Managing content item collections

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a content management system, a first request to generate a content item collection;

generating, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising a plurality of tiles, each tile of the plurality of tiles corresponding to a content item stored by the content management system;

generating, by the content management system, a collection item identifier that uniquely identifies the content item collection;

sending, by the content management system, the collection item identifier and the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles to a client device for display, wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles comprises is associated with a respective graphical element defining one or more tile formatting options for a respective tile of the plurality of tiles;

receiving, at the content management system, a second request selecting a first content item to insert in a first tile of the content item collection, the second request comprising the first content item, the collection item identifier, and a tile formatting option for the first tile based on user interaction with a first graphical element dedicated to the first tile, the first graphical element defining the one or more tile formatting options for the first tile, the tile formatting option defining how the first content item and metadata associated with the first content item are to be displayed;

upon receiving the second request, generating, by the content management system, a content item identifier and a link to the first content item;

associating, by the content management system, the content item identifier with the collection item identifier;

generating, by the content management system, an updated content item collection comprising at least the first tile and the link to the first content item in accordance with the tile formatting option; and

sending, by the content management system, the updated content item collection to the client device for display.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles comprises:

generating an empty content item collection comprising one or more empty tiles, each empty tile serving as a placeholder for each tile.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein sending, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles to the client device for display, comprise:

sending to the client device for display the empty content item collection.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving, at the content management system, the second request selecting the first content item to insert in the first tile of the content item collection, comprises:

receiving the first content item and a content item identifier corresponding to the first content item from the client device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending, by the content management system, the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles to the client device for display, comprises:

determining, by the content management system, a privilege level of a user of the client device; and

upon determining, by the content management system, that the privilege level of the user of the client device is a first privilege level, including a private view of the content item collection.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the content management system, a third request to preview at least a portion of the first content item, the third request comprising the collection item identifier and the link;

generating, by the content management system, a preview image of at least the portion of the first content item, the preview image comprising content of the first content item; and

sending, by the content management system, the preview image of at least the portion of the first content item to the client device for display.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, at the content management system, layout information specifying a location of the first tile within the content item collection.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein generating, by the content management system, the preview image of at least a portion of the first content item, comprises:

generating a full preview of the first content item, the full preview a manipulable representation of the first content item.

9. A method comprising:

receiving, at a client device, a first user input corresponding to a request to generate a content item collection;

sending, by the client device, the request for the content item collection to a collections server;

receiving, at the client device from the collections server, the content item collection comprising a plurality of tiles, each tile of the plurality of tiles corresponding to a content item stored by a content management system and a collection item identifier that uniquely identifies the content item collection, wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles is associated with a respective graphical element defining one or more tile formatting options for a respective tile of the plurality of tiles;

generating, by the client device, a first graphical user interface for presenting the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles, wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles includes a respective graphical element defining the one or more tile formatting options for the respective tile;

receiving, at the client device via the first graphical user interface, a second user input corresponding to a request to add a first content item to a first tile of the plurality of tiles, the request comprising a tile formatting option for the first tile based on user interaction with a first graphical element dedicated to the first tile, the first graphical element defining the one or more tile formatting options for the first tile, the tile formatting option defining how the first content item and metadata associated with the first content item are to be displayed;

sending, by the client device, the request to add the first content item to the first tile to the content management system, the request comprising the first content item and the collection item identifier;

receiving, by the client device from the content management system, an updated content item collection comprising a preview image of at least a portion of the first content item and the first tile of the plurality of tiles, wherein the first content item is associated with the collection item identifier at the content management system; and

generating, by the client device, a second graphical user interface for presenting the updated content item collection, the second graphical user interface comprising the preview image positioned in the first tile.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein receiving, at the client device via the first graphical user interface, the second user input corresponding to the request to add the first content item to the first tile of the plurality of tiles, comprises:

receiving a drag-and-drop input in which a user drags a representation of the first content item from a storage location onto the first tile of the plurality of tiles.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles comprises a graphical element actionable for adding a content item therein.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein sending, by the client device, the request to add the first content item to the first tile to the content management system, comprises:

identifying a content item identifier corresponding to the first content item; and

sending the content item identifier to the content management system.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving, by the client device from the content management system, the updated content item collection comprising the preview image of at least the portion of the first content item and the first tile of the plurality of tiles, comprises:

receiving a protected shared link corresponding to the first content item.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

sending a request for metadata associated with the first content item using the content item identifier.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein receiving, at the client device via the first graphical user interface, the second user input corresponding to the request to add the first content item to the first tile of the plurality of tiles, comprises:

receiving a third input selecting the first tile of the plurality of tiles;

generating a graphical element displaying one or more selectable content item options; and

receiving a fourth input selecting the first content item from the one or more selectable content item options.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations, comprising:

receiving a first user input corresponding to a request to generate a content item collection;

sending the request for the content item collection to a collections server;

receiving, from a content management system, the content item collection comprising a plurality of tiles, each tile of the plurality of tiles corresponding to a content item stored by the content management system and a collection item identifier that uniquely identifies the content item collection, wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles is associated with a respective graphical element defining one or more tile formatting options for a respective tile of the plurality of tiles;

generating a first graphical user interface for presenting the content item collection comprising the plurality of tiles, wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles includes a respective graphical element defining the one or more tile formatting options for the respective tile;

receiving, via the first graphical user interface, a second user input corresponding to a request to add a first content item to a first tile of the plurality of tiles, the request comprising a tile formatting option for the first tile based on user interaction with a first graphical element dedicated to the first tile, the first graphical element defining the one or more tile formatting options for the first tile, the tile formatting option defining how the first content item and metadata associated with the first content item are to be displayed;

the request to add the first content item to the first tile to the content management system, the request comprising the first content item and the collection item identifier;

receiving, from the content management system, an updated content item collection comprising a preview image of at least a portion of the first content item and the first tile of the plurality of tiles, wherein the first content item is associated with the collection item identifier at the content management system; and

generating a second graphical user interface for presenting the updated content item collection, the second graphical user interface comprising the preview image positioned in the first tile.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein receiving, via the first graphical user interface, the second user input corresponding to the request to add the first content item to the first tile of the plurality of tiles, comprises:

receiving a drag-and-drop input in which a user drags a representation of the first content item from a storage location onto the first tile of the plurality of tiles.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein each tile of the plurality of tiles comprises a graphical element actionable for adding a content item therein.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein sending the request to add the first content item to the first tile to the content management system, comprises:

identifying a content item identifier corresponding to the first content item; and

sending the content item identifier to the content management system.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein receiving, from the content management system, the updated content item collection comprising the preview image of at least the portion of the first content item and the first tile of the plurality of tiles, comprises:

receiving a protected shared link corresponding to the first content item.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 , further comprising:

sending a request for metadata associated with the first content item using the content item identifier.