File Sharing Options

This section will cover the different ways that files can be shared from the File Fabric Platform. The File Fabric enables secure private, public, encrypted or managed file sharing for any file from any storage account that it has under management.

Files can easily be securely shared from the web file manager by clicking on the file and choose the share icon from the toolbar or right click on the file and choose one of the sharing options.

Note that when emailing file links directly from the File Fabric, specific templates can be setup by an Administrator from the Branding Policies page.

Passwords can be set on file links and additionally time expiry options and download limits, to prevent for example a file being downloaded and then forwarded onto another person.

The links are available until either they are explicitly removed, or time out if time expiry options are set.

Link creation and access is audited and logged, accessible to Administrators from the Audit log viewer.

Some storage providers, such as Amazon S3 and Google Drive, will have an additional option when sharing a file that enables a user to create a link share directly from the storage provider. Whether such links are static or time expired will depend on the provider implementation but users are notified as to the options within the link share box. Note that such direct links are not audited on access.

Please refer to the below video for more information on sharing files from the web file manager.

NB Cloud File Server Users: It is possible for the Cloud Admin to turn off the ability for users to share files

The Administrator of the File Fabric can set in the File Sharing Policies whether users have the option to share files publicly. This is set to off by default.

If turned on then a user can choose to share a file to their public files page which is also accessible as an RSS feed.

Any files that are set to public can be accessed from the users public files page and the url shared.

Note that Public file sharing can be combined with encryption so that any files that are shared in this way would then still require a password to access.

If files are made public in this way and the File Fabric is publicly available on the internet.

Public files are useful for files that can be publicly available from a Company such as White Papers or help documentation, and the RSS feeds can, for example, be used in a footer of an email.

Mobile / Tablet devices have the same sharing options as the Web interface and are audited in the same way.

For file sharing options please the relevant sections of the Wiki regarding file sharing for each of the device types (links below):

• iOS
• Android
• BlackBerry
• Windows Phone

Desktop Apps also have the same sharing options as the Web:

For file sharing options please the relevant sections of the Wiki regarding file sharing for each of the desktop clients (links below):

• Windows access client file sharing
• Mac access client file sharing
• Linux access client file sharing

When storage provider level encryption is set then all storage is encrypted in flight prior to being stored on the private or public storage system. This is transparent to end users and to users who access shared links.

The File Fabric can also be configured for per file, or folder encryption, in which Files can be strongly encrypted using FIPS certified AES encryption. This configuration is done by the Administrator in the encryption policy settings.

When this is turned on for users they can choose an encryption phrase for the file being uploaded that is not stored on the server and must be remembered by the end user.

When such files are shared the end user trying to access the shared link is prompted for a password similar to a password protected file. If the correct password is provided then the files is decrypted and downloaded.

A permalink or permanent link is a URL for a web page that does not change over time. File and Folder permalinks are similar in concept and can be created from within the Web File Manager and shared to to other users of the File Fabric Domain or tenant. When a user clicks on the link, if they are logged in and have permission, they will be taken to the folder or can access the file. If not logged in the user will be prompted to authenticate before access.

Permalinks are ideal for internal intranets or wikis and promote internal team collabaration.