iManage Share - A guide to secure document sharing

This guide will walk you through essential tasks and steps to help you share documents securely using iManage Share for Work 10.

We'll cover:

• Sending a secure link via Outlook
• Creating and sharing an iManage Share folder
• iManage Share folder overview, navigation and options
• Accessing iManage Share directly

Using iManage Work 10 offers numerous benefits for managing your documents and emails efficiently. It provides a centralised platform where you can securely store, organise, and retrieve your files. Integrated with MS Office and available as a stand-alone web version, iManage Work 10 ensures you can access your information from multiple platforms, enhancing your productivity and streamlining your workflow.

Sending a secure link via Outlook

The Secure Send option in Outlook converts any email attachments to an iManage Share link before you send the email. The attachments will be uploaded to iManage Share and replaced with an iManage Share link. The recipient(s) will open the link to download the attachments from iManage Share.

This is a secure way to share documents, but also a means of sharing very large files - too large for Outlook to handle.

• Compose an email, with your documents attached.
• Click on the Secure Send toggle button on the iManage toolbar.

• The document attachment(s) will be replaced by an iManage Share link in the email body.
• The Secure Send panel will open on the right of the email. It displays the upload progress of the attachment(s) to iManage Share.

Secure send settings

• The Settings tab allows you to specify an expiry date for the secure link. This is set to 7 days by default but can be changed to any date.
• You can also deselect the default setting, which limits document access to the email recipient(s) only.

If you are happy with the settings, you are free to send your email.

Sending a secure link via iManage Work Web

You can send a secure document link to a third-party via iManage Work Web.

Note: you can only generate a Secure Link for one document at a time. Use the Outlook method (above) for sending multiple documents via a secure link.

• Click on the Actions Menu for the document you wish to share.
• Select Share.
• Select Send Secure Link.

You will be asked to upload the document as a New Version, or as a New Document. This option has no real impact and can be ignored.

• Click on Upload.

You are then presented with a few options:

• Expiration Date: you can select a date to expire the document link. The document will not be downloadable after this date.
• Trackable: recipients must enter their email address to access the document.
• Restricted: you can specify who is able to open the secure document link. See the next section for more guidance on this feature.

Optional - restricting access to a document link

When the Restricted option is selected, an additional field becomes visible. 

• Type an email address and press enter on your keyboard. This will add that user to the access list.
• Repeat this process to add additional people to the access list.

Generating the link

• Once you have selected the desired options, click on Generate Link.
• Click on Copy to copy the link to the clipboard. 
• You can now paste the link into an email and send it to the desired recipient(s).

Creating and sharing an iManage Share folder

iManage Share allows you to securely share documents with external parties. This can be done on an ad-hoc basis (document by document) or via the creation of a shared folder. iManage Share folders sit within the project Workspace, making ongoing collaboration visible and easy.

Creating a Share folder

• Navigate to the relevant Workspace.
• Click on Actions Menu for the Workspace.
• Select ‘New Shared Folder’ from the menu.

Note: if this option is unavailable, contact your system administrator.

• Enter a meaningful name for the folder.
• The folder will be shared with all Workspace members (your colleagues) by default. This option can be removed if needed.
• Click Create.

The folder will be created and is visible in the Workspace.

• Our bespoke iManage training packages

Inviting people to the Share folder and setting security

With the Share folder selected (click on the white space to the right of the folder name):

• In the Properties pane, click on the View Security Details button.
  • If the Properties pane is not visible, click on the Show Details button.

• Type the email address of the first person you want to invite to the Share folder.
• Optional: you can change their access rights at this point. Collaborator is the default option.

Access rights available:

• A Co-Owner can: perform all tasks the Owner can perform, with the exception of removing the Owner from the folder, changing the owner’s security permissions, or renaming the Share folder.
• A Collaborator can: copy, download or add documents and sub-folders; view document history, the sharing permissions assigned and obtain a secure link to a folder; invite other users (only if the folder Owner or Co-Owner has enabled re-sharing); change user access levels for Guest users; tag and edit existing documents.
• A Guest can: copy or download a document; mark the folder as a favourite.

Note: as the folder creator, you will be listed as the owner of the Share folder, with full security access rights. It is recommended that you add a colleague as a Co-owner, so they can manage the Share folder in your absence.

• Press enter on your keyboard to add the user to the folder member list.
• Once you have added the Share folder members, you can still change their access rights at this point.
• Each member will receive an email, inviting them to access the Share folder. You have the option of writing a personalised message to new members here. 
• If you tick the ‘Allow others to re-share this folder’ option, members with Co-Owner and Collaborator access will have the ability to invite other people to the Share folder.
• When you are happy with the members you have invited and their security settings, click Apply.

Note: you can return to these options, at any point, by selecting the Share folder and clicking on the View Security Details button. 

Adding documents to a Share folder

• Place a tick in the checkbox of each document you want to share.
• Click on the Share option above the document list.
• Select Copy to Share Folder from the drop-down menu.
• Select the correct Share folder from the list.
• Click on Copy to Folder.
  
  

Note: the key word here is ‘copy’. The document(s) will be copied from iManage Work into the iManage Share folder, as they look at this point in time. If these documents change in iManage Work, you may need to copy them into the iManage Share folder again.

You can copy the document(s) into iManage Share as a New Version, or New Document:

• If you have previously copied a document into iManage Share, you can add the updated document to the shared folder as a new version.
• New Document will save the document as version 1, and potentially create a duplicate document (if it has been uploaded previously). We therefore recommend selecting ‘New Version’ every time. 
• Click Save to complete.

iManage Share Folder overview, navigation and options

You have several options available when you access a Share folder via iManage Work Web. Additional options are available when you access iManage Share via the dedicated web address. This reference guide provides an overview of both access methods, and assumes you have the relevant permissions to access all the options listed below.

Accessing a Share folder in iManage Work web

When you are in the Workspace which contains the Share folder (the folder is blue):

• Click on the Share folder name.

Share folder overview

When viewing a Share folder in iManage Work Web, you are presented with the following layout:

1. Folder contents: the main part of the screen contains the folder contents. This may be documents or sub-Share folders. You can see the file type, the document name, who last modified the document and when this occurred.
2. Filters: if the folder contains several documents, you may find the filters useful. They should be familiar to anyone who uses iManage Work Web.
3. Search: you can search the contents of the folder using the search field. This will search by document name, folder name (if sub-folders exist) and document tags (see below for more information on tagging documents).
4. Folder options: can be accessed here. See the next section for more information.

Folder options

• Upload: allows you to upload a document, that is saved outside of iManage, to the Share folder.
• New: creates a new sub-folder. It will inherit the members and permissions of the parent folder. You can share this folder with additional people, but you cannot remove anyone who has access to the parent folder. 
• Share: you can add additional members to a folder and amend the access rights of existing members (including removing members).

Folder Actions menu

Contains additional folder options:

• Download: allows you to download the folder and its contents (outside of iManage).
• Subscribe: iManage Share can alert you, via an email, if new content has been added to the folder.
• Share Link: you can generate a link to the folder, which can then be sent to members as a reminder of the folder location.
• Unshare: stops this folder being shared and removes all members from the access list.
• Send Upload Request: you can generate a link to provide ad-hoc access for someone to upload documents to this folder. They will not be able to access the existing folder contents – they can only upload new content.
• Rename: allows you to rename the folder.
• View Activity: displays a chronological list of folder changes, such as permissions and new members.

Document options

When you point to a document, options will appear to the right of the document name.

• Download: download the document, outside of iManage.
• Move to Trash: deletes the documents from the Share folder (if you have Owner or Co-Owner permissions to the folder).
• Document Actions Menu: all document options can be accessed from here (see below).

Document Actions menu:

Many of the options listed require Owner, or Co-Owner permissions:

• Details: opens a full screen preview of the document.
  • Note: clicking on a document name will also launch the preview.
• Download: outside of iManage Share.
• Tags: you can add a tag to a document (e.g. as a way of categorising documents), which is then displayed below the document name. These tags are also searchable. 
• New Version: allows you to upload a new version of this document (from outside of iManage), which will replace the current document in the folder. The older version can be accessed via the Details option.
• Share Link: you can generate a link to the document, which can then be sent to a member of the Share folder.
• Rename: allows you to rename the document.
• View Activity: displays a chronological list of document activities, such as views, downloads and new version uploads.
• Save to iManage Work: copies the document back into iManage Work. You have the option of saving this as a new document, or a new version of an existing document.
• Move to Trash: deletes the document from the Share folder.

Bulk document options

You can perform many of the above document actions to multiple documents (permissions allowing).

• Place a tick in the checkbox of each document.
• The Bulk Actions menu will then appear above. You can download, tag, save back to iManage Work and delete documents in bulk.

Accessing iManage Share directly

You can access iManage Share directly (i.e. not through iManage Work Web), which allows you to access all your shared folders in one place. 

You should have been sent a link to iManage Share previously, where you set up an iManage Share password. The web address is usually in this format:

www.imanageshare.co.uk , or www.imanageshare.com 

Please contact your system administrator if you are unsure of the correct address or your login credentials.

iManage Share web interface

This has a similar layout to a Share folder accessed via iManage Work Web, with a few additions:

1. Main menu: allows you to navigate all areas of iManage Share, including your Favorites (see below for more details on this), the documents you have previously sent as a secure link (via Outlook or iManage Work Web) and your Trash folder, where deleted Share documents and folders can be recovered. 
   • The company option, in my case Ascertus, will display a list of all Share folders you have access to. Other organisations may be displayed here – for example, if someone from another organisation has shared content with you (i.e. they also use the iManage Share tool in their organisation). 
2. Content: the option selected from the main menu will determine what you see in the main part of the screen.

Additional actions

The Actions Menus, for both shared folders and documents, are largely the same as those in iManage Work Web, with a couple of additions:

Folder actions:

• Copy & Move: you can move or copy a Share folder to a new location (within another Share folder). The folder will then inherit the permissions of the parent folder.
• Add to Favorites: will add a link to this folder to your Favorites area – which can be accessed from the main menu.

Document actions:

• Copy & Move: you can move or copy a document to a new location (within another Share folder). The document will then inherit the permissions of the parent folder. 
• Create Shortcut: you can create a shortcut to a document and save it in another Share folder. To access the link, a user must have permissions to both Share folders.
• Flag as in use: places a flag against the document, to let collaborators know this document is being used, or is still needed, etc
• Add to Favorites: will add a link to this document to your Favorites area – which can be accessed from the main menu.

See also

• Our bespoke iManage training packages
• Don't have iManage yet?  Visit our iManage DMS product page.