How to Make the most of the Files app

1 Move into/out of a folder

To move a file into a folder, drag it onto the folder’s icon. To drag multiple files, hold a finger on one, start dragging, then tap others. To move a file out of a folder, drag it onto its parent folder’s name (top left) and wait for that to open.

2 Move out of a folder

You can’t drag between locations in Files’ sidebar, but moving a file between them is possible: long press it, then tap Move and pick a location. To move, copy, delete or share several files, tap Select, tap the files, then a command.

3 Assign a tag

To move or share files from several locations, use tags. Drag files and folders onto a tag in the sidebar; they are then marked with a dot of the tag’s colour. Or, long press on one and tap Tag; this method also lets you create new tags.

4 Browse tags/favourites

Tap a tag in the sidebar to see all items to which it’s applied. Favourites in the sidebar are folders you’ll want to revisit. You can add an item to that group by choosing Favourite in the options bar, or by dragging it there.

5 Add other services

To add a cloud service such as Box, Dropbox or Google Drive to Files, install its app on your device. The next time you open Files, tap More Locations in the sidebar and turn on the service’s switch to pin it under the Locations heading.

6 Browse other services

From now on, just tap the service name to browse that storage. If you haven’t recently logged in to the service in its app, the Files app will either show a pop-up or switch you to the app for you to log in before it can show your files.

7 Extract from archives

When you tap a Zip archive, you can then tap Preview Content to see what’s inside, and preview files if iOS can handle their formats. While previewing a file, tap Share and choose Save to Files to unzip that file to a location of your choice.

8 Improve archiving

There’s no built-in way to unzip a whole archive, but you can build one in Shortcuts (see MF # 332). Add the Extract Archive and Save File commands. In the shortcut’s settings, turn on ‘Show in Share Sheet’ and set it to accept files.

9 Add network shares

FileBrowser (£5.99) enables you to browse folders shared on your network from within Files. In it, tap + and connect to a folder. In Files, tap More Locations, turn on FileBrowser, tap Done, then tap FileBrowser. Follow the on-screen steps.