Share Files Securely

What this covers

How to share a file or folder with a colleague, or with someone outside your company, without making it public. You choose what the person with the link can do, and you can see every time it was used.

Plan: Business and above.

Opening the share dialog

Right-click any file or folder and choose Share…, or Email a link… to go straight to the email tab. You need Share access to the item. The dialog has three tabs.

Share Link — for anyone with the link

1. Choose what the link allows:
   • Can view: open and download.
   • Can comment: view, download and leave comments.
   • Can edit: all of that, plus upload. On a file link they can upload a new version of the file. On a folder link they can upload new files into the folder or any folder inside it.
2. If you like, set:
   • a Password, which the recipient has to type in before they can open anything;
   • an expiry: 1, 7, 30 or 90 days, or Custom to pick a date and time. After that the link stops working;
   • a Max downloads number, after which the link stops working. Leave it empty for unlimited.
3. Leave Notify me when the link is opened or downloaded ticked if you want to know when it's used.
4. Click Generate Link. The link appears straight away with Copy and Email buttons.

All your live links for that item are listed under the button. Each one shows what it allows, whether it has a password, its expiry, downloads so far, visits, when it was last used and whether it notifies you. Revoke a link to switch it off straight away.

If the file is confidential, use Can view, a password, an expiry date and a download limit of one. Send the password separately from the link, for example by phone or text.

Email — Plenix sends the link for you

1. Choose Create a new link with the settings below (what it allows, expiry and password) or pick one of the item's existing links.
2. Add recipients in To, and if you like CC and BCC. Press Enter, a comma or a space after each address, or paste a whole list. Duplicates are removed, and invalid addresses turn red and must be fixed before you can send.
3. Add a message if you like, then click Send to … recipients.

The email shows your name, your message, an Open button, the link itself, what the link allows and when it expires. The password is never included. If the link has one, the email tells the recipients you'll send it separately.

You can add up to 50 recipients per email. The recipients are recorded in the audit log, except BCC recipients, who are recorded only as a number.

People & groups — for colleagues

Pick colleagues or security groups and choose Can view or Can edit. This adds them to the item's permissions. Once you've added someone, the item is restricted to the people listed.

What the recipient sees

The recipient opens the link in a browser. They don't need a Plenix account. If the link has a password, they're asked for it first. The page tells them what the link lets them do, and when it expires or how many downloads are left.

• A file link shows the file with a Download file button.
• A folder link shows the folder's contents. They can open subfolders, go back up using the path at the top, and download any file. They can't see anything outside the folder you shared.
• Can comment links show the comments on the file, and a box to add one. They give their name, and an email address if they like. Only your team sees the email address.
• Can edit links add an upload box. A new version on a file link replaces the file for everyone, and you keep the earlier versions in Version history. A new file on a folder link is added alongside anything with the same name. It doesn't replace it. Uploads can be up to 100 MB.

A link that has expired, been revoked, or used up its downloads shows a message saying it isn't available any more.

Knowing when a link is used

Notifications

The person who created the link gets an in-app notification:

• When the link is opened or something is downloaded, if they left notifications on. You get at most one of these an hour for each link, so a busy link doesn't flood you.
• When someone comments or uploads through the link. These are changes to your documents, so you're told every time, whether or not notifications are on.

Clicking the notification opens the folder the link points to.

The access log

Administrators can click the clock icon on a link in the share dialog to see its access log. It lists every time the link was opened, a file was downloaded, a comment was left or a file was uploaded, plus wrong password attempts. Each entry shows when it happened, what was involved and the name the guest gave, if any.

The same events also appear in the activity log of the file or folder, and in the library-wide audit log.

For your IT team

• Share tokens are random and unguessable. Links look like /share/<token>?t=<tenant>.
• The public share endpoints are rate-limited, so passwords can't be guessed by trying lots of them. Wrong passwords are logged against the link.
• The download count goes up in a single database step. Two people downloading at the same moment can't go over the limit.
• What a link allows is checked on the server for every request: a Can view link can't post comments or upload, whatever the page sends. Folder links can only reach folders inside the shared one.
• Guest uploads go through the same file checks as uploads from inside Plenix. Executable files are refused.
• The hourly notification limit is claimed in a single database step, so a burst of visits sends one notification.
• GET /documents/share-links/:id/activity returns a link's access log. Administrators only.
• POST /documents/share-links/:id/email (to, cc, bcc, message) emails a link. You need Share access to the item, and expired links can't be sent.
• Revoking a link takes effect on the next request. Nothing is cached.

Where to go next

• Activity Log and Comments
• Organise Folders and Control Access
• How Documents Works