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Files extension

See Files through a colleague’s eyes, without touching anything

“Why can’t Marco see the Suppliers folder?” Instead of calling Marco, you open it as he sees it: folders, files and effective permissions, read-only, with a banner that always reminds you whose view it is. The personal space is excluded and every session is logged.

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Read-only, declared, logged

The preview shows what the server would answer to that person: the folders they see, the ones empty for them, the effective levels after groups and inheritance. You cannot upload, edit or share; the vault stays closed, because there is no code. From the preview you can however fix two things, with confirmation: remove a direct access from that person or hide a folder from them. The privilege sits in the user type — administrators always have it — and the start of every session lands in the audit log with who looked at whom.

How it works

  1. Choose the person

    From the members panel, “View as user” on a Files member. The server checks you have the privilege and the person is in the tenant, then writes the audit event.

  2. Browse with the banner

    “You are viewing as Marco Ferri — read-only” stays at the top. Open folders, look at effective permissions, understand where the chain breaks.

  3. Fix, if needed

    One direct access too many is removed from there, with confirmation and a warning if there are other accesses in subfolders. Then exit: the session closes and stays in the log.

To understand what a colleague sees you need not become them. Just look.

What you can do

  • Effective, not declared, permissions

    What you see is the result of user type, levels, groups and inheritance, computed by the server as for a real request.

  • Personal space excluded

    The colleague’s personal space is not shown: the preview is for understanding company permissions, not for reading their things.

  • No actions, except two

    Remove a direct access and hide a folder — or a file — from that person. Both ask for confirmation and land in the access change register.

  • User type privilege

    Administrators always have it; for others it is switched on in the user type, for instance for those doing internal support.

  • Every session in the log

    Who looked at whom, when. The colleague too, from their own activity, can know someone opened their view.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open files during the preview?

You see what they would see: if they can preview them, so can you in that session. You cannot edit them, bulk download them, share them, nor open the vault.

Is the user notified?

The session is logged in the audit log and in the activity: whoever wants to know if someone looked at their view finds it there. No real-time notification is sent.

What is it for, in practice?

To close “I can’t see the folder” tickets in a minute: open their view, understand whether an assignment is missing or a group hides it, fix it. And to check, before handing a workspace to a client, that they see exactly what they should.

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