Administrating container (folder) creation for workspaces

iManage Control Center allows an iManage system administrator to control who can add containers at the top (root) level of any workspace, regardless if the default security of the workspace is set to Private, Public, or View.

Containers include folders and template folders, search folders, Share folders, and tabs.

Using the Access rights required for creating folders under workspaces option on the Global settings page, administrators select either:

  • Full Access: only users with administrator and owner-level permissions to a workspace can create containers at the top (root) level of the workspace. They can also edit and delete these containers created by other users.
  • Read/Write: users with Read/Write or Full access to a workspace can create containers at the top (root) level of the workspace. Users with Read/Write permissions will not have permission to delete or alter any containers they do not own.

This setting applies to:

    • All libraries. It cannot be set on a per-library basis.
    • iManage Cloud customers: Cloud customers receive updates on a rolling basis. If you do not yet see this setting, look for it in a future Cloud update.
    • On-premises customers: iManage Control Center 10.3.1 (or later)

Impacts to legacy behavior

Previously, iManage Control Center included a setting Allow folder creation in public workspaces which controlled whether a user needed to have Full Access or Read/Write access to create containers at the root level of a workspace when the workspace default security was set to Public.

This legacy setting will continue to be honored: the existing value is automatically translated into the corresponding value of the new option, however the new setting broadens the capability to include workspaces with Private and View default security.

Legacy Setting: Allow folder creation in public workspaces

Behavior after update

True

Users with Read/Write access to any workspace will now be able to create top (root) level containers.

False

Only users with Full access to any workspaces will now be able to create top (root) level containers.

IMPORTANT

Once an iManage system administrator updates the Access rights required for creating folders under workspaces setting in iManage Control Center, any legacy settings will be overwritten and the new configuration will be applied across all libraries. This action cannot be reverted.

All subsequent configuration changes must be must performed only in Control Center.

On-premises iManage Work

Previously, the legacy setting Allow folder creation in public workspaces was applied per library to control whether a user could create containers at the root level of a Public workspace. This option could be either Full Access ("N"), or Read/Write access ("Y").

In on-premises environments, the legacy setting was controlled using the "Allow Folder Creation in Public Workspaces" registry key on iManage Work Server. This registry key is deprecated in version 10.3.1, and is replaced by a new global setting that must be set using iManage Control Center. Changes to this registry key are no longer be honored.

If the system detects that the legacy setting is present, iManage Control Center will display message: "Legacy settings detected". Until you select either Read/Only or Full access in Control Center, this message will continue to be displayed and the legacy behavior will continue to be used.

IMPORTANT

Once an iManage system administrator updates the new Access rights required for creating folders under workspaces setting in iManage Control Center, any legacy settings will be overwritten and the new configuration will be applied across all libraries. This action cannot be reverted and the administrator must use the Control Center setting exclusively going forward.

Classic Clients

NOTE: When this setting is configured to Read/Write, users of classic clients with Read/Write access to a workspace will only be able to create containers in workspaces where the default security is set to Public.
The option to create containers will be disabled for workspaces with default security set to Private or View, as shown:


As a workaround, classic client users can create a container:

  • Using Work 10 Web
  • Using Flexible Folders by installing iManage Work 10 Add-Ons for Classic Clients
  • Enabling compatibility mode and creating the container in the iManage Work panel, as shown:

The capability for classic clients to create containers in workspaces with default security set to Private or View is planned for a future release.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: When does this new functionality take effect?
A: The legacy behavior continues to be used until the new global option in Control Center is set.
Modifying this setting in Control Center generally takes up to 1 hour to take effect, but may take up to 8 hours for the change to be replicated to all regions, based on your iManage Work environment. End users do not need to restart or sign in again. For on-premises environments, the Work Server service does not need to be restarted.

Q: Can this setting be controlled per library?
A: No, this setting applies to all workspaces across all libraries.

Q: Can I allow users to create root level containers with Read/Write permission to public workspaces, but require Full Access permission in all other workspaces?
A: Going forward, you must decide between requiring Full Access or Read/Write access in order to create containers under ANY workspace regardless of its security (Public, Private, or View).
If you are a new customer, any user with Read/Write access to a workspace can create folders at the root level of that workspace.

Q: What about Share folders?
A: Share folders behave the same as all other folders with regard to this setting. If you want users with Read/Write access to workspaces to be able to create Share folders at the top (root) level of these workspaces, you must set Access rights required for creating folders under workspaces to Read/Write.

Q: What about Tabs?
A: Tabs are organizational containers for folders. They appear at the root level of a workspace. This new setting applies to the creation of Tabs at the root level of the workspace.

Q: What about Flexible Folders?
A: There is no change in the behavior of flexible folders (folders created using a template), or custom folders (folders created manually without a template). Based on your selection for this Access rights required for creating folders under workspaces global setting, users require either full access or read/write access to any workspace in order to create folders at the top (root) level, regardless of the default security applied to the workspace (Private, Public, or View).

NOTE: iManage Share folders can be created at the top (root) level of a workspace, even when the workspace is using a Flexible Folder template.

For more information about Flexible Folders and the use of templates, see Templates.

Q: Does this setting apply only to new workspaces, or existing workspaces as well?
A: This setting applies to both new and existing workspaces.

Q: Our existing iManage Work deployment has the "Allow Folder Creation in Public Workspaces" setting enabled. What is the new behavior?
A: See Impacts to legacy behavior.

Q: What iManage applications does this setting affect?
A: This setting affects all iManage Work applications that permit creation of folders.