Can I allow clients and contacts to request access to a New Collaborate site?

Where clients cannot access the Collaborate site, for example they have not been shared documents or added to the client folder, they will see an error similar to "You need permission to access this item."

Enabling the SharePoint option "Allow Access Requests" will allow users to request permission to the folder or file. The OneDrive Admin will receive an email notification and will be able to approve or reject the request. 

Enable Access Requests

To allow Access Requests from guest users unable to log into the site:

1. Log in to the Collaborate site as the OneDrive Admin User.
   Note: If using Client Secured Collaborate sites, the following steps will need to be completed on both the Client Collaborate site and any Client Secured Collaborate sites created for clients.
    
2. Click on the Settings cog icon in the top right-hand corner.
   Note: It may take a few seconds for the icon to be displayed.
   
3. Click Site Permissions.
    
4. Under the heading Site Sharing click on the link Change how members can share.
    
5. In Access requests, ensure Allow access requests is set to On.
   
6. The option Choose who will receive access requests for this site is used to send email notifications when an access request is received. Ensure the Site Owners option is selected.
    
7. Enter a Custom Message to be displayed on the request page. This can be useful for reminding clients and contacts to check they have logged in with the correct email address before requesting access.
    
8. Click Save.

Approve Outstanding Access Requests

Access requests can be approved from either the email notification or from within the SharePoint site.

Important: Ensure the user's access remains as "Read", and the New Collaborate Status Check is run after approving requests.

Step 1 - Approve the Outstanding Request

Step 2 - Run New Collaborate User Status Check

After approving the request, the New Collaborate Status Check must be run to ensure the correct permissions are granted for the guest user.

1. In FYI, navigate to the Client - Collaborate tab.
   Note: The client is displayed in the Email and the Pending Requests window as the Client Name followed by the Client ID. 
    
2. The users will be displayed, and the Status Check will be run automatically. If the user is not displayed, refresh the window or navigate to another window in FYI and back to the client.
    
3. The user who has just been added will be displayed, with the Status Check bar yellow.
   
4. Click on the arrow next to Status Check. A notification will be displayed that Status Check fixed errors with the guest user's account. For more details, click the link to view Practice Activity.