Preserving content item collection data across interfaces

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing the processor to:
• generate, for a collection of content items stored in multiple user accounts in a synced online content management system, an index of the content items in the collection, wherein the index is associated with a collection identifier assigned to the collection and the index stores, for each content item in the collection, a content item identifier and a file location, and wherein for each content item in the collection the collection identifier is stored in metadata of the content item;
• in response to detecting a move operation associated with a content item in the collection, automatically updating the index to reflect the move operation, thereby preserving the composition of the collection, wherein updating the index comprises:
• retrieve the collection identifier from the metadata associated with the content item,
• locate the index for the collection based on the collection identifier, and
• update the file location stored in the index for the content item to identify the new file location.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein processor-executable instructions for causing a processor to:

• generate, for an album of content items stored in multiple user accounts in a synced online content management system, an index of the content items in the album, wherein the index is associated with a collection identifier assigned to the album and the index stores, for each content item in the album, a content item identifier and a file location, and wherein for each content item in the album stores the album identifier is stored in metadata of the content item;
• in response to detecting by a processor, a move operation associated with a content item in the album, automatically updating the index to reflect the move operation, thereby preserving composition of the album, wherein updating the index comprises:
• retrieve the album identifier from the metadata associated with the content item,
• locate the index for the album based on the collection identifier, and
• update the file location stored in the index for the content item to identify the new file location.