Resource Sharing — Simple Guide

The 3 Controls You Have

Every file and folder is governed by three simple switches. Once you understand these, everything else makes sense.

🌍

Public visible

A public folder or file can be seen by everyone on your team. Think of it like a notice board in the office hallway.

🔒

Private restricted

A private item is hidden from the team. Only you (the creator) and people you specifically share it with can see it.

🔐

Read-Only

A read-only item can be opened and viewed, but nobody can change, delete, or add things to it — except the owner and admins.

And 1 Action: Sharing

Sharing is how you give specific people access to something private.

🤝

Sharing a folder

When you share a private folder with someone, they instantly get access to everything inside it — and anything added later, too. Access flows downward automatically.

✨

The golden rule of sharing

Once someone has access to a shared folder, marking items inside as "private" does NOT hide them from that person. They were already invited in.

💡 Key idea: "Private" only keeps out people who were never invited. It does not hide it from the owner, admins, or anyone who already has shared access to the folder.

Meet the People

Permissions depend on who you are in relation to a file or folder. There are four roles.

👑

Admin / Manager

Team leaders. They can see and do everything, everywhere — no restrictions. Read-only and privacy settings don't stop them.

🙋

Owner (Creator)

The person who created a file or folder. They have full control over their own items — edit, delete, share, set read-only, change privacy.

👨‍💼

Shared Member

Someone a folder was shared with. They can open it and everything inside — even private items — but can't change who else gets access.

🧑

Other Member

A regular team member with no special access. They only see public items (private items are invisible). They can open and even edit public content that isn't read-only — but can't share, move, or change its privacy.

🧭 Important nuance: Being the owner of a folder doesn't make you the owner of files other people put inside it. Each item has its own owner.

🎛️ Try It Yourself

Pick a person and a situation. See instantly what they're allowed to do.

👤 Who are you?

Public or private?

Read-only?

Where are you viewing it?

View as

🙋As the Owner, looking at a public item:

See / Open👁️

CAN

It is public

Add inside➕

CAN

You have full access

Edit✏️

CAN

It is editable

Delete🗑️

CAN

It is editable

Move📦

CAN

You own it

Share🤝

CANNOT

Only private items can be shared

Public/Private🔁

CAN

You own it

Set Read-Only🔒

CAN

You own it

AllowedBlocked

Action	👑 Admin	🙋 Owner	👨‍💼 Shared	🧑 Other
👁️ See	✔	✔	✔	✔
➕ Add	✔	✔	✔	✔
✏️ Edit	✔	✔	✔	✔
🗑️ Delete	✔	✔	✔	✔
📦 Move	✔	✔	✘	✘
🤝 Share	✔	✘	✘	✘
🔁 Privacy	✔	✔	✘	✘
🔒 Read-Only	✔	✔	✘	✘

🙋

📖 Example — what this means

You created a public folder, and you're viewing it in your own library.

✅ It's yours, so you have full control: edit, delete, move and switch it to private, plus set it read-only.

📖 Real-World Examples

Walk through exactly what happens, step by step, in common situations.

Example 1 — Carol shares a folder, then Mike adds a file

Carol owns a folder and invites two teammates. What happens when Mike uploads a file inside it?

Carol creates "Project Files"

She is the owner of this folder.

Carol shares it with Mike and Maria

Both instantly get access to the folder and everything inside it.

Mike uploads "report.pdf" into the folder

The file automatically takes on the folder's settings, and Maria is automatically given access too.

Who can see Mike's file?

👑Admins — yes, they see everythingCAN SEE

🙋Carol (folder owner) — yes, she owns the folderCAN SEE

👨‍💼Mike (uploaded it) — yes, it's his fileCAN SEE

👨‍💼Maria (shared member) — yes, access flowed to her automaticallyCAN SEE

🧑Other team members — only if the folder is PublicDEPENDS

Example 2 — Mike makes a sub-folder "Private"

Inside Carol's shared folder, Mike creates a sub-folder and marks it Private. Does that hide it from Carol and Maria?

Mike creates a sub-folder inside the shared folder

He becomes the owner of this sub-folder.

Mike marks it "Private"

He hopes to hide it from others.

So who can actually see Mike's "private" sub-folder?

👑Admins — yes (always)CAN SEE

🙋Carol — yes, because she owns the parent folderCAN SEE

👨‍💼Maria — yes, she was already invited to the parent folderCAN SEE

🧑Other members — no, they were never invitedHIDDEN

⚠️ The surprise: Marking something "Private" inside a shared folder does not hide it from people who already have access. It only keeps out strangers. To truly restrict it, Mike would need it in a folder that was never shared.

Example 3 — Carol makes the folder Read-Only

Carol wants people to read the files but not change anything. She marks the folder Read-Only.

Carol turns on Read-Only for the folder

Read-only applies to the folder and everything inside it, at every level.

What can people do now?

👑Admins — full control still (can edit, delete)FULL

🙋Carol / item owners — can still edit their own itemsFULL

👨‍💼Shared members — can view only; no editing, deleting, or addingVIEW ONLY

🧑Others — view only (and only if public)VIEW ONLY

Example 4 — Carol switches the folder from Private to Public

Carol decides the folder should be open to everyone. What happens to the people she had shared it with?

Carol changes the folder to "Public"

It now becomes visible to the whole team automatically.

All existing individual share invitations are removed

Since everyone can see it now, the personal "shared with" list is cleared out.

The result

🌍Everyone on the team can now see itOPEN

🤝It no longer appears in Mike & Maria's "Shared with me" list (it's public now)CHANGED

⚠️ Heads up: Going Public erases the private share list. If Carol later switches it back to Private, she'll need to re-invite Mike and Maria.

📋 Quick Cheat Sheet

A simple at-a-glance reference. ✔ Yes · ✘ No · ▲ Depends

Can they…	👑 Admin	🙋 Owner	👨‍💼 Shared member	🧑 Other member
See a public item	✔	✔	✔	✔
See a private item	✔	✔	✔	✘
Add files inside a folder	✔	✔	✔	▲ public & editable
Add inside a read-only folder	✔	✔	✘	✘
Edit / delete an item	✔	✔	▲ if editable	▲ public & editable
Edit / delete a read-only item	✔	✔	✘	✘
Move an item to another folder	✔	✔	✘	✘
Share an item with people	✔	▲ if private	✘	✘
Switch public ↔ private	✔	✔	✘	✘
Set read-only (folders)	✔	✔	✘	✘

📌 Remember: When you're viewing a folder that someone shared with you, you cannot move it, set it read-only, or change its privacy — even if it's technically yours. Those controls only appear in your own library view.

🛡️ Important for protecting content: The system does not restrict editing/deleting by who owns an item — only by read-only and visibility. So any member who can see a public, editable folder can also add or change files in it. To lock content down, mark it Read-only or keep it Private.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

The questions clients ask most often.

Not from everyone — only from people who were never given access. The owner, admins, and anyone who already has access to the folder it lives in will still see it. "Private" keeps out strangers, not insiders.

No. Sharing a folder automatically gives access to everything inside it — including files added later. Access flows downward to all current and future contents.

It lets people open and view items but stops them from editing, deleting, moving, or adding anything. The item's owner and admins are not affected — they keep full control. When you set a folder read-only, it applies to everything inside it too.

Yes — if the content is public and not read-only, any member who can see it can also add, edit, or delete inside it. The system controls changes by read-only status and visibility, not by ownership. To protect important public content, mark it Read-only. To hide it entirely, make it Private.

The folder becomes visible to everyone, so the personal share invitations are removed (they're no longer needed). If you later make it Private again, you'll have to re-invite those people.

When you're browsing through the "Shared" area, management controls — Move, Set Read-Only, and Change Privacy — are turned off to avoid confusion. (You can still open and edit the contents.) Go to your own library (My Library) to manage items you own.

No. Each file belongs to whoever created it. You can still see those files (because you own the folder), but a read-only file someone else owns can only be edited by them or an admin.

An Admin (or Manager) is a team leader who can do anything, anywhere. An Owner just created a specific item and controls that item. Admins override read-only and privacy; owners only control their own things.