the folder flattening problem when viewed in the download problem.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what we’ve found:
Chrome & Firefox: When you click "Download," the folder hierarchy is preserved within a .zip file. When the recipient opens it, everything is organized just as it was uploaded -- is this your experience too?
Safari: This is a tricky one. Older versions of Safari have a known issue with how our Web Worker handles file zipping, which causes each file to download individually, losing the folder structure. The good news is that newer versions of Safari are more capable, and we’re working on a fix to support them properly.
You're also completely right that the download page currently displays all files in a flat list. While the original structure is maintained when the files are downloaded as a .zip, we agree that the flat view on the download page is confusing and not ideal.
We're exploring a few ways to solve this. Our current plan is to update the download page to show the top-level folder structure, which will make navigation much clearer without losing the ability to preview files. We believe this is the best first step to solve the problem for everyone.
We’ll keep you updated on our progress.
V
Valère HUPPERTS
Rishi U.Thank you for your feedback and the details provided.
On my side, I tested both downloading the .zip file and making a request directly from Safari: in both cases, the folder hierarchy is correctly preserved. That being said, having to go through a .zip file still feels somewhat cumbersome for exchanges. As far as I know, other platforms are able to maintain the folder organization when using simple drag and drop, which makes the overall experience much smoother.
Rishi U.
Valère HUPPERTS For multiple files - zipping isn't ideal, but on the web it is the most efficient way to download all files at once, and the zip file will maintain folder structure -- if you see other methods to download multiple files, we are certainly open to suggestions. Appreciate it very much. Please do let us know.