Let's save you some time: DriveVault is the easiest way to share an external hard drive catalogue with someone on your team, wherever they are in the world. Scan a drive once, and you can send its entire contents - searchable, browsable, completely offline - to anyone in seconds.

There are three ways to do it in DriveVault, each suited to a slightly different situation. Here they are.

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Method 1

Export and Import Full Catalogues

For teams where everyone uses DriveVault

This is the deepest form of sharing. Export a complete drive catalogue as a .drivevault file and send it to anyone on your team. When they import it into their own DriveVault, they can browse and search the drive exactly as if they had scanned it themselves - every folder, every file, every piece of metadata, every tag and rating you have applied. The drive does not need to be anywhere near them.

A .drivevault file is self-contained and compressed - transfer it by email, AirDrop, shared cloud folder, or USB stick. The recipient gets full search, full browsing, and full offline preview capabilities instantly.

What travels with the catalogue:

Complete file and folder structure
All file sizes and dates
EXIF, video, and audio metadata
Star ratings you have applied
Custom tags and notes
Offline preview thumbnails
Drive statistics
Instant search index

Remote team members Multi-location studios Project handoffs Archive transfers

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Method 2

HTML Reports

For clients, stakeholders, or anyone without DriveVault

Not everyone on a project uses DriveVault - and some people just need to see what is on a drive, not browse it interactively. For those situations, DriveVault generates a beautiful, self-contained HTML report that opens in any web browser on any device - Mac, Windows, iPhone, anything.

These are not plain text file lists. They are visual dashboards with interactive charts showing file type breakdowns, storage distribution, category summaries, and a searchable, sortable file table. They open offline, require no software, and look professional enough to send directly to a client or present in a meeting.

A timestamped HTML report is also a permanent record - a snapshot of a drive at a specific point in time, useful for audit trails, delivery documentation, and archiving.

Client deliverables Stakeholder reviews Archive documentation Audit trails Project sign-off

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Method 3

CSV Export

For data workflows, inventory systems, and analysis

Sometimes a team needs raw data rather than a visual interface. A production coordinator building an asset inventory in Excel. A post-production supervisor importing drive contents into a project management database. A producer running analysis across multiple drive libraries to find duplicate files or calculate storage usage.

DriveVault exports a clean, standard CSV file with every file on a drive listed as a row - filename, full path, size in bytes, human-readable size, last modified date, and file category. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, or feeds directly into any database or automation workflow.

This is also the most portable format of the three - a CSV file is readable by virtually any software and will remain so indefinitely, making it ideal for compliance documentation or long-term archive records.

Asset inventory Data analysis Database imports Compliance records Custom reporting

Which Method Is Right for the Situation?

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Export Catalogue

Your teammate needs to search and browse the drive themselves, with full previews and metadata

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HTML Report

You need to share drive contents with someone who does not use DriveVault, or for documentation

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CSV Export

You need the raw data in a spreadsheet, database, or workflow tool for analysis or inventory

Real Scenarios Where This Matters

Teams and studios who use this every day

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Production company with multiple edit suitesScan drives in one suite, export the catalogue, and anyone in another location can search the contents without the drive leaving the room.
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Photography studio delivering to clientsGenerate an HTML report of delivered assets - a professional, visually polished record of exactly what was handed over, when, and in what format.
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Archive manager maintaining a physical libraryExport CSV files of each drive for import into a broader asset management or inventory system. Every drive catalogued, every file indexed, all in one place.
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Podcast or music production teamShare audio session catalogues with producers, editors, or clients so anyone can see exactly what takes exist on a drive without needing to be in the studio.
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Onboarding a new team memberSend them a catalogue of every project drive on day one. They can search years of archived work from the start, without needing to wait for a physical drive handoff.

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No cloud, no accounts, no tracking. All three sharing methods work entirely through direct file transfer - email, AirDrop, shared folder, USB stick, whatever you normally use. DriveVault never sees your data, never sends anything to a server, and never requires anyone to create an account. The catalogue is yours, and you control who it goes to.

A Note on Pricing and Tiers

All three sharing methods - catalogue export and import, HTML reports, and CSV export - are available on every DriveVault tier, including the permanent free tier. There are no collaboration paywalls.

The one thing to be aware of with catalogue imports: the recipient needs to have available drive slots in their tier to accept the import. The free tier includes one drive up to 4TB. Paid tiers start with 5 drives and scale from there, all as one-time purchases with no subscriptions. If someone on your team is regularly receiving catalogues from multiple drives, a paid tier is the practical choice - but the feature itself is always available.

Your first drive is free, forever.

Download DriveVault, scan a drive, and try the export in under ten minutes. No payment details, no trial clock.

Download DriveVault Free