The Files admin page is used to configure the corresponding Files module, the key content area of most sites.
Select the Admin module, then Settings (under Files):
The Files administration page includes:
Once a change has been made to this page, make sure to hit Save or any changes that were made will not be saved.
File and Folder Permissions
Choose the level at which permissions will be set in the Files module. This determination should be made based on the requirements of a given site. The options are:
- Site only (also known as site-level) - With this setting, the same permissions will apply to every file and folder in the site. In other words, every folder and file inherits the permissions of the ultimate parent folder. As a result, every user who has access to the Files module can, at a minimum, view every file in the site. (If a group is not granted even file view access, then that group should not be given access to the Files module at all.) However, some groups or users may have additional rights, like the ability to add or delete files and folders. All of these rights will be applied consistently across the entire Files module. For example, if GroupA is given edit access rights, it will have those same rights to every file and folder on the site. On the other hand, GroupB may be given view-only access rights, and those rights will apply to every file and folder on the site.
- Site and folders (also known as folder-level) - With this setting, different groups (or users) can be granted different types of access rights to different folders. For example, GroupA may have view-only rights to Folder1, edit rights to Folder2, and no rights to Folder3. GroupB can be given completely different rights to those same folders: edit rights on Folder1, no rights on Folder2 and view-only rights on Folder3. Any access rights that are provided to a group for a given folder will apply to all of the files in that folder. This is known as 'inheritance'. Subfolders will inherit the access rights of the parent folder by default, but that inheritance can be broken by restricting or enhancing who can access the subfolder or what types of access rights those users have. For example, GroupA may have edit rights on Parent Folder but only view rights on Child Folder. GroupB may have view rights on Parent Folder but full folder administrative rights on Child Folder.
- Site, Folders and Files (also known as file-level) - This is the most granular permission level, and also the hardest to maintain. It is similar to the site & folder permission level, but permissions can be granted all the way down to the individual file level. By default, files will inherit the access rights associated with the folder they reside in, but that inheritance can be broken. For example, GroupA may have view-only rights on Parent Folder but edit rights on the 'M&A Agreement' in that folder.
It is important to note that only Site Administrators and Content Administrators can alter the permissions assigned to a site, folder or file and only those users can modify inheritance.
How permissions are actually configured for folders and files, and for particular users and groups, is discussed here.
It is recommended that most sites start with folder-level permissions, which strikes a good balance between ease of maintenance and flexibility of configuration. File-level permissions are more difficult to manage, as it can be hard to identify when an individual file breaks inheritance. (That is similar to the reason it is easier to use group-based security rather than user-based security.) As a best practice, start with folder-level permissions and only move to file-level permissions if the situation actually warrants - the permissions setting can be changed later.
Moving from file-to folder-level permissions has several drawbacks, as explained below.
An alternative to applying file-level permissions to the entire site, just so a handful of files can have unique security, is to simply create a subfolder for those files and apply permissions to that subfolder.
File permissions level can be changed after a site has gone live. If the permissions level is made more granular (moving from left to right along the radio buttons), there will be no immediate impact on the site. However, if the permissions level is made less granular (moving from file level to folder or site level, or from folder level to site level), all permissions on the Files module will be removed. The following warning will be displayed:
If it is determined to be absolutely necessary to make permissions less granular, first place the site into 'Preparation' status then reconfigure the permissions. That way, site users will not have access to content they should not see while site permissions are being changed.
This permissions setting does not govern how access rights are granted for other site modules (like blogs and wikis). To find out how to configure permission rights to other modules, go here.
Metadata to display
The Metadata to display section controls what additional information is displayed in the Files module to all users who have view access rights.
If the Status meta data field is enabled, you will be able to toggle the status of a file here, e.g. if a document has been signed. This can then be searched on when searching.
The Files module always shows the following information about every file:
- The name of the file and file type icon. The file name is typically a link to download the file, unless download restrictions have been imposed.
- A favourites button, to add the file to the list of user's favourites:
The File Metadata section controls what additional file information is displayed in the Files module to all users who have view access rights.
The Site Administrator can choose to show these additional pieces of information about every file:
- DMS - For clients that use a Document Management System (DMS). If a HighQ Appliance Connector is used, they are able to integrate with Collaborate and transfer documents from their DMS to Collaborate. If DMS is enabled, this column displays the version number of the file taken from the DMS.
- Pages - The number of pages in the file.
- Size - The size of the most recent version of the file. Based on the size of the file, this will be shown in bytes, KB, MB or GB.
- Author - This is the name of the person who uploaded the file. If versioning is permitted, then this is the name of the person who uploaded the last version of the file. If a file is uploaded from a file management system using a special tool, the author is the name of the user who initiated the upload, not the file author stored in the file management system.
If the cursor hovers over the Author's name, a tooltip shows the name of the author and the author's organisation; the date the file was uploaded may also be included.
- Last Modified - This is the date and time the most recent version of the file (if versioning is enabled) was uploaded to the site, not the date it was created or last modified on the computer where it was stored. The date is governed by the time zone associated with the instance of Collaborate.
- Version number - This setting governs a few related features of the Files module:
- If the Version column is shown in the list of files and any version information in the file information page. (The version number will be grey if the user has viewed the file; otherwise, the version number will be black.)
- If users with view-only access to a file can find information about prior versions of files or even if prior versions exist, using the Version history menu option.
Users with at least edit rights to files will be able to add new versions of a file (using the Add version menu option) and view a file's version history. This setting also determines how each version will be referred to on the site, as either a Version or a Draft.
While these settings can be used to display (or not) certain information in the Files module, do not rely on these settings for security purposes. These settings are best used to determine how 'clean' the user experience will be. The less information that is shown, the cleaner the experience for users accessing the site. But even if not configured to be displayed, this file metadata may be revealed in other parts of a site, such as activity streams, search results, etc.
File metadata will be available to Site and Content Administrators in the Audit History regardless of whether it has been configured to be shown to all users.
The Email Metadata section contains information about what type of metadata is kept when a user uploads an email file. Tick to enable email metadata and then choose to either make this Default ON for all folders or Default OFF for all folders. You can also tick to confirm if you want the setting to apply to all existing folders.
In addition to the basic file information that is collected, you can now choose whether to see who the email is From, who the email has been sent To and who has been added to the Cc field, when it was Sent and when it was Received. When you click on an email within the files section, email metadata that has been collected will display in the details section as per the image below.
Users can also search for metadata using the Search tab. Use the filter to select which metadata type you want to search on within the folder you are in.
Advanced Settings
Use the settings in the Advanced options section to configure the behaviour of the entire Files module, not just what information is displayed.
- Enable commenting - This setting determines whether or not comments can be added to files. If allowed, a file author can still determine whether to allow comments for a particular file. If comments already exist for any files and this setting is deselected, the existing comments will be hidden but not deleted.
- Enable file annotations - If this option is checked, a user can annotations to files stored in the File module.
Click here to find out more about file annotations.
- Enable auto-numbering - Use this setting to display all files and folders with an outline numbering scheme (1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.1.1, etc.). These numbers are added in front of every file and folder name, but stored file names are not actually changed to include the numbers. Reordering files and folders or adding new files will trigger automatic renumbering. The auto-numbering feature can be configured to determine at what level in the folder tree to begin the auto-numbering:
By default, it starts at level 1 (the top-level folders beneath the root folder), but this can be changed to be any level from 1 to 9. For example, if the auto-numbering is set to level 2, then in this folder path: Root Folder > Top-Level Folder > Child Folder, 'Child Folder' will be the first to be numbered, which will start at 1. That also means there can be duplicate numbering in the Files module.
- Enable PDF conversion - Check this box to make a PDF copy of every file that can be converted to PDF by the platform. (The originals will still be stored in the file repository.) Once selected, files will only be accessible in PDF format, and not in their native format, by users with view-only access rights. Users with edit rights can still download files in their original format. If any of the Digital Rights Management features are enabled, this setting will be disabled automatically. The PDF conversion settings link becomes visible when the PDF conversion settings option is enabled:
Clicking on this link brings up a small window where the System Admin can enter the file type(s) to be excluded from PDF conversion for that site:
This option is available as some file types do not render well in PDF or the Site Administrator deems it prudent to allow those files to be downloaded in their native format. This is often the case with Excel files. This setting applies to both the Enable automatic PDF conversion and Convert all files to PDF and encrypt with FileOpen plugin settings.
The PDF conversion settings will no longer apply to the FileOpen DRM selection, only to the non-DRM PDF Conversion setting. Instead, untick the Disable save setting to allow files to be downloaded in their native format, subject to FileOpen or Preview DRM.
Start typing a file extension and any matching file types will be shown in a list. Multiple file extensions can be entered. For example, to exclude Excel files from PDF exclusion, enter both "xls" and "xlsx":
Click Save to exclude the extensions.
- Enable bulk downloads - Enable users to download in bulk some or all of the files they have access to. If the Preview is enabled, this setting will be disabled automatically.
System and Site Administrators will always have access to this feature, even if it has not been enabled on a site.
Once enabled in the Index area of the Files module, a user should select the checkbox next to the top parent folder (this will then select all child folders) and click Actions.
Click the Download option from Actions to bulk download all files from selected files and folders.
A window will appear to allow users to select further options within the bulk downloads.
Click Download to download the files.
- Enable OCR - This is set up on a site by site basis; to enable this please contact HighQ Support. The Optical Character Reader (OCR) takes a scanned image of a document and converts it into a PDF document with text that can be searched and edited.
Once you have added a tick in this box a link for the OCR conversion settings displays. Select an option and click Save.
- Require authentication to access files from emails - If this box is checked, a user must be authenticated in order to open a file from an email. This is the most secure setting. If unchecked, no authentication will be required to open a file from an email, although no other access to the site will be permitted without authenticating. If this is unchecked, then in order to access the file from the email link without authenticating, the File title links setting must be set to download the file directly.
- Enable "force" and "suppress" email notification options - If this setting is checked, when a user adds a new file, an icon is displayed in the Add files window.
Click the icon to set alert preferences. These preferences will be used when files are added.
The preferences are noted below:
(Default) Respect user preferences - respect the alert preferences of other users
Send to all users with access - send out an immediate alert to all other users with access to the file, overriding the other users' alert settings; take this action when an important file is added; or
Suppress email alert - suppress any alerts, overriding the other users' alert settings; take this action when files or updated versions that are not considered significant.
If the setting is unchecked, the icon will not display when adding a file and the default (to respect user preferences) is used.
Each folder has a unique email address based on the email address of the inbox, for example, "bankfinancing1234 @sitepoint.mail.highqsolutions.com." This email address is shown at the bottom of each folder page.
Files emailed to a particular folder by users with folder admin rights (or greater) will be added to the folder like any other files.
Email attachments sent to a folder by site users who do not have the right to email files to the folder will be rerouted to the inbox.
Email attachments sent by anyone who is not a member of that site will be rejected and they will receive a reply indicating that this has occurred.
Two links are included; one for the site and one for the folder. By clicking on one of the links, the mail client opens and a user can attach the documents which will be uploaded to the inbox within the Files menu.
The inbox itself, which is shown in the Files module above the top-level folder, is a holding area that can be accessed by Site and Content Administrators.
An Administrator will review the files in the Inbox and decide whether to file them in a particular folder or delete them entirely.
More information about the Inbox can be found here.
- Enable index page - Use this setting to allow users to access the Index view.
Viewer Settings
Viewer settings allow a user to choose to open files either with the standard HTML5 viewer or use a legacy flash based viewer.
The default option uses the standard HTML5 viewer and a user has two further options: to Open the PDFs in Adobe Reader or to Use Adobe Reader for printing. If a user chooses to use the legacy flash-based viewer, there is a further option to open PDFs in Adobe Reader.
Import folders and file structure
From Excel
To read more about dataroom import click here:
This feature must first be enabled by HighQ on an instance of Collaborate, upon request.
Default folder and file settings
This section is used to configure how folders and files are listed and sorted. The sort order, default view and permissions can all be configured.
The sort order can be arranged by Creation date, Last modified or Alphabetical. The folder view can be arranged by List view, Column view or Thumbnail view. The default folder permissions can be set to inherit parent folder permissions or a user can select not to inherit. The default metadata view can be set as the default.
If a user chooses to Apply the configuration to all existing folders or files, a confirmation box will be displayed as this will overwrite any existing folder settings.
You can also determine the settings for duplicate files that are added. If selected, the system can detect duplicate files with identical names have been added and in this scenario you can choose to automatically add the duplicate as a new version or the system can ask you what you want to do with the duplicate. For more information on duplicate files click here.
Please note that duplicate file detection should first be activated in System Admin / System Settings.
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
When a user can access a file on their own computer they usually have full rights to that file. For example, they can view, print, download and share the file with others, and edit the file if it is in an editable format (like Microsoft Word files, but not Adobe Acrobat files). When DRM is applied to a file, some or all of these rights may be removed and the file may be changed through the addition of uneditable watermarks.
By default, no DRM restrictions are applied to files added to a site, but once it is enabled further options are available. Restrictions can be applied in accordance with the selected file permission level and the group security settings. For example, if folder-level security and user-based security is applied, then the DRM options can be applied to allow UserX to preview the files in FolderA but not download or print any them, but all of the files in FolderB may be downloaded and printed by UserY. If file-level security had been applied instead, then File1 in FolderA might be printable but File2 might only be previewed. Moreover, if group-based security has been applied, Group1 may be granted the right to preview, download and print all of the files in FolderA, but Group2 may only be able to preview those files. See the Watermarks section below to set watermark options within the file.
- Enable Online viewer with DRM - With this option selected, users will be limited to previewing files in the browser, and may not be able to print those files. No special plug-in, besides Adobe Flash, is required on a PC or Mac. Files will no longer be accessible in their native format.
Also, watermarks may optionally be added to files. If printing is restricted, every file will get this watermark: Printing disabled. If Email and IP watermarks are enabled, every file will get a watermark that contains the viewer's email address and IP address. DRM settings can be configured to allow files to be printed, but with other watermarks added.
More information about setting permissions and restrictions on files can be found here. See the Watermarks section below to set watermark options within the file.
- Encrypt native files with Seclore plugin - Seclore integration with Collaborate provides native DRM capability that means a user can securely share files in their native format (Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc) and retain full control over who can view, edit and print them. Check this box to enable the option and click on the Configure file types link to choose the particular file types to be encrypted. Click the arrow next to an option to select particular file types in that option.
Clients should have implemented the Seclore plugin and once a document is shared it is encrypted by Seclore. When a user clicks to download the file, the user is prompted that the document is corrupted. Permissions will be checked in Collaborate to determine if they have rights to view, edit or print the file. Click okay to see a holding page in the native application for the specific file.
Users are required to download the Seclore light client and install it on their machine to view the Seclore protected file. System admin rights are not needed to install this client application.
On installing the plugin, when the user tries to open the Seclore protected file they will need to confirm their Collaborate login and once provided, can then view the encrypted file. For Seclore troubleshooting information including opening a protected file, please click here. The document permissions are automatically applied in the user's native application. The ability to print, edit, or view the document with or without a watermark is determined from Collaborate settings.
See the Watermarks section below to set watermark options within the file.
- Encrypt PDF files with FileOpen plugin and Convert all files to PDF and encrypt with FileOpen plugin - Otherwise identical, the other two DRM options differ in one respect. The first option applies only to files that were added to the site in PDF format and not to any other types of files. The second option will make a PDF copy of all files. (The originals will still be stored in the repository.) Both of these options apply encryption to PDF files using the free FileOpen plugin for Adobe Acrobat Reader. Once encrypted, a user will be able to download files in PDF format, but in order to view these files, the user must be authenticated using their Collaborate username (email address) and password. Once one of these options is selected, the right to print the PDF files can be restricted and watermarks can optionally be added. If a user's access to a site is later removed, they will no longer be able to open the encrypted PFD files they have already downloaded. Note that files that were encrypted or locked prior to being uploaded, using FileOpen or another technology, cannot be encrypted using the FileOpen technology. See the Watermarks section below to set watermark options within the file.
Watermarks
If any of the DRM options are selected, Watermark options are displayed.
This section permits the Site Administrator to determine what watermarks will appear in a file if (a) the enable Online Viewer with DRM option has been selected and (b) the file permissions have been configured such that watermarks will appear on that file for the affected user or security group. (Watermarks do not appear by default when DRM has been enabled. Instead, they must be enabled.) Click Save in the Files Admin page to keep any changes made.
The following watermarks can be added to the file. Any or all of these can be enabled at the same time:
- The user's IP address
- The user's email address
- Printing disabled, but only if printing has in fact been disabled for the affected user. By default, printing is not disabled.
- Confidential
- Custom text - up to a maximum of 40 characters
Dependant on the options chosen as described above, if permissions have been set correctly Watermarks will be displayed on each page of the file when downloaded.
Third-party services
For more information on DocuSign, please click here.
AI Hub services configuration
For more information on HighQ's AI training, please click here.
Hybrid and EKM configuration
Encryption Key Management (EKM) uses HighQ’s proprietary methodology to allow clients to manage the encryption keys for files stored in HighQ Collaborate. The encryption keys are generated and stored in the HighQ Appliance, which acts as the key manager and is deployed inside your network to give you complete control. Hybrid Storage allows the HighQ Collaborate instance to be de-coupled from its file store, allowing files to be stored anywhere. This means files can be stored in any one of HighQ’s data centres or on-premise, inside your network. Hybrid Storage requires a HighQ Appliance to be installed to act as the storage manager and uses your own internal storage infrastructure to store files.
The options available allow the site admin to choose which file store location they wish to use for the site, local or cloud-based.
Clients should contact their Client Success Manager (CSM) for more information.
