Not building actively confusing user interfaces would be a good start. If what you have is a file, presenting local file controls is appropriate, so do that. I

Not building actively confusing user interfaces would be a good start. If what you have is a file, presenting local file controls is appropriate, so do that. If what you have is kind of like a local file but the abstraction is leakier than the Titanic, don't, because unless you can be very clear to all concerned about which operations aren't available (and here's a hint: you can't), it is inevitable that the user is going to try something that Just Doesn't Work for reasons they don't care about. And that's a terrible user experience. Not just because they don't achieve their goal, but because it undermines their trust in interfaces that do get it right, so suddenly everything is fraught.