Folder Ownership

mike_hölscher

When you add a folder in the Documents overview, it is by default owned by the company. Can this be changed to be owned by 'me'? So I can have a folder that no one else sees. For top-secret projects

jakeramsley

mike_hölscher said:

Allright, clear.

I just noticed I configured everybody as admin. Only 3 users in this company.
So, with these settings, if I understand correctly, nobody is able to create their own personal folder that nobody else sees.

I think it is nice to have a personal folder, also for members. This might be an improvement request.
It could be an option to select ownership when creating a new folder, just like when creating a new file.

Hi mike_hölscher,
Please add an improvement request if this is something you would like.

One of the reasons for this change is to have tighter data management, especially in a company setting.  The thinking being, if a company is paying for a user to use Onshape, then the company (Admins and Owner) should have insight into what they are working on in that account.  If you were to give people in your company individually owned folders/documents, then the only access you can have into their work is if they decide to give you access (and likewise have no way of preventing them from giving access to other users).

Individual ownership also prevents the use of company based custom metadata (and any other future company-based features).


As folder permissions are additive, my suggestion would be to setup top level folders for each person you want to have a "personal" folder and share it with them with full permissions.  This means any document or folder created inside of the folder will also get these permissions.  Other members of the company will not be able to view the folder by default, unless the folder or documents are shared but it also means that Admins of the company can see what members are working on.

mike_hölscher said:

EDIT: Hmm, slighty off-topic. What happened to the option of selecting ownership when creating a new document? I can only fill in the document name now... Help menu still says it should be possible: https://cad.onshape.com/help/#createdocument.htm?TocPath=Getting%20Started|_____4

This is something we missed updating and should be corrected soon.  The documentation for this is not currently correct.

bradley_sauln

When you create documents or folders they are Owned by the company but all company members do not immediately see it. Other company members will see the folder if you share it with the company via the share dialog. Company Admins will see this folder so they can help control the flow of information etc. 

As an example take a look at the image below:


The user on the left is a regular company member and the user on the right is a company admin. There is a new folder created by a member titled: "NEW FOLDER_PERSONAL". Notice how it is only seen by the Admin user.

With that said, if you want to have a personal folder so you can work on side projects or have personal documents I'm sure speaking with your company admin and/or manager will open a dialog to have personal folders for each user that is not shared with anyone else outside your discretion.

mike_hölscher

Thanks. So, is this correct?

1. A folder created by a normal user in a company, without sharing:
a. Is not seen by other normal users in the company.
b. Is seen by the company admin.

2. A folder created by a normal user in a company, with sharing:
a. Is seen by the normal users in the company the folder has been shared with.
b. Is also seen by the company admin, also when not shared with the admin.

3. A folder created by the company admin:
a. Is seen by all users in the company, with or without sharing enabled on the folder.

So for a company admin (me) it is impossible to have a personal folder?

bradley_sauln

1 and 2 are true. 3 is false.

Correction to 3:
A folder created by the company admin:
a. Is not seen by other normal users in the company if no sharing has taken place.

So as a company admin you actually have a little more privacy as there is no overhead admin (unless you have multiple in your company) that has access to it.

p.s Great breakdown of the different scenarios

mike_hölscher

Allright, clear.

I just noticed I configured everybody as admin. Only 3 users in this company.
So, with these settings, if I understand correctly, nobody is able to create their own personal folder that nobody else sees.

I think it is nice to have a personal folder, also for members. This might be an improvement request.
It could be an option to select ownership when creating a new folder, just like when creating a new file.

EDIT: Hmm, slighty off-topic. What happened to the option of selecting ownership when creating a new document? I can only fill in the document name now... Help menu still says it should be possible: https://cad.onshape.com/help/#createdocument.htm?TocPath=Getting%20Started|_____4

jakeramsley

mike_hölscher said:

Allright, clear.

I just noticed I configured everybody as admin. Only 3 users in this company.
So, with these settings, if I understand correctly, nobody is able to create their own personal folder that nobody else sees.

I think it is nice to have a personal folder, also for members. This might be an improvement request.
It could be an option to select ownership when creating a new folder, just like when creating a new file.

Hi mike_hölscher,
Please add an improvement request if this is something you would like.

One of the reasons for this change is to have tighter data management, especially in a company setting.  The thinking being, if a company is paying for a user to use Onshape, then the company (Admins and Owner) should have insight into what they are working on in that account.  If you were to give people in your company individually owned folders/documents, then the only access you can have into their work is if they decide to give you access (and likewise have no way of preventing them from giving access to other users).

Individual ownership also prevents the use of company based custom metadata (and any other future company-based features).


As folder permissions are additive, my suggestion would be to setup top level folders for each person you want to have a "personal" folder and share it with them with full permissions.  This means any document or folder created inside of the folder will also get these permissions.  Other members of the company will not be able to view the folder by default, unless the folder or documents are shared but it also means that Admins of the company can see what members are working on.

mike_hölscher said:

EDIT: Hmm, slighty off-topic. What happened to the option of selecting ownership when creating a new document? I can only fill in the document name now... Help menu still says it should be possible: https://cad.onshape.com/help/#createdocument.htm?TocPath=Getting%20Started|_____4

This is something we missed updating and should be corrected soon.  The documentation for this is not currently correct.

mike_hölscher

Thanks @jakeramsley ! That makes sense. In our small company with 3 Onshape Accounts trust is no issue. We know we use Onshape sometimes for occasional personal projects and trust each other in terms of confidentiality. I understand that for larger companies private folders for users can become an issue. Did not think so far. Thanks for the clarifications.

brucebartlett

Looks like some light reading for latter here. @bradley_sauln & @jakeramsley  

MBartlett21

When you create a document as a company admin, you can change the ownership to you.

Go to the share dialogue and choose owner, instead of edit

Then type your own email address in there and click share.

It then hould be owned by you.

mike_hölscher

Aha, this also seems to work for folders! I now have a folder owned by me.
But in practice it does not really matter because it was not shared with anyone, so no one except admins saw it anyway.

rokerson

Picking up on this thread - we're just starting out with OnShape.

It appears that "member" folders are only visible to the member that created the folder. "Admins" can see everyone's folder in the "My OnShape" tab.

I can understand the rationale for having visibility into everyone's folders, but as a heavy CAD user it creates a lot of noise when I'm doing my own work.  Is it true that admin's will see the folders for the entire company all the time? Is it possible to toggle between your own folder structure and the company's?

john_mcclary

Welcome to Onshape (by the way the 's' is lowercase) 

If you create a folder and transfer the ownership of the folder to your account, then it no longer is a part of the company and will no longer be visible to the company.
So, it is treated like a personal folder.
Anything you move into that folder will automatically ask if you want to transfer ownership.
If you create a document within the folder, then it will automatically be owned by you and not alert the company admin when transfering.

I do this myself, it works pretty good. It helps separate work from play.

The downside is: Documents that reside in your personal folder will no longer have access to company settings
(Material, items, custom properties)

But for personal projects, that usually isn't a big deal.