If the secure file sharing feature of My files has been enabled for your account, you will see a "Send a file..." option in your personal profile menu, accessible from the top navigation bar:
When using a tablet or iPad click the hamburger icon on the top right of the dashboard:
This opens the slideout menu:
Click the Send a file... button in the top right of the Dashboard (with the Received and Shared files options) to open the "Send a file..." option:
This option allows you to quickly and securely share a single file with one or more people, regardless of whether those people have Collaborate accounts. The system will send an email which includes a link for accessing the file.
Sharing a File via Quick Share
In order to share a file, select Send a file...
Sharing a file in this way involves a two-step process:
Step 1: Select the File to Share
The "File" tab in the "Send a file" window is displayed by default. Click the Browse... button, then select a file to be shared, using the browser's built-in file browser. If you select a large file, the window will show the file upload progress.
The file name, file type icon and file size will be shown.
Files will be scanned for viruses during upload.
Once the file has been fully uploaded, a green "Done" message appears:
To remove the file and stop sharing it, click the "x".
It is also possible to rename the file before it is shared, click the Rename link and edit the file name.
Then click the tick icon to rename the file or the cross icons to revert the file name back to its previous name.
After a file has been uploaded, click the Next button at the bottom of the page to continue.
Alternatively, select the "Email" tab at the top of the window.
Step 2: Choose File Recipients
The window will now switch to the "Email" tab. Choose the recipient(s) for the email that allows access to the file and configure features for sharing the file. The "Email" tab is essentially identical to the "Email" tab displayed when sharing files from My files:
There is an additional file expiry and deletion option not shown above. This is explained below.
The user can complete or configure how the file will be shared in the following ways:
- Recipients - Select the recipient(s) for the notification email(s). If multiple recipients are listed, each one will receive a separate sharing email, instead of one email sent to all recipients (equivalent to 'bcc'). In the "To:" field, enter the recipients.
There are three ways to add a recipient.
If the user has chosen to share a file or folder only with specified system users, then only other Collaborate users can be added as recipients.
- Start typing the name or email address of another Collaborate user and a list of matching users will be shown:
Select a user to add their name to the "To:" field.
Both the name and email address are shown in the autosuggest list for users with a Collaborate account; when a recipient is selected, only their name will be shown.
- Enter the email address for a recipient who does not have a Collaborate account and is new to quick share:
Hit Enter, the recipient's email address will be added to the field:
- Start typing the email address of a recipient that you have previously shared a file with, and then select the full address from the list:
In this case, only the recipient's email address will be shown, as the recipient does not have a Collaborate account.
It is possible to share the file or folder with any number of recipients. Simply add more recipients to the "To:" field:
Hit the "x" next to a recipient to remove them from the list.
- Add the Email Subject - By default, the subject line of the email will simply read 'Username shared "File/folder name" with you':
The subject line may be edited.
- Add a Custom Message - Add a message that will be included in the body of the email, along with other information that will be included by default.
- Access Level - There are three choices:
By default, the file or folder can be shared with anyone with access to the link, regardless of whether the recipient has an account in Collaborate.
If a Collaborate user is the recipient of such a file, that Collaborate user will NOT be required to log in.
Access to a file or folder can be restricted just to other Collaborate users, in which case the recipient must first log in to access the file or folder. Use the "Recipients must register option" to ensure that a recipient must log in to access the file or folder. Click here to understand the option "Recipients must be registered to access the link".
If non-Collaborate users have already been listed as recipients and this setting is switched from "Can be accessed by anyone who has the link" to "Restrict access to specified system users below", non-Collaborate users will be removed from the list of recipients.
- Permissions - When a file is shared, there are two choices:
This setting does not apply when sharing folders. Folders can only be shared by giving full download rights to the people with whom the folder, and ALL of its contents, have been shared.
By default, recipients can download the file in its native format. Alternatively, recipients can be limited to viewing the file using the Preview DRM feature commonly available in Collaborate.
For file types that cannot be previewed, like videos, if "download only" is selected and "Send" is clicked, a prompt will be provided:
Click OK to give the recipients full download rights to the file. Because such files cannot be previewed, there is no other option than to share the file with full download rights
- Link Expires - Select how long the sharing period will be. The default is "Never", but the other choices are "2 days", "7 days", "30 days" and "Custom":
Files and folders shared via My files will NOT automatically be deleted when the sharing period expires.
Choose the Custom option to select a specific date to stop sharing the file or folder.
After all of the fields have been completed, click Send to share the file or folder and send a separate email to each recipient.
The system will process the information, after which a confirmation message will appear at the top of the page:
A window confirms the message has been sent.
This page describes the experience of the recipient of the sharing email.
Auditing and Managing Previously Shared Files
Files that have been shared can be audited and managed. Please see this page for more information.
