BIMcloud Public Links - Early Access

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• Enable public links for your BIMcloud
• Mandate protected public links
• Create a public link
• Identify shared files
• Filter for items shared with public links
• Manage public links
• Find your previously created public links
• Manage public links for a selected item
• Manage all public links across BIMcloud
• Public link guest interface

Public links in BIMcloud are an effective way of sharing files with people outside your team or organization. BIMcloud users can create public links for files, folders, or BIMcloud Projects. Once you share the public link with someone, they can download the shared content - no account is required. For added security, a link password and expiration date can be set up.

Note: The public links feature is disabled by default.

Enable public links for your BIMcloud

The public links feature is disabled by default. To allow public link sharing on your BIMcloud:

1. Go to Servers > BIMcloud Manager > Settings panel.
2. At General Settings, click Edit.
3. At Public links: click Disabled and switch to Enabled.
   1. Review the public link protection settings below.
4. Click Save to confirm your choice.

After enabling public links, you can manage all public links created across BIMcloud using the Manage links button. Read about managing public links here: Manage all public links across BIMcloud

If you later disable the public links feature, all existing public links will be deleted, and people outside your organization will immediately lose access to the shared links.

Mandate protected public links

Anyone who receives a BIMcloud public link can open it. For this reason, we recommend protecting your public links with a password and expiration date.

In the public links section of BIMcloud Manager Settings:

• Check Require link password to require a password for every new or edited public link
• Check “Require link expiration within [x] days” to require that every public link expire within a maximum number of days. Set the number of days in the number field.

Note: If you configure password or expiration requirements, they do not apply retroactively to existing public links. Existing links that do not meet the new requirements remain valid.

Users can still optionally add passwords or expiration dates even when the requirements are turned off.

To find public links that do not meet the current requirements, see: Manage all public links across BIMcloud

Create a public link

You can send a public link (for a file, folder, or BIMcloud Project) to an external collaborator. They can download the shared content without a BIMcloud user account. If the files are updated to a new version, those updates will be reflected on the link.

To enhance security, your BIMcloud administrator may require a password, an expiration date, or both for public links. If a password or expiration date is not required, you can still choose whether to add it when creating or editing the link.

The recipient will need to enter the set password to open the link. Once the link expires, the shared content becomes inaccessible.

Notes:

• To create a public link, you must have the Modify details permission on the item
• If you create a public link to a folder or BIMcloud Project, the shared content will include only the items visible to you

1. Go to the Projects page of BIMcloud Manager.
2. Select a single item in the Projects tree and click Create public link.

Note: Public links cannot be created for Teamwork Projects and Libraries. If the public link is for a folder or BIMcloud Project that includes Teamwork Projects or Libraries, those items will not be included in the public link.

3. Set a link password to protect your shared content. Depending on your BIMcloud configuration, setting a link password might be required.
4. Set an expiration date and time to limit how long the public link is available. Depending on your BIMcloud configuration, setting an expiration date might be required.

5. Click Create link.
6. The created public link URL will be shown. Click Copy to clipboard to easily share the link.

You can create multiple public links for each item to share with different stakeholders. Each public link uses a unique randomized URL. On a BIMcloud hosted by you, public links use the primary address of BIMcloud Manager.

Identify shared files

In the Projects tree, items that have been shared via public link are shown with a link icon:

In list view, each item also displays the path of its parent folder(s) or BIMcloud Project. Such parent items, if they have been shared, also display the link icon.

No special permission is needed to see if an item is shared via a public link.

On a selected folder, BIMcloud Projects, or file, the “Shared with public link” text also indicates that the item has been shared via public link.

Filter for items shared with public links

Use the Shared with public link filter to display only the items that have been shared with people outside your BIMcloud.

Manage public links

You can see a list of public links in three contexts for different use-cases:

To find public links created by you for a particular item, see: Find your previously created public links

To see all public links from which an item is shared, see: Manage public links for a selected item

To manage all public links across BIMcloud, see: Manage all public links across BIMcloud

Find your previously created public links

With the item selected, go to the Settings tab and review the Public links section.

To select a single public link: Click anywhere in the link row

To select multiple links: Enable the checkmark icon, then check the links you need

Available functions:

• Create: Create a new public link for the item selected in the Projects tree
• Copy link: Copy the URL to the clipboard
• Copy password: Copy the link password to the clipboard
• Edit: Change the link password or expiration
• Delete: Remove the public link - this action revokes access to third parties

Hover the link text or the password checkmark to display quick command buttons: use these commands to open the public link in a new browser tab, or copy the link URL or the password to the clipboard.

Note: You can have multiple public links for a single item - you can share an item with different people, each using a separate link and different settings. Deleting one link does not affect the other links.

 

Manage public links for a selected item

On a selected item, find all public links created by any BIMcloud user on the Access tab under Public links.

Notes:

• To see the Access tab, you need View Access permission on the selected item
• To delete a public link or copy its password, you also need Manage Access permission
• Viewing other users' public links requires View permission on those users

Public links created for the selected item appear in the top list. Public links created on parent folders appear in the list below.

The following data can be seen for each public link:

• Source: Name and path of a shared parent folder or BIMcloud Project - click to navigate to the parent folder. (Shown in the “Shared from parent folders” list.)
• Time: Time of public link creation
• Link: The URL that directs to the shared content - click to test the public link in a new tab.
• Owner: Name of BIMcloud user who created the public link
• Password: Whether the public link is protected by a password - click to copy the link password
• Expiration: Expiration date (if any) of the public link, or whether the link has already expired
• Visits: Number of times the public link has been accessed
• Downloads: Number of times a download has been started on the public link

By default, only the last 3 public links are shown. To view all links, click on Last 3 links and change it to All links.

To list the public links without a password or expiration, click All link types, then choose Links without password or Links without expiration.

You can also filter for Expired links. After a public link has expired, it is inaccessible and is deleted after 30 days. Access to already expired links can be extended by clicking the link’s row and using the Edit function.

To filter public links by user: first change to show All links. Then click All users and select a particular user.

To select a single public link: Click anywhere in the link row

To select multiple links: Enable the checkmark icon, then check the links you need

Available functions:

• Copy: Copy the URL to the clipboard
• Copy password: Copy the link password to the clipboard
• Edit: Change the link password or expiration
• Delete: Remove the public link - this action revokes access to third parties

Click a link to open it in a new tab and preview the shared items.

Note: In folders or BIMcloud Projects, public links will only include items visible to the user creating the link. Therefore, the content visible in a particular shared folder might vary, depending on who shared it.

If the file is shared through a public link on its parent folder, you can delete the link on the parent.

 

Manage all public links across BIMcloud

Use the Manage links button in Servers > BIMcloud Manager > Settings > General Settings to review every public link created on your BIMcloud. This view lists all public links from all users.

From this view, you can open, edit, or delete any listed public link, for example to shorten its lifetime, add a password, or remove it entirely if it should no longer be available for external collaborators.

Notes:

• You need View item permission on BIMcloud Manager to see the public links settings
• Public links are only listed if you have View item permission for the link content
• To edit or delete a public link or copy its password, you also need Manage Access permission for the link content

The following data can be seen for each public link:

• Content: Name and path of a shared file, folder or BIMcloud Project - click to navigate to it.
• Time: Time of public link creation
• Link: The URL that directs to the shared content - click to test the public link in a new tab.
• Owner: Name of BIMcloud user who created the public link
• Password: Whether the public link is protected by a password - click to copy the link password.
• Expiration: Expiration date (if any) of the public link, or whether the link has already expired
• Visits: Number of times the public link has been accessed
• Downloads: Number of times a download has been started on the public link

You can filter public links by their protection status by clicking All links, then selecting a different filter. If you have changed the public link creation rules in the public links settings, you can find existing links that do not match the rules by choosing the Links not matching rule(s) filter.

You can also filter for Expired links. After a public link has expired, it is inaccessible and is deleted after 30 days. Access to already expired links can be extended by clicking the link’s row and using the Edit function.

To filter public links by the type of content, click All content and select file, folder or BIMcloud project.

To find public links created by a particular user, click All users and select the user.

To select a single public link: Click anywhere in the link row

To select multiple links: Enable the checkmark icon, then check the links you need

Available functions:

• Copy: Copy the URL to the clipboard
• Copy password: Copy the link password to the clipboard
• Edit: Change the link password or expiration
• Delete: Remove the public link - this action revokes access to third parties

Note: In folders or BIMcloud Projects, public links will only include items visible to the user creating the link. Therefore, the content visible in a particular shared folder might vary, depending on who shared it.

Public link guest interface

When someone clicks a public link, they are taken to a guest interface. No account is required to access the shared items. For password-protected links, the shared content is not visible until the recipient enters the password.

The shared content’s name appears at the top, along with a download button.

Guests can see the following data for each item:

• Name: The content name and type icon
• Size: File size or total folder size
• Modified: Time of upload or last modification

If the public link contains multiple files/folders, they appear in a list.

Download all content as a .zip file using the Download all button.

Download a single item by clicking the Download icon on a single item.

Note: Empty folders are not included in the download.

If the public link is deleted, if the link expires, or if the link owner loses access to the shared content, the link will no longer work. Only the BIMcloud instance name will be shown, and the content will not be accessible.