Enable Clio desktop app automatic updates
In your Clio desktop app settings, you can choose to enable automatic updates. Once enabled, updates for the app will automatically be downloaded and installed. New changes will be visible upon restarting the app, allowing you to keep your Clio desktop app up to date without having to manually install updates. You also have the option to disable automatic updates.
Note: You cannot enable automatic updates or manually install new updates if you are using a Mac with an iOS older than 10.15 Catalina. Learn more about Clio Drive system requirements here.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Turn on the toggle for Automatic updates.
Start Clio desktop app on system startup
In your Clio desktop app settings, you can choose to automatically start the Clio desktop app and Clio Drive on system startup. Once enabled, Clio Drive will automatically launch when your computer starts, allowing you easier and quicker access to Clio Drive and your documents.
Note: When this feature is enabled, the Clio desktop app will automatically open and run in the background when your device starts up.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Turn on the toggle for Launch Clio desktop app on system startup.
Sort contact folders by first name or last name
Folders in Clio Drive can be sorted alphabetically by contact first name or last name. By default, folders are sorted by contact last name, with the option to sort by contact first name. Choosing how you want contacts to be sorted allows you to find your contacts in Clio Drive using a sorting order that works best for you.
Note: You cannot manually sort folders in Clio Drive.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Click the dropdown bar under Contact display format and select First name, Last name or Last name, First name, depending on how you want contacts to be sorted.
- In the popup prompt, click Restart Clio Drive to confirm the changes.
Group contacts by first letter
By default, your Clio Drive contact folders are sorted in a long list by name. If you have many contacts to scroll through, you can group contacts by first letter. Once enabled, your contacts will live in an initial layer of alphabetical and numerical folders. This means that when you open Clio Drive, you will see folders for A-Z, 0-9, and some special characters, if applicable. For example, when you open the "A" folder, you will see all your contacts with names that start with "A."
Note: If you do not have contacts for a specific letter, the folder with that letter will not appear on the list. Additionally, unknown client folders will be grouped in a (No client) folder, and any files in the root folder will be grouped in an (Other files) folder.
An alternative display option is available where all contacts appear in Clio Drive's root directory. While this flattened option may be useful for quickly scanning through all contacts, it may reduce application performance depending on your device's specifications and operating system.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- To use the flattened display option, find and uncheck the box for Group contacts by first letter. To return to the default display with contacts organized by first letter check this box.
- In the popup prompt, click Restart Clio Drive to confirm the changes.
Improve performance with folder item display and naming options
If you have many files in a single folder and are running into issues with File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) while using Clio Drive, you can set an item display limit for your folders to improve your experience. Depending on your computer's performance specifications, you can choose to view up to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, or 5,000 files in each Clio Drive folder. If a folder has more files than the limit that you set, you can view the remaining files in Clio Manage.
If you are using Windows and having issues with your Windows device not displaying files with long names or files in multiple subfolder levels, you also have the option to shorten the names for your Clio Drive matter folders. Windows has a 256 character limit for file names and directory paths, which means that files or folders above this limit may not appear in Clio Drive. Once the matter folder name is shortened, more files previously impacted by the Windows character limit may appear.
Tip: If you are uncertain about which folder limits to choose, up to 3,000 items per folder and up to 25 characters per folder name are recommended starting points.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Go down to Improve performance.
- To set the folder item limit, click the dropdown bar under Number of files and folders to display in a folder and select the maximum number of items that you want to view in each folder.
- If you select No optimization, and you have too many items in your folder, File Explorer may not be able to properly load and Clio Drive may not work properly. You can adjust this preference at any time if you run into any issues.
- To set the matter folder name limit, click the dropdown bar under Number of characters to display in a matter folder name and select the maximum character limit for your Clio Drive matter folders.
- If you select Keep original matter folder name, your matter folder names will not be shortened. Some files may not appear in folders if they are impacted by the Windows character path limit.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Go down to Improve performance.
- To set the folder item limit, click the dropdown bar under Number of files and folders to display in a folder and select the maximum number of items that you want to view in each folder.
- If you select No optimization, and you have too many items in your folder, Finder may not be able to properly load and Clio Drive may not work properly. You can adjust this preference at any time if you run into any issues.
Manage temporary cached files
When you open a file in Clio Drive, a temporary file is stored on your device in a designated folder known as a cache. Your device stores cached data in order to "remember" previous tasks and improve your loading experience. If you keep too many Clio Drive files open at the same time, your allocated disk space will start to get full, resulting in reduced device performance. To fix this, you can customize the disk space that Clio Drive uses for cached files on your device.
Tip: Choosing the right cache storage allocation can be tricky. On one hand, cached files help Clio Drive perform faster. On the other hand, too many cached files can take up too much of your disk space and therefore reduce performance. The default setting will be 20 GB for cache storage. We recommend increasing allocation by 5 GB at a time as necessary.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Preferences.
- Go down to Manage cache.
- Enter a numerical GB value for how much disk space you want to allot for Clio Drive cached files. The Clio desktop app will calculate the amount as a percentage of the total disk space.
- The two bars show a visual representation of cache space and total disk space. The first bar shows the amount of GB allocated to cache depending on the total disk space. The second bar shows the total cache and how much of the allotted amount is currently taken up by cache.
Complete Clio Drive SSL certificate prompt (Mac users only)
If you are using a Mac to access Clio Drive, you may be prompted with an SSL certificate prompt from Clio and your Mac after you install the app for the first time or update Clio Drive. Once you complete the prompt process, your device will recognize the certificate, and you will no longer need to take action on any prompts from your Mac related to the connection with Clio Drive. If you saw the prompts but canceled the process, see the directions in the second accordion below ("If you canceled the certification prompt").
- After installing or updating Clio Drive, click Dismiss on the initial prompt.
- Click Show certificate.
- Check the box for Always trust Clio Drive and then click Continue.
- Enter your Mac's password and then click Update settings.
- If the initial prompt appears again after you have already trusted Clio Drive, check the box for Don't show this again.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Toggle Drive off and then on. This will cause the initial prompt to appear.
- Click Dismiss on the initial prompt.
- Click Show certificate.
- Check the box for Always trust Clio Drive and then click Continue.
- Enter your Mac's password and then click Update settings.
- If the initial prompt appears again after you have already trusted Clio Drive, check the box for Don't show this again.
View Clio desktop app release notes
You can view a record of new features and improvements for each update to the Clio desktop app from within the app itself.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select About.
- Click Release notes.
Quit Clio desktop app
If you do not need to temporarily use Clio Drive and do not want it running in the background, you can quite the Clio Desktop app. If you quit the Clio desktop app while files are still uploading, any files that have not been uploaded yet will not be saved.
- Open the Clio desktop app and select Drive.
- Click Settings (the gear icon) and select Quit.
- Confirm the action by selecting Quit.