Sharing data stored in files is possible in Salesforce. With the vast amount of information stored on a particular org, admins will certainly impose restrictions to control what types of actions can be done to certain files.
This post will then center on the File Collaborator. What is a File Collaborator, and what role does he play in file sharing within the Salesforce org?
Definition of File Collaborator
File Collaborator is a type of file permission access that permits a user to view and make changes to a particular file. It’s among the three main file permission types in Salesforce, the other two being the File Owner and the File Viewer.
What Can a File Collaborator Do?
As an admin, assigning users to become file collaborators lets them perform certain actions on the specific files that were granted access to them. Such actions are lesser than what file owners do, and greater than what file viewers can perform.
Consider the file collaborator as the middle file permission level. As a file collaborator, a user is granted access to certain files, and can do the following actions to those files:
- Previewing file contents
- Viewing files in their entirety
- Downloading
- Sharing files to other users of similar or greater file permission level
- Syncing files
- Attaching files to posts
- Editing file details
- Updating and uploading a newer file version
- Changing file permissions
File Collaborator Restrictions
Here are the actions which file collaborators cannot do to the files under their care:
- Restricting file access to other users
- Tagging the file as private data
- Deleting the file completely
Setting Up a User as a File Collaborator
Admins may define chosen users to become file collaborators. They do so by going to a particular file’s detail page. From there, they click on the Sharing Settings found under the Share File option. Next, they select the users they want to grant access to. Lastly, they select Collaborator from among the access options. The changes in file access take place instantaneously.
