Microsoft SharePoint is a cloud-based service offered by Microsoft to host and manage documents and files from any device. With New Collaborate you can automatically create a new SharePoint site and begin sharing files with customers for a secure, seamless way to manage your documents.
This article details how to configure your practice’s New Collaborate settings and filing structure to enable you to co-edit and share documents and folders with your clients. The setup is completed from within the Automations menu and Collaborate app.
Watch the tutorial to learn how to set up your Collaborate site, or follow the steps below.
Step 1 - Create New Collaborate SharePoint Site
FYI Admins can create a SharePoint site directly from FYI, and all permissions will be automatically configured, including Guest User access.
- In FYI, click the Automation menu option.
- Go to the Apps tab.
- Locate the Collaborate tile and click the cog icon to edit it.
- You may be prompted to update your Security Permissions to upgrade to New Collaborate. Click Proceed to consent on behalf of your organisation.
For more information on the permissions refer to the article FYI Microsoft Permissions Update: What is it and what it means for your practice
- The Collaborate Prerequisites display.
- Confirm each of the prerequisites by clicking the toggle to switch to Yes. The Next button will not be available until all prerequisites have been completed.
Important: to save any changes, you must click "Next" to proceed through the settings for each of the tabs, and click "Next" on the final tab to commit the updates.
Note: The Data Retention Policy is an optional but recommended setting. To continue without a Policy being implemented, set the toggle to "Yes" and continue the setup. Refer to Configuring a SharePoint Data Retention Policy for New Collaborate.
- Click Next. The Configuration settings will be displayed.
- Create a new Collaborate Site by clicking the plus + button on the right of the Collaborate Site field. Enter a name into the New Collaborate Site Name field. FYI will automatically create and configure the site for you with the required permissions.
Alternatively, you can select an existing SharePoint Communication Site from the drop-down (if the OneDrive Admin already has access to an existing SharePoint site).
- The Document Library field will be greyed out if creating a new site. If using an existing site with multiple Document Libraries, ensure you select the correct one from the drop-down.
- The Microsoft Group will be set to "Everyone except external users" by default. This is the Security Group used to control sharing and access to documents.
- The Microsoft 365 security field must be set to "Guest users".
- Assign the Default Email Template that you created as the first step of setting your practice up for Collaborate - refer to Setting up Collaborate Email Templates.
Select the template, or you can search for this by typing at least 3 letters of the email template name. - Click Next.
- Follow the steps below to set up the Share folder structure, or click Next to proceed through the tabs and commit your updates.
Important: you must click Next on the final tab before your changes will be saved.
Step 2 - Set up the Share folder structure
You can configure the folder structure that FYI will automatically use for all documents within your SharePoint Document Library. For example Client Name > Year.
Note: The folder structure for New Collaborate is unrelated to the folder structure for Team Co-Edit using OneDrive. Changes made to New Collaborate will not impact the OneDrive folder structure.
The Share folder structure must be set up with Client Name as the first level. When the folder is created, the Folder Name (the Client Name) will automatically add the Client ID at the end. This ensures that Clients with the same name are still provided with a unique folder.
The Client ID can be found in the URL when viewing a client in FYI.
To configure your Folder Structure:
- From the Available List in the left-hand pane, select and drag the relevant fields to the Structure List in the right-hand pane.
- Then drag the selections in the Structure List up and down to order the fields, so they match the filing structure you want.
- Click Next.
If a level in the filing structure does not exist in the filing details of a document, New Collaborate will ignore this level and create the next level down.
The Reset button will reset the structure list back to its default settings. It will not update your settings until you click Next and complete the remainder of the setup instructions.
It is important to configure the Share folder structure correctly from the start. Any changes will only apply to documents shared from that point on - existing documents will use the previously selected Folder Structure.
- Once your set-up is complete, the Collaborate - Finished message displays. The link to your new Collaborate Site will be displayed - click this link to open the site.
Note: We recommend bookmarking this link.
- Click Close.
Note: If you have multiple SharePoint libraries, you can now optionally edit your Data Retention Policy to limit the policy to your new Collaborate site only. Refer to Configuring a SharePoint Data Retention Policy for New Collaborate.
Step 3 - Check your SharePoint site status
Now that your site has been created, clients can now be sent invitations to the Collaborate site.
As a final check, follow the instructions in Checking your Collaborate Status to review the status and resolve any errors.
Step 4 - Access the Collaborate Site in SharePoint
Once the site has been created it's recommended to customise it with logos, branding, and more. Refer to Customising your New Collaborate site on SharePoint.
Note: It can take up to 30 minutes for permissions to be applied before other users will be able to access the site. The Site Owner, the OneDrive Admin account, will be the only user able to access the site during that time.
A link to your new site will be displayed in the Collaborate app settings, however, you can also access the site from within Microsoft Admin.
- Open the Microsoft Admin site
- From the menu on the left click ... Show all
- Under the heading Admin centres click SharePoint
- Click Active sites from the menu on the left
- Your new Collaborate site will be displayed in the list. Click the URL to open the Collaborate site in a new tab.
Refer to Customising your New Collaborate site on SharePoint to begin customising your site.
