Expanded Folder Permissions

With the release of PreVeil’s 4.0.0 build, we have introduced a new feature to support subfolder sharing. This means that users can share folders that are under or inside other folders in a file tree with differing permissions and different recipients.

Note: This feature is not retroactive, meaning that these expanded folder sharing options will not apply on any folders created in Drive prior to your PreVeil installation being upgraded to the 4.0.0 (or higher) version.

Key Feature Highlights

While subfolders can be shared, there are a couple of key aspects of the functionality that are worth knowing. To illustrate these key points, let us assume the following file structure.

Example scenario: User 1 has the following new folder structure created with the 4.0.0 (or higher) version of the software.

            Folder1->{Folder 2->{Folder 4, Folder 5}, Folder3}

            Assume that User 1 has shared Folder 1 with User 2 with Edit & Share permission. 

 

With this example in place, the following key aspects of the feature can be stated:      

  • User 2 will retain the Edit & Share permission for all the subfolders of Folder 1. In other words, User 2’s permission cannot be changed for the subfolders of Folder 1.

  • Any subfolder of Folder 1 can be independently shared with additional users with different permission levels. For instance:

    • Folder 5 can be shared with User 3 with Read Only permission

    • Folder 3 can be shared with User 4 with Edit permission.

Tips & Tricks

  • Create an empty folder, share that folder, and then add files once the folder has been converted into a shared folder.

    • You can add content before sharing the folder, but this can take longer due to the fact that the file upload, sync, and encryption operations that must complete first before you will be able to share the folder.

  • Share from the top down. If you plan to share a parent folder and subfolders within, share the parent folder first. If you share the subfolders first, you will be blocked from sharing the parent at a later time.

  • Subfolders will inherit the permission level of their parent. For example, if you assign a user Edit & Share level permissions at the top level of a folder tree, that user will have Edit & Share permissions for every subfolder in that tree. You will not be able to grant that user a different level of permissions on a lower level of the tree. If you do not want a user to have access to all levels of a folder tree, only share the exact subfolders you want them to have access to.

  • For complex folder tree structures, we recommend planning the sharing permissions for each level of that folder tree before enacting the sharing permissions in PreVeil.

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