Working with Public rooms

Public rooms are intended to simplify file sharing with external users, i.e., those who are not a member of your workspace.

You can provide people with external links to view documents without registration. The room will be available to anyone with the link. By default, external users will have View Only permission for all the files in a Public room, but you can create additional links with different access rights.

You can also embed this room into any web interface so that people can access files stored in the room directly from your website or service.

Key features

Creating external links for accessing multiple documents without registration
Adding several links with different settings
Protecting links with a password, setting restrictions on copying, downloading, and printing
Time limit for additional links
Embedding rooms into web pages to demonstrate a set of documents to all visitors
Using third-party services (Box, Dropbox, etc.) as data storage

Possible use cases

Demonstrating ready documentation to partners, customers, or other third parties
Publishing a set of documents on a website or blog
Sharing content both from the workspace and a third-party service connected as storage

For example, you need to share demo materials or project documentation with your partners. Let's see how this can be done with Public rooms.

Step 1. Create a Public room

Create a new Public room in a few easy steps:

Go to the Rooms app and click the New room button or the Plus icon.
Select the Public room type.
Enter the room Name.
Optionally, you can add tags in the Tags field or change the room icon.
Optionally, set the Storage quota for the room, or check the Disable quota for this room box to turn the storage limit off.
Optionally, turn on the Third-party storage switcher to use third-party services as data storage for this room. You can create a new folder or select an existing one in the connected storage. For more details on connecting third-party storages, read this instruction.
If you want to connect a third-party service, this can be done at the room creation step only, not when editing existing rooms.
Click Create.

Step 2. Add documents to the room

A newly created room displays the Welcome to the Public room screen with quick actions: Create a new file, Invite people, Upload from storage (from the Files or Rooms app), and Upload from device.

The same operations are available via the New button above the list of documents:

Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation – create a new file online.
PDF Form – create a new form from Blank or From text file.
Folder – create a new folder.
Template gallery – create a file on the base of one of the ready-made templates.
Upload files / Upload folder – upload the existing files and folders from your device.

All available options for working with documents in rooms are listed here.

Step 3. Add authorized users to the room

If necessary, you can add guests or users registered in your workspace to the room for working with documents and managing its contents.

The following permission levels are available in the Public room:

Room manager (Paid) – manage the assigned rooms, invite new users, and assign roles below their level.
Content creator – create and edit files in the room, but cannot manage users or access settings.

To add a Room manager, you should select a Room admin or a Full admin from the existing workspace contacts.

To invite guests and users:

Go to the room Info -> Contacts screen and use the Invite contacts icon.
Turn on the Invite via link switcher to create a universal link for self-authorization in the room as a guest. The link is copied to the clipboard and its expiration date is displayed below it. In this way, you can invite guests only.
Alternatively, use the Add manually section below to add existing workspace contacts or invite new guests personally via email. Type in an email and press Enter, or use the Choose from list option to select an existing contact. If necessary, change the Invitation language. You can add several emails and then click Send invitation.

Guests and users will be added to the room as Content creators who can create and edit documents. New guests will be added to your Guests list.

All available options for inviting users to rooms are listed here.

Step 4. Adjust and share the external link

Since Public rooms are designed for working with external users, your newly created Public room already has an external link activated, so you can just copy it. The Info -> Contacts screen displays the Room available via external link notice explaining that the room is available to anyone with the link and that access for external users depends on the selected type of access rights.

Click the Share room button next to the room name or use the Copy shared link icon icon next to the Shared link option in the Shared links section of the Info -> Contacts screen. Send the copied link to third-party users. They will have View Only permission for all files in the room without registration.

You can also edit the external link:

On the Info -> Contacts screen, click the icon next to the Shared link caption.
Choose the Link settings option. The menu also contains the Copy shared link, Copy link password, Embed, and Revoke link options.
In the Role for link section, choose a different permission level instead of the default Viewer: Editor, Reviewer, or Commenter.
Change the Link name to distinguish various links.
Set a password to protect the link using the Password access switcher.
Enable the Restrict file content copy, file download and printing switcher to disable copying content of the files to the clipboard, downloading files and folders, and printing files.
Click the Save button.

If necessary, you can revoke the shared link using the Revoke link option from the Options icon menu on the Info -> Contacts screen. The current link will be deactivated, and a new shared link will be created.

If you need more than one link for your Public room, use the Add link icon Add new link icon in the Shared links section. In a Public room, the main link is valid for an unlimited time period, while additional links can be limited by time using the Limit by time period setting.

All available options for external links are listed here.

If you want to embed a Public room into your website, read this instruction.