If everyone on the job can replace today’s drawings, you do not have a current set. You have a shared pile, and sooner or later that pile will hold two “latest” files with similar names.

The rule is simple: most people should be able to view and download the current set. Only a short list (you, a project manager if you have one, or the person running the file) should be able to move or replace it. That is true in Google Drive and in Dropbox. Superintendents and subs need those sheets in their hands. They do not need the ability to save a markup over the issued PDF.

Why loose permissions turn into two current sets

Here is how this usually plays out. A revised sheet lands in email. Someone well-meaning drops it into the job folder but leaves the old sheet there too, or a sub with edit access uploads a marked copy. The trailer, a phone, and a sub now each have a different “current” file. Nobody did this to be difficult. The folder let it happen.

Permissions will not fix a folder with no rules, but they will stop a lot of accidental overwrites. Keep the current set in 02_Drawings_Current. When a new official revision arrives, the person with edit rights puts the new PDF in and moves the old one to 03_Drawings_Superseded. Everyone else can see and download. They cannot replace.

How to set this in Google Drive

Put the job in a shared drive so the company owns the files, not one person’s My Drive. Shared-drive roles are Manager, Content manager, Contributor, Commenter, and Viewer.

Viewer (or Commenter) is the right default for field staff and most subcontractors on the current-drawings folder. Content manager can move and delete files, and it is often the default when you add a member. Do not leave the whole team in that role on the drive that holds the current set. Contributor can add and edit files in the web app but cannot move or delete them, which can work for people uploading photos or dailies. On Google Drive for desktop, Contributor is view-only, so someone who must upload from a laptop may need Content manager on a photos folder, not on 02_Drawings_Current. Keep Manager to one or two people.

If your Workspace settings allow it, tighten 02_Drawings_Current so only the file keepers can replace drawings. Turn off “anyone with the link can edit.” And think twice before blocking download on the current set: a superintendent who cannot save a PDF for a dead-zone site will keep a private stash in the truck.

How to set this in Dropbox

Put the job in a team folder, not a personal folder with a wide-open edit link. Access is usually Can edit or Can view. You can also restrict a subfolder so it does not simply inherit edit rights from the parent.

Give Can view on 02_Drawings_Current to the people who need to read drawings, and Can edit only to the short list who may replace the set. People who upload photos or dailies can have edit access on those folders without edit access on the current drawings. If you must send a link, send a view-only link, and still prefer named people or a named group. Edit links get forwarded.

Dropbox version history can rescue an overwritten file. Use it as a safety net, not a substitute for a superseded folder, and not something anyone in the sun will check before they build.

When someone joins or leaves

Access should be part of starting and leaving a job, the same as keys and badges. When a new superintendent, PM, or regular sub joins, give them the right role, point them to the README, and confirm they can open the current set on a phone. When someone leaves, remove their access that week. If the job lived in a personal My Drive or personal Dropbox, you may also need to transfer the folder itself.

Subs need the current set. They rarely need edit rights on it, and they rarely need the contract folder or pricing. Share the drawings, the binding RFIs, and the logs they should see. Keep the rest tighter.

If you want help setting the file so it stays honest

If you want help, I can set up the job file in Google Drive or Dropbox, including who can view the current set and who can replace it, and I can run the file on a retainer if you want someone else to keep it. If you want me to take a look, walk me through where your drawings live now. The files stay yours.

If you want help, not just a checklist

Some jobs run fine on a clean file and a superintendent who gives the log fifteen minutes twice a week. Others do not: revisions are moving fast, closeout is already behind, or the field simply has no hours left for paperwork.

That is where I come in. I set up the job file, run the logs on a retainer, or prepare closeout before the scramble starts. Your files stay yours, and there is no software contract to sign.

Email travis@builtonrecord.com Get the free Job File Kit