Sharing the New Collaborate Client and Upload Folders

Client folders located on New Collaborate sites can be shared with external users, including clients and any of their contacts.

There are two different types of folders created on New Collaborate sites, including the default Client Collaborate site and Client Secured Collaborate sites:

• Client Folder (commonly referred to as the Share folder)
• Upload Folder

Sharing Folders with Clients

To share the Client and Upload folders, clients and other third-party contacts will need to be added to the Share Settings on the Client - Collaborate tab in FYI. They will be added as a Guest User on the relevant Collaborate site and have access to all files within the client folder.

Please note:

• Internal users are not added using the Share Settings. Staff access to Collaborate sites is managed either via the selected Microsoft Group in the Collaborate app settings for the default Client Collaborate site or from the Client - Security tab for Client Secured Collaborate sites.
   
• If a Contact shares the same email address as a Client, the Contact will not be available to select in the Sharing Settings window. As the email address is already associated with the client, the same email address will not be available to select again. Enter a unique email address for the contact to add them to the Sharing Settings.
   
• The New Collaborate Display Name can be customised independently of the FYI Contact name.

The Client Folder will only be created on the New Collaborate site the first time a user is added to the Sharing Settings, or a document for the client has been shared via New Collaborate.

Step 1 - Adding Clients to the Sharing Settings Access List

1. Display the Client - Collaborate tab for the relevant client.
    
2. Click Sharing Settings to display the Sharing Settings pop-up.
   
   Note: If the Sharing Settings button is red, there is an error with the Client Folder, for example, the client's name does not match the folder name. Click the Sharing Settings button, then click the Settings tab to check for errors.
    
3. The Sharing Settings window will be displayed.
   
4. Click the Give user access button to add a user.
    
5. In the Select a contact or enter email address to give access, use the drop-down to select or enter the client or external recipient to share the folder with. Ensure that the email address does not match an internal user or contain any special characters, such as apostrophes.
   
   By default, the email address of the client is displayed. If the client has any Contacts in your practice management software, these will be displayed in the drop-down.
   
   If the email address matches a practice user's email or recovery email address, an error will be displayed, and a new email address will need to be added. Refer to your IT admin team to unlink the recovery email from the user's Microsoft 365 account.
   
   If you have multiple contacts for the client with the same email address, you do not need to add each contact to the Sharing Settings. Collaborate creates the permission based on the email address. If one of the email addresses has a leading space, this will be identified as a unique email address, and both contacts will be available for selection.
   
   If the same email address is used for multiple clients, the email will need to be added to the Sharing Settings for each client in FYI. 
   
6. The selected user displays.
   
7. Click Give user access to add additional users to share the client folder with. Select additional users from the drop-down, or enter the email address for an external contact.
   
   Note: If the email address matches a practice user's email or recovery email address, an error will be displayed, and a new email address will need to be entered. Refer to your IT admin team to unlink the recovery email from the user's Microsoft 365 account if required.
    
8. Click Save.
    
9. A loading box will be displayed in the bottom right-hand while the accounts are created on the relevant Collaborate site and shared with your selected users.
    
10. After adding the user, the Status check option and the ability to remove the user are locked for 15 minutes while Microsoft completes the processes required to add the user.
    
    The Display Name can then be edited if required.
    

Step 2 - Emailing a Link to the Client Folder

Once a client or external contact has been added to the Sharing Settings, they will be able to access the Client Folder on the New Collaborate site, including the files within the Client Folder.

From FYI, you will be able to email the client with the Collaborate Site Link and Upload Folder Link. The client will be prompted to log in and navigate to the Client Folder. Refer to Login Experience for Clients using New Collaborate.

The same Merge Field can be used regardless of whether the client is using the default Client Collaborate site or a dedicated Client Secured Collaborate site. FYI will insert the relevant link to the Collaborate site displayed on the Sharing Settings window.

1. In FYI, create an email to send to the email addresses added to the Sharing Settings Access List.
    
2. Enter the Client name. 
    
3. Select the Email Template if created for your practice to include the Merge Fields that add the links to the Collaborate site. Refer to Setting up Collaborate Email Templates. Otherwise, enter a Name for the email.
    
4. The Recipients of the email include all the email addresses you have selected to give access to. Click the 1 Recipient link to add additional recipients if required.
   
5. Update any filing details for the email, and select if you want to save it as a "Draft in FYI", "Draft in Outlook" or "Send Immediately". Refer to Sending Emails Immediately or Saving a Draft.
    
6. Click Create to create the email.
   
   If you have selected Draft in FYI, it will be displayed in the editor. If you have selected Draft in Outlook, the email will be sent to the FYI - Drafts folder in your Outlook, and you can then send the email in the usual way.
   
   Note that emails sent to Outlook will be immediately marked as Sent in FYI, and should be managed in Outlook from that point on. Once sent, the email will be updated in FYI and filed accordingly.
   
7. If the email is a draft, click Send to send the email.
   
   This sends an email to the selected users to advise them that they have shared folder access. The links can also be sent manually at any time if the link needs to be resent. Refer to Resending the New Collaborate Client Folder Links Manually.

To understand how clients will be able to access the newly shared folders, refer to Login Experience for Clients using New Collaborate.

FAQs for Sharing Folders

Sharing Folders with Additional Users at a Later Time

You can select additional email addresses at a later time in the same way if additional people need access to the client folders. This could be any of the contacts for the client that show in the drop-down list, or any other users who require access.

Sharing the Folders with a User who is not the Client or a Client Contact

You can also share the folders with any other user who requires access to the client folders. This could be, for example, to a family member or to a bookkeeper who is not held in FYI as a contact for the client.

1. In the Sharing Settings, click Give user access.
    
2. Type the email address.
    
3. Click Grant "typed email address" access.
   

Sharing the Folders with the Client Group

If you need to share all the clients within the Client group, this is done by sharing each client in the group individually.

If the Client Changes their Email

If the client changes their email, the email address in Sharing Settings will not be updated automatically. You need to remove the existing email address and re-invite the client by adding the new email address. Refer to Removing Access to the Shared and Upload Folders.