Collaborate: secure file access and management for remote work

ProVide’s Collaborate feature lets external partners and colleagues working from home access files and folders and work from any device in minutes, securely, monitored, and without scattering files across unsanctioned “places.” It’s a one-stop solution for user collaboration, remote work, and tying together entire business system environments. By giving end users an instant, effortless, and secure way to share, receive, collaborate on, and even edit any file directly at the source, ProVide cuts administration costs and lead times, and keeps people from resorting to non-sanctioned tools to get their work done.

Collaborate works on a folder. To send a link to a single file instead, use ProVide’s Share feature; to let someone send a file to you, use ProVide’s Receive feature.

Creating the collaborate link #

1. Right-click the folder you want to collaborate in, or click the checkmark to the left of the folder name and icon.
2. Choose Collaborate, either from the right-click menu or the header menu. You can also open the folder and, with nothing else selected, click Collaborate in the header menu.

Adjusting the link #

When you click Collaborate, a window opens with options for the link:

• Set a name for the collaboration.
• Private link adds a password specific to this collaboration.
• Limited availability restricts the link to a certain time interval.

Both the password and time restriction are optional. Leave them off if you want a link with no password or expiry.

Getting the link #

Once you enable the collaboration, a dialog appears with the link. Copy it and reuse it as many times as your chosen options allow.

Editing or disabling a collaboration #

To change the options later or copy the link again, open Collaborate areas on the left. This lists all your collaborations; click one to edit it. Editing the options keeps the same link (the URL doesn’t change). To turn it off, click Disable, after which the link can no longer be used.

Using the collaborate link #

Send the link by message or email. Anyone who opens it gains access to the collaboration area, where they can upload, download, create, rename, and delete files and folders. Everything a user does is visible to everyone else with the link and to the creator, who can access it from their own ProVide account by navigating to the folder the link was created for. A password-protected link prompts for the password first, and a link can’t be accessed outside its date restrictions.

In short: ProVide’s Collaborate feature lets you share a folder securely with external partners and remote colleagues through a single link. The people you send it to can upload, download, create, rename, and delete files in that folder from a web browser on any device, without an account of their own, and you can protect the link with a password and an expiration period. Collaborate is available with a Maxi or Mega license.

Applies to: Maxi, Mega

Last reviewed: October 2026

Before you start #

• Your ProVide server needs a Maxi or Mega license to use Collaborate.
• Your administrator must allow collaboration for your account. The setting is Enable users to collaborate with folders under HTTP(S) in the ProVide web admin interface, and it can be turned off for individual users or groups.
• Sign in to the ProVide web interface with your own account.

Step 1: Select the folder #

In the ProVide web interface, right-click the folder you want to share, or click the checkmark to the left of the folder name. If you right-click, a menu opens next to the folder.

Step 2: Click Collaborate #

Click Collaborate in the right-click menu or in the header menu. The Collaborate window opens, titled with the name of the folder. Under Access, it shows who can open the link. If only Anyone with the link is available the administrator needs to configure the Email Settings under the details tab in the administration interface.

You can also open the folder and, with nothing else selected, click Collaborate in the header menu. This shares the folder you are in.

Step 3: Enter the link text #

Enter a text in Displayed link text. This is the text shown to users as the clickable link, so choose one that tells them what the folder is for, such as a project or partner name.

Step 4: Turn on Advanced settings #

Turn on Advanced settings to show the options for password, expiration, and notifications. If you want a link with no password or expiry, go straight to Step 6.

Step 5: Choose the settings you need #

Turn on the settings that fit how the folder will be used. All of them are optional.

• Password protection requires a password to open the link.
• Link expiration sets the period during which the link is active.
• Message when someone downloads from here notifies you when someone downloads from the folder.
• Message when someone uploads to here notifies you when someone uploads to the folder.

Your administrator can enforce some link settings for every collaborate link, such as requiring a password.

Step 6: Enable link sharing #

Click Enable link sharing. A dialog opens with the collaborate link.

Step 7: Copy the link #

Copy the link from the dialog. You can reuse the same link as many times as your settings allow.

Step 8: Send the link #

Send the link to the people who should have access, for example by email or chat message. If you set a password, send it through a different channel than the link. This reduces the risk that a single intercepted message is enough to open the folder.

Result #

The collaboration is active and appears under Collaborate areas in the left menu of the ProVide web interface. To check that the link works, open it in a private or incognito browser window. You should see the collaboration area, after a password prompt if you turned on password protection. Files that collaborators add or change show up in the folder in your own ProVide account.

What can people do in a ProVide collaboration area? #

People who open a collaborate link can upload, download, create, rename, and delete files and folders in the shared folder. Everything they do is visible to everyone else with the link and to you. You see their changes when you open the folder from your own ProVide account. If you turned on the message settings, you’re also notified when someone downloads from or uploads to the folder.

Collaborators can also edit files directly on the server with ProVideLink (Windows & Mac). They right-click a file and choose Edit, and the file opens in their local application and saves straight back to the folder. Collaborators work in the folder on your server instead of passing copies around by email or outside cloud services.

Who can open a collaborate link? #

The Access setting at the top of the Collaborate window shows who can open the link. With Anyone with the link, anyone who has the link can open the collaboration area within the limits you set. With Password protection, people must enter the password first. With Link expiration, the link works only during the period you chose.

Without a password, anyone who gets hold of the link, for example through a forwarded email, can open the folder and change or delete files there. Turn on password protection and link expiration whenever the folder holds anything sensitive.

From ProVide 17.3.1, your administrator can also require people to verify their identity before they get in, either with a one-time code sent to an approved email address or through your organization’s single sign-on (SSO) provider. The administrator enable MFA for each link type in the HTTP(S) section.

How do I edit or disable a collaboration? #

You can change a collaboration’s link text or settings, copy its link again, or turn it off at any time.

1. Click Collaborate areas in the left menu. A list of all your collaborations opens.
2. Click the collaboration you want to change. Its settings and link open.
3. Change the link text or settings. The link stays the same, so people who already have it can keep using it.
4. Click Disable if you want to turn the collaboration off instead. After that, the link can no longer be used.

Collaborate, Share, or Receive: which link do I need? #

ProVide has three link types for exchanging files with people who don’t have a ProVide account. Collaborate is the only one that gives two-way access to a whole folder.

Feature	What the link gives	Use it when
Collaborate	Access to one folder, with upload, download, create, rename, and delete	A group needs to work on the same files over time
Share	Download of a single file	You want to send one file to someone
Receive	An upload page for one folder	You want someone to send files to you

For step-by-step instructions, see how to share a single file with ProVide’s Share feature and how to collect files with ProVide’s Receive feature.

Related #

How one-time password (OTP) verification protects ProVide shared links explains how administrators can require people to verify their email address before they open a collaborate link.