Organise local drafts and retention deliberately

Key takeaways

• Originals, working store and exports are three separate collections.
• Docsi never changes originals and does not sync its history.
• Back up final exports with your system backup and a second copy.
• Delete drafts you no longer need once a project ends.
• Keep personal data only as long as necessary.

Review three collections separately

Local sources and drafts are part of the app workspace. Exports are in files and folders you selected. Cloud documents are a separate deliberately used feature. Changing local retention is not a blanket deletion instruction for every collection.

Retention offers “until I delete it” plus 7, 30 and 90 days. Review each setting’s scope and save important final outputs before selecting a shorter period.

Build a traceable workspace

1. Save approved exports in a named project folder.
2. Include date and version in file names.
3. Check local and cloud retention separately in settings.
4. Delete or shorten retention only after reviewing needed items.

Source review still needs the original

Removing local sources can limit later source review in the app. Retain originals according to your needs. An exported report with references is useful, but not a complete archive of every imported source text.

Review your needs before shortening retention

Review older drafts used as templates or comparisons as well as current projects. A shorter retention period can affect already older content. Save needed outputs before changing it and check that originals exist outside the app. Choose periods according to your workflow. The setting does not promise every computer file or external storage item automatically receives that same period.

For cloud documents, inspect sign-in, displayed collection and cloud-specific setting. Signing out does not automatically delete stored cloud content. Local settings govern local drafts. Exported files are managed in your folders. Reviewing these collections separately avoids losing needed work and falsely assuming private copies have already disappeared everywhere.

Where Docsi keeps what

Original files stay where they are; Docsi reads them and keeps their checksum but never changes them. Sources, conversations and results are stored in the app’s local working store on your computer. Exports – PDF, Word, Excel, CSV or Markdown – you save yourself in a folder of your choice.

Docsi has no user account and does not sync its history between devices. When you change computers, take important results with you as exported files.

Backing up important results

Exports are ordinary files and are covered by your system backup if they sit in a backed-up folder. On Windows, Windows Backup or File History provides this; on a Mac, Time Machine. Check once that your project folder is actually included.

For theses or projects with a deadline, a second copy in another place, such as an external drive, is worthwhile. Keep the original sources there too, which source markers refer to, so you can verify statements later.

Tidying up the working store

Delete drafts and conversations you no longer need regularly, for example once a project is finished. Keep the final result as an export and the originals that back it up. Otherwise intermediate versions with errors or outdated sources can easily cause confusion later.

Name final exports clearly, for example with the date and the word “final” only once. A short text file in the project folder listing the sources used and the review date helps you trace, even months later, how a result came about.

Keeping personal data no longer than needed

If sources or results contain other people’s data, such as names in minutes or applications, the storage limitation principle of the General Data Protection Regulation applies: data should be kept only as long as necessary for the purpose.

So for such projects, decide when you will delete drafts and exports. Statutory retention obligations, for example for invoices, take precedence; for those, keep the originals in the system intended for them, not in Docsi’s working store.

Sharing and archiving results

When you share a result, choose the format deliberately: PDF for a fixed state, Word for working on it together. For long-term archiving with strict requirements, converting the final PDF to PDF/A with a dedicated program may be necessary.

Before archiving, check whether source lists contain internal file names or personal details that should not be stored permanently. A cleaned-up export is often the better choice for the archive.

A worked scenario

An example: your bachelor’s thesis has been submitted. Docsi’s history holds 40 conversations with drafts; the project folder contains the final thesis, twelve source PDFs and several intermediate exports. You keep the final PDF, the Word version and every source in the reference list, and copy them to an external drive.

You delete the intermediate exports and the drafts with interview notes that contain respondents’ names, as agreed with your supervisor. A short text file in the folder records which files you kept and why. A year later you find everything you need without mixing up old drafts.

Checklist before sharing

At the end of a project, this short list helps you lose nothing important and keep nothing unnecessary.

1. Final exports and the originals needed are in a backed-up folder.
2. A second copy is stored in another place.
3. Drafts containing personal data have been deleted.
4. A short note records what you kept and why.

Key terms explained

Original

The original file, which Docsi only reads and never changes.

Draft

An intermediate state of a result in the app’s local working store.

Export

A file you saved in PDF, Word, Excel, CSV or Markdown format.

Backup

An additional copy in another place, for example via Time Machine or Windows Backup.

Storage limitation

GDPR principle: keep personal data only as long as the purpose requires.