Allow read-only users to add files
There is a common use case involving users who are given read-only access to a site. Often, it is necessary to give these users a limited right to add files, but not allow them to delete or alter any other content in the system. There are two ways to accomplish this:
Create a Folder with Write Access
The first method is to create a separate folder for these users where they have been given the ability to add files.
note
Set up the site to have, at a minimum, folder-level security.
Preferably, this will be a top-level folder that only the designated group of users (and Site Administrators) can access, using
folder permissions
, giving those users the ability to add files and/or folders.Any files added by these users, who otherwise have only read access, can be reviewed by the Site Administrator and then moved to the appropriate folder(s) in the site.
Use the Inbox as a Staging Area
A simpler method is to use the Inbox as a staging area. The Inbox provides a staging area where site users can preliminarily upload files to a site, but the Site Administrator must review, approve and then file those files in the appropriate folder(s) before any other users can see the files.
The Inbox feature is designed to accept files sent from site users who have read-only access to the site. These email attachments will only be added to the Inbox, where other users cannot view the files, not to folders in the main site. (The Inbox will ignore emails set by users who are not site members.)
The Inbox method can be implemented as follows:
- Configure the site Inbox from the Files admin page, providing the prefix for the Inbox email address. For example, the Inbox email address might be: test@client.mail.highqsolutions.com.
- The Site Administrator should send the read-only users the Inbox email address, because the Inbox email address will otherwise NOT be exposed to them.
- The read-only users will email files as attachments to the Inbox email address. (Any other content in the email, like the subject and body, will be ignored.).
- The Site Administrator will review the files in the Inbox and, if appropriate, file the files in the appropriate folder. The Site Admin can also delete any files that should not be added.
The advantage of this method is that extra folders do not need to be created or permissioned appropriately. Indeed, if there were multiple groups of users involved, that might require a separate folder for each group.