Sharing files

Share your files with people and communities or make them visible to everyone in your organization. Sharing files with communities is not available to IBM Connections™ Files subscribers.

About this task

You can give people Reader or Editor access. You can also make the file available to the public.

Reader access: Readers can read, comment on, download, and recommend a file. Readers also can add files to folders they have Editor access to, be notified of changes to files, and share files with other people.
Editor access: Editors can read, edit, comment on, download, recommend, upload a new version, and set properties on a file. Editors also can add files to folders they have Editor access to, be notified of changes to the file, and share it with other people.

People and communities with whom you share files can be notified by email, or in their Updates tab, depending on how they specify their notification settings. See Setting email notification preferences.

You also can share files that are shared with you if the owner allows it. Only owners can make a file available to all users in the company.

You can click the Sharing tab on a file page to display how the file is shared.

Tip: If you have a lot of files to share, you might want to set up a folder for these files and then share that folder. Folders are a great way to quickly give lots of people access to your files. Folders provide a means of defining your own user groups, sharing with those groups, and are helpful for finding files later.

Procedure

Share a file as follows.

Option	Description
To share a file when you upload it	Click Upload Files. Type the file path or browse for the file. Type a file name. Optional: Type tags, separated by a space or comma. Select People or Communities. Select a Person or a Community. Select as Reader or as Editor to assign access. Perform one of the following tasks: To share with people, click in the field to display the names of people you recently shared files with. If the person you are looking for is displayed, select them. If they are not displayed, type a name or email address, and then select the person. If the name you want does not display, click Person not listed? Use full search... to search for them. To share with a community, start typing the name of the community, and then select the community name when it is displayed. To share with external users (people outside of your organization or company), select the Files can be shared with people external to my organization option. You must set external access when you upload a file; it cannot be turned on later. Note: When you share a file with a public community, the file becomes public. Optional: Deselect Allow others to share files to prevent people you share the file with from sharing with new people. Add an optional message for people with whom you shared the file. Click Upload.
To make a file public when you upload it	Click Upload Files. Type the file path or browse for the file. Type a file name. Optional: Type tags, separated by a space or comma. Select Public. Note: External users have the same access rights to files they share, but they do not have access to public files nor can they upload to the public folder. Optional: Deselect Allow others to share this file to prevent people you share the file with from sharing with new people. Click Upload.
To share a file that is already uploaded	Open the file page. Click Share. Select a Person or a Community. Select as Reader or as Editor to assign access. Perform one of the following tasks: To share with people, click in the field to display the names of people you recently shared files with. If the person you are looking for is displayed, select them. If they are not displayed, type a name or email address, and then select the person. If the name you want does not display, click Person not listed? Use full search... to search for them. To share with a community, start typing the name of the community, and then select the community when it is displayed. Note: When you share a file with a public community, the file becomes public. Optional: Add an optional message for people with whom you shared the file. Click Share. You can also click the Sharing tab to access more file sharing options.
To make a file public after you upload it	Open the file page. Click Share. Select Public. Click Share. Note: External users have the same access rights to files they shared, but they do not have access to public files nor can they upload to the public folder.
To copy a file to a community	Instead of sharing, you can copy the most recent version of a file to a community. Only an owner can copy a file to a community. Open the file page. Click More Actions > Give Copy to Community. Type the name of the community, and then select the community when it is displayed. Optionally change the file name. Optionally tag the file. Click Copy.
To make a public file non-public	Open the file page. Click the Sharing tab. Click the x next to Everyone and click OK. This only makes the file non-public. People with whom you shared the file can still see and work with it. Note: External users have the same access rights to files they share, but they do not have access to public files nor can they upload to the public folder.
To make a shared file private	Open the file page. Click the Sharing tab. Click the Stop sharing this file link. Click OK. This makes you the only person who can see or work with the file.
To demote user access to a shared file	Open the file page. Click the Sharing tab. Click the x next to a person or community. Select a new access level and then click OK.
To stop sharing files	Open the file page. Click the Sharing tab. Click Stop sharing this file, and then click OK.
To see how a file is shared	Open the file page. Click the Sharing tab to view sharing information. If available, click See who has shared for further details. If a file is made available as an attachment to a status update, the `This file is associated with one or more status updates.` message is displayed.