Sharing files and documents with other users

Using DeskNow you can share files with other users very easily. Sharing files instead of sending them as email attachments has many advantages:

 

Using DeskNow you can share entire folders with other users, so that you and they can access all the files in the folder, upload new files, create new folders, and so on.

 

Shared folders are displayed using the share icon:

 

Tip: when you share a file folder, DeskNow automatically publishes it on the web as well. See DeskNow DirectFiles for more details

Concurrency control

You and other users (if the folder is not read-only) can lock a shared file so that you can prevent others to change it while you are editing it - this prevents ending up with two different versions of the file.

How to share a file folder

To share a file folder:

 

Tip: only the administrator of your domain can create user groups. Contact the administrator if you believe a new user group would be useful

Linking to a shared folder

Unless you are the DeskNow Administrator, the share that you create will not automatically appear as a new folder in other users' account. This is because maybe they do not want to access your share.

 

If other users want to access your share, and they are authorized to, they need to create a link to that share. The equivalent in the Windows world is to "map a network drive". See accessing shared folders.

 

For the Administrator: when you share a folder to Public or to all the users of your domain, all users will automatically see the folder, without having to create the link. This is the preferred way to create a company-wide shared folder. If you share a folder to selected users/communities/groups, the selected users will automatically see the folder. In any case, users will need to re-login or click Reload on their menu to see the new folder. When installed, DeskNow automatically creates a folder called Group documents shared to all users, with write permissions (you can change or delete it).

 

If you are the manager of a community and explicitly share a folder to users of your community (or your entire community), the selected users will automatically see the shared folder.

How to change the properties of a share

From the Properties & sharing page of the shared folder, click on the name of the share that you want to edit.

How to un-share a folder

From the Properties & sharing page of the shared folder, click on the Delete link next to the share that you want to remove.

Disk usage considerations

When you share a folder with other users, you remain the owner of the folder. This means that if a user uploads a file to the folder, your disk usage will increase, rather than the other user's.