Sharing Documents via Collaborate

Support has now ended for Legacy Collaborate.

To upgrade to New Collaborate, refer to Upgrading to New Collaborate.

Send via Collaborate allows you to use Collaborate to send documents to your clients via OneDrive. Rather than attaching a document directly to an email, the file is uploaded to your practice's OneDrive.

By default, Sharing will allow you to send the client an email with a hyperlink to the document. When the Client opens the email and clicks the link, they will be prompted to request a verification code via email to verify that the person opening the link is the recipient. 

From a security point of view, sending a link rather than directly accessing the files is especially beneficial for sensitive documents, or for clients who only need occasional access to documents.

The Share No Email function allows you to share files without sending an email, best used when you just need to upload the file immediately and plan to notify the customer later. Clients with access to the Share Folder will be able to view files shared to the OneDrive folder using the Share No Email function. Refer to Sharing the Share Folder with the Client.

For more information refer to:

• How the Client accesses the Shared Document. 
• Introducing Collaborate to your Clients and Sample Email for Practices.

Send via Collaborate can be used to send one document, or multiple documents at the same time, and for any document including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF. In OneDrive, the document is placed in a folder for the Client and then under any other sub-folders depending on how your practice has set up the Collaborate feature (for example, the Client Name and then Year).

Sharing documents via Collaborate is only available for practices on the Pro plan.

Note: Sharing documents with a client does not automatically give the recipient access to the Share Folder. Giving a user access to the Share Folder is a separate function. External users with access to the Share Folder will be able to see all documents that have been shared. To send a private document with restricted access you should send it via email. Refer to Sharing the Share Folder with the Client.

Adding the Attachment Links Merge Field to Templates

If you will be using any templates when sharing a document, they must include the FYI merge field for the Attachment Links {{ AttachmentLinks }}.

This merge field controls where FYI will insert the Collaborate links that are created for the documents. If this merge field is not included in the template, the link will not open.  Refer to Including Merge Fields in Email Templates and Signatures.

Note: Ensure you use the {{ AttachmentLinks }} Merge Field.

Do not use the {{ ShareFolderLink | web_link }} and {{ UploadFolderLink | web_link }} as these are used when sharing folders via Collaborate. The Share Folder Link and Upload Folder Link Merge Fields are not designed to work in an Automation or if the Template is selected when an email is created directly or to send a document to the client.

Sharing Documents via Collaborate

When sharing documents with Clients using Collaborate, you have the option of notifying the customer immediately via email or just sharing the document only (no email).

• Share and Email Client
• Share No Email

Share and Email Client

The following is how you send via Collaborate:

1. In FYI, select one or more documents. Refer also to Selecting Documents in a List in Using the Documents Lists.
   
   

2. Click the Share button in the toolbar. The Create Email drawer displays.
   
   

3. You can add additional recipient(s) to send the email to or as the CC.
   Ensure that all intended recipients are selected so that the link is generated for each of them.
   
   Note: The relevant client must have an email address. If the client does not have an email address you will not be able to click Create to send the email. In this case, you can select an alternative recipient as the email address.

   Note: If you have multiple entries for clients, but they have the same email address, you do not need to send the invitation to each. Collaborate creates the permission for the email address.
   
   

4. In the Drawer, select the template to use. The template must include the Merge Field AttachmentLinks (refer to Setting up an Email Template to Send via Collaborate in Creating Email Templates and including Merge Fields).
   
   Note: The Attachment link is generated for the email address(es) you choose in FYI when drafting the email. If the email is sent to Outlook and additional recipients are added, these additional recipients will not be able to access the link as it was generated for the original recipient(s) in FYI.
   
   

5. You can change any filing details for the email that will be sent to the Client.
   
   

6. Select Save or Send in the same way as any other email to save it as Draft in FYI, Draft in Outlook or Send Immediately.

   Note: If you select Draft in Outlook, ensure that you do not make any changes to the recipients as the link will not be generated for any recipients added to the email in Outlook.
   
   

7. For the Send Attachments option, select Collaborate.
   
   

8. Include as PDF can be set as "On" or "Off".
   When Include as PDF is set "On", the Word, Excel or PowerPoint document is converted to a PDF.
   When Include as PDF is set "Off", the document is sent in its original form and will not be converted to PDF. This also gives you the option to Co-Edit with Client. Refer to Overview - Co-edit with Client.
   
   
9. Click Create.
   The email is sent as usual, only the attachment is uploaded to OneDrive and sent via Collaborate.

The document that was shared is included in the Client - Collaborate tab (refer to Client - Collaborate Tab).

Share No Email

To share documents using Collaborate, but without sending an email, you can use the Share No Email function.

1. In FYI, select one or more documents. Refer also to Selecting Documents in a List in Using the Documents Lists.
   
   
2. Click the arrow on the Share menu and select No Email.
   
   
3. The Share Document Drawer is displayed.
   
   
4. The Client will be automatically selected, and the client folder where the file will be uploaded. 
   
   
5. From the Send Documents drop-down select Collaborate
   
   
6. Include as PDF can be set as "On" or "Off".
   When Include as PDF is set "On", the Word, Excel or PowerPoint document is converted to a PDF.
   When Include as PDF is set "Off", the document is sent in its original form and will not be converted to PDF. This also gives you the option to Co-Edit with Client. Refer to Overview - Co-edit with Client.
   
   
7. Click Send
   
   
8. The attachments will be uploaded to your practice's OneDrive client folder.

The document that was shared is included in the Client - Collaborate tab (refer to Client - Collaborate Tab).

Documents are Uploaded to your Practice's OneDrive

FYI uploads the documents to your practice's designated OneDrive. They are filed in OneDrive according to how this has been set up for your practice (for example, by Client Name, then by Year). The following is an example of how documents are filed in your practice's OneDrive.

FYI Creates an Email with a Link to the Documents

An email to the client is created as notification of the send and this includes a link to each document that was attached. If you have selected "Draft in FYI" or "Draft in Outlook", you can preview the email and make any changes to the text and then send this to the client.

In FYI, the Email is filed with the relevant document(s) attachment(s).

To ensure that the document links are only opened by the intended recipient, the client may be asked to verify themselves.

• If the recipient is a Microsoft 365 Business user and they are already logged into their account in an open browser, the document displays straight away. If they are not already logged in, they are prompted to log in to their Microsoft account before the document is displayed.
  
  
• If the recipient is not a Microsoft 365 Business user, they must enter their email address. This sends the recipient an email with a verification code that they enter to access the document.

Further details on this experience for clients can be found in How the Client accesses the Shared Document and in the sample email in Introducing Collaborate to your Clients and Sample Email for Practices.

Sharing the Document with More than One Person

If you need to share the document with more than one person by email:

• You can include more than one recipient as the To recipient. You can also include other users as CC or BCC recipients. (refer to Adding and Changing Recipients when Creating an Email.
  
  When the additional recipients access the document they will also need to first verify in the same way as the To recipient, using their own email address. Refer to How the Client accesses the Shared Document.
  
  
• You can share the document with another person separately in the same way as above.

Note: You cannot forward the email that was sent to the previous email address as the link can only be used by the person with whom the document was specifically shared.

Document Versions

When a new version is added to the Versions section in the drawer, the file name is changed to display the new version number. Refer to Version History and Creating a New Document Version.

If the document is shared with a client as an attachment, the file name in the email will display the version number as a suffix at the end of the file name, for example, Tax_Planning_Workpaper_3.xlsx.

Note: This version number cannot be modified or removed. Changing the file name manually will impact the ability of clients to access the file.