Spaces and Shares

External location

Administrators can add an external location from the file system.
An external location corresponds to an existing directory on the server that can be directly integrated into the platform,
making it accessible through a share or a space as an anchored file.

Configuration

When creating or editing a share or a space, the External location button allows you to select a directory to attach:

• from a space in the Files tab
• from a share in the Settings tab

When adding the directory, the system automatically checks the permissions.

warning

The user running the server process must have read and write permissions on the chosen directory.
Always check the directory permissions before adding it.

If the permissions are correct, the directory is then associated with the share or space as an anchored file.

Specifics

Through a share

• When an administrator makes an external location accessible through a share, that share becomes visible and manageable by all administrators.
• A storage quota can be applied to this type of share to ensure better control.
• Since this type of share has no owner and no managed trash, deleting a file permanently removes it. It is not moved to the trash of the user who performed the deletion.

Through an anchored file in a space

• When an external location is integrated into a collaborative space as an anchored file, its content is included in the calculation of used storage to prevent exceeding the quota when a limit is defined.
• When a file anchored to an external location is deleted, it is automatically moved to the space's trash.

Guest and link capabilities

The following table compares guest accounts and the isolated accounts created for space links. It applies only to collaborative spaces. Actions on content still depend on the permissions granted for the space and, for anchored content, on the permissions defined by its owner.

Capability	Guest	Access through a space link
Browse and download accessible content	Available	Available only in the space attached to the link
Add or upload content	Requires Add	Requires Add
Copy content into a location	Requires Add on the destination	Requires Add on the destination
Move content	Requires Delete on the source and Add on the destination	Same
Edit, rename, overwrite, or lock content	Requires Edit	Requires Edit
Delete content	Requires Delete	Requires Delete
Comment on accessible content	Available	Available
Add accessible content to favorites	Available	Not available
Access through WebDAV	Available	Not available
Access a personal space or personal trash	Not available	Not available
Access a collaborative-space trash	Not available	Not available
Anchor personal files	Not available	Not available
Create shares, share links, or child shares	Not available	Not available
Become a space manager or manage its shares	Not available	Not available
Use desktop synchronization	Not available	Not available

A space link remains limited to its collaborative space, while a share link remains limited to the shared item. Neither type of link grants access to any trash. See Trash for details about deletion and restoration.

Trash

Files deleted from personal or collaborative spaces are moved to the trash of their original location, so they can be restored until they are permanently removed. External shares are an exception: they have no managed trash, so deletions are permanent. Access to personal and collaborative-space trash is reserved for administrators and regular users. Guests and link pseudo-users can move active content to the trash when their effective permissions include Delete, but they cannot browse or manage a trash repository. Administrators can enable automatic trash cleanup after a configurable number of days, with separate settings for personal and collaborative spaces.

Configuration

Trash retention is configured through the applications.files.trashRetention section in environment.yaml:

applications:
  files:
    trashRetention:
      users: 30
      spaces: 30

• users applies to personal-space trash.
• spaces applies to collaborative-space trash.

Set a numeric value to enable automatic cleanup after the selected number of days. Use false or 0 to keep automatic cleanup disabled for the corresponding repository type.

info

Automatic trash cleanup is disabled by default to preserve the existing behavior.

Specifics

Personal spaces

• The users retention applies to files deleted from personal spaces.

Collaborative spaces

• The spaces retention applies to each collaborative space's own trash.
• Files deleted from an external location anchored in a space are moved to the space's trash and follow the collaborative-space retention.

External shares

• Administrator-created external shares have no managed trash. Deletions are permanent, and neither retention setting applies.