Set folder access and client visibility
Choose what each client can see and do, and understand how parent folders limit access.
Folder access controls what clients can see and do in Files. Team members set it from Sydnee. The same access settings apply when a client opens a link.
What do the access choices mean?
- Full Access: allowed clients can upload, rename, move, favorite, and delete files. They can also manage versions when client versioning is enabled.
- View Only: allowed clients can open and download files, but cannot change them.
- Hidden: clients cannot see the folder or its contents.
- Custom Access: you choose specific teammates and portal users. A selected teammate has access to the folder. Each selected portal user gets Full Access or View Only. Everyone else is hidden from that folder.
Custom Access is about people, not a general client setting. Two people in the same client account can have different access. Teammates can either have access or not. They do not get a View Only choice.
How do you change a folder's access?
- Open the folder in Sydnee.
- Open its settings or client access control.
- Choose Full Access, View Only, Hidden, or Custom Access.
- If you choose Custom Access, select each person and their level.
- Save the change.
Review the folder after saving. Moving a file into this folder makes the new parent rules apply.
How does folder inheritance work?
A parent folder sets the highest access a client can have below it:
- A Hidden parent makes every folder and file inside it hidden.
- A View Only parent keeps everything inside it at View Only or Hidden.
- A child cannot turn Full Access back on when a parent has already limited it.
- With Custom Access, a person who is not selected is hidden from that folder.
File settings also flow down from the account and folder. A parent may turn off comments or client versions. A child cannot turn them back on.
Does Portal View prove what every client can see?
No. Access can be different for each account user. One portal view cannot prove what every client contact sees.
Check the full folder path and the selected people in Custom Access. When the result matters, confirm what that specific client can open and change. A copied Client Link still asks the person to sign in and follows these rules.
How do Deliverables change access?
When you publish a folder, it becomes View Only for clients. All folders inside it do too. These rules stay in place while the work is published.
Return to folder removes the client page. It also makes that folder and all folders inside it Hidden. Set access again before you share the folder.
What does your client see?
Full Access clients see file controls they can use. View Only clients see preview and download controls. Hidden content does not appear in the portal, search, or a client link.
How do you fix a common problem?
A client can see less than the folder setting says: check every parent folder. A more strict parent wins.
Only one client cannot see the folder: open Custom Access and check that exact person.
The folder is gone after Return to folder: the folder is now Hidden. Set its access again.