Experience Seamless Web-Based Collaboration with Egnyte

In today’s global workplace, organizations must access their content anytime, anywhere, and from any device. The web browser enhances productivity through seamless web-based collaboration without the added trouble of installing and setting up myriad apps.

Access, share, create and edit content from anywhere with a simple web browser like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Safari, etc. You can continue to work on the workflow and productivity applications your team prefers, thus boosting collaboration.

Quick Access to Your Content

Regardless of whether you have a few files or tens of thousands, you can get one-click access to your centralized repository. Browsing is fast even when many users are accessing the same online repository simultaneously. You can bookmark your favourite content to ease your access for next time. The system also supports advanced search functions that let you search through metadata.

Edit Using Your Preferred Apps

Open your files through the browser on any device, edit them using your preferred application (Office Online, Google Docs, etc.), and save them seamlessly without requiring specialized software. With our web-based collaboration, the file gets synchronized with the central server automatically.

Sharing Made Easy

Share your file with just a few clicks using the Egnyte Web UI. You can create a file download link to share a document with a specific user base. You can share links over email or any other collaboration apps, like Microsoft Teams or Slack, that your organization uses. Enjoy secure sharing once you set permissions (read-only, no downloads), passwords, and expiry limits.

Collaborate on a Single File

Web-based collaboration allows your entire team to access the same file concurrently. Co-author using Microsoft Online or Google Docs, use integrated task manager to set action items on individual files, and use comments and @mentions to create a workflow with detailed activity streams and versioning. Every action on the file gets saved in a detailed audit log in case of conflicts.

Egnyte Web is seamlessly integrated with industry-leading editing applications like M365 and Google Workspace, allowing you to continue working with your chosen applications without sacrificing access to your centralized content.

Let’s better understand how web-based collaboration works with Microsoft Online.

Creating a File

You can create a new file in a specific folder or directly from the home dashboard. Using the Create dropdown, you can select the file format you want to create, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Here, you have the option to open a blank document or one based on a pre-stored template. Give the document a name and start working. If a folder is not selected, documents are stored in the user’s private folder by default.

Opening and Editing a File

Go to the folder where the file is present. It could be a specific sub-folder or your default private folder. Right-click on the file, or check the checkbox next to the file name. Hover over the Open-in option and pick the right tool to edit the document. When you save your work, it automatically updates the latest version to your central repository.

Drag and Drop

The Egnyte Web UI has intuitive Drag-and-drop provisioning, allowing you to move files between folders easily and move folders themselves. You can quickly copy a file or folder from one location to another with the same functionality.

Important Points to Note

• Administrators must enable integrations with Google Workspace or Office for web-based collaboration. Your Office365 account has an active subscription.
• Office Online does not support certain file types. These documents will then only open in Read-Only mode. Additionally, Office Online has certain file size limitations (100 MB for Word, 300 MB for PowerPoint and 5 MB for Excel).

File Collaboration Through Co-Editing

Explore the power of web-based collaboration through its superior co-editing capabilities. You can edit the same file through the Web UI or the mobile and desktop apps while maintaining control over sensitive information. Every activity on the file gets tracked and logged to ensure you comply with your regulatory obligations.

Open a File for Co-editing

Navigate to the folder that you require on Egnyte Web. Click on the option Co-edit in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, depending on the file format. Your administrator can also allow you to co-edit in Google Docs, giving you the freedom to choose your preferred working environment.

Keep Track of Changes

All other collaborators editing the document concurrently will show up automatically to allow real-time changes by multiple users. You can leave comments or tag specific individuals in the file to leave action items for others. You can create project workflows by assigning task names, descriptions, assignees and deadlines. Create a multi-step review and approval process so that once a person completes working on the file, the system automatically notifies the next person in the chain to act.

Control Your Collaborations

You can decide permissions by restricting the user list to groups or individual users. If required, you can set the system to allow only one user to edit the file at any given time. This means the file would appear locked and in read-only mode to everyone else until the user who has it opened for editing decides to close their work.

Simplified and Powerful Sharing Solution

Sharing information is now a mandatory part of our workday. When working with highly sensitive content, we must ensure that the information will not fall into the wrong hands. In highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare, secure content sharing is a compliance requirement.

With web-based collaboration, you can make content sharing easier, quicker and safer.

Sharing Files

Share a link to your file so that users can access your information without the need to log into the system. You can email the link to the respective individuals directly from the UI or copy the link and use your application of choice (Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc.) to share the link. Set the following controls and limits on how individuals can access the document to ensure your content remains secure.

• Set the link to expire at a certain date or after a certain number of clicks.
• Set whether the link always points to the most recent version of the file or whether it references only the version you are sharing.
• Choose to share a public link that anyone can access, a password-protected public link, a private link for other users in your account, or a user-restricted private link that only specified users can access.
• Choose whether users can download the file or whether they can preview it only.
• Request an email notification whenever the link is clicked.

Share Folders

You can share folders with business associates or colleagues to provide them access to specific material. The process is very similar to that of sharing a file. It provides you with all the same controls related to security and permissions. If your folder is password protected, the same will have to be entered by the recipients before they see the list of files available to them.

Direct Links

While both the above options are for sharing information with people who do not have access to it, Egnyte Web also allows you to quickly share a Direct Link to a folder with a team member who has permission to it already.

Web-based collaboration comes with the advantages of centralized control, overview and secure access to your organization’s content. However, another important aspect from an employee’s point of view would be utilizing these benefits with minimal disruption to their way of working. This is where the integration of Egnyte Web with all of the popular productivity, collaboration and governance applications in the marketplace comes into play.

Google Workspace

Leverage Google Docs, Sheets and Slides to collaborate on encrypted files stored in the central repository. Retain access to your personal files from Google Drive as and when needed.

Microsoft Office

While we’ve already read about how Office Online can be perfectly integrated with the Web UI, you can also choose to co-edit using Microsoft Office Desktop.

Salesforce

Access and share business files in Salesforce without limits on storage capacity or file size. Securely upload data sheets, presentations and videos directly from Salesforce portals onto the central server.

DocuSign

Word documents, spreadsheets, text files, PDF files, and images can all be sent for eSignatures or payments directly from Egnyte Web. Once the DocuSign app is configured for your account, you can right-click on the file and select Send with DocuSign.

Outlook, Teams, Slacks and More

Continue collaborating on any app your team is comfortable with. Access the online server content directly from the app and share your files while ensuring security and permissions are set just as in the Web UI.

Hacks to Boost Productivity

In order to make web-based collaboration a seamless part of your workplace, Egnyte provides some effective productivity hacks:

• Bookmarking

  The folders you require most often can be made available instantly using this feature. Just click on the star next to the folder name on the browser, and your folder will be available as a bookmark the next time you need it.

• Granular Permissions

  You can provide permissions to a specific parent folder while disallowing specific sub-folders (containing sensitive information). The setting also applies to specific files. Granular permissions do away with the need to provide permissions at each sub-folder level.

• Activity Streams

  Track updates to your content through activity streams that show all recent actions like uploads, deletions and comments. The activity streams are also an important resource during security audits, specifically to meet contractual and regulatory requirements.

1. How are permission conflicts resolved?

   A: Egnyte uses a very specific hierarchy to ensure conflicting permissions don’t cause issues while allowing users access to a file. Individual user permissions trump group permissions. If a user is part of two groups with differing permission levels, the higher levels take precedence. Permissions set at the deepest level always take precedence over that of parent folders.

2. What happens if a user is editing in Microsoft Office Online and another user tries to update in the Desktop app?

   A: Any edits happening during an online session will cause the file to get locked for all applications outside of Microsoft Online. Let’s say someone is trying to edit the file simultaneously using the Desktop App. The file will simply show as locked, and their upload or edit will be blocked. Only after the file is unlocked will the new upload be allowed.

3. Can I upload files through the Egnyte Web UI?

   A: Yes. You can navigate to the folder of your choice and drag and drop the files from your on-premise server or personal laptop through the Web UI. Empty folder uploads are not allowed. You must check on any limitations your browser places on files of certain sizes. Egnyte sets the file size limit as < 100 GB.

4. How can I control file usage when I share a file with a vendor/customer?

   A: You can create a third-party recipient-specific link for a file that contains sensitive information. This link is configured using a specific email address to which it will be shared. Recipients can access this link once. Every subsequent access will trigger a safety code that will be sent to their email only. The protocol ensures other third parties cannot open your document without permission.

5. Which browsers work with the Office Online integration?

   A: The following browsers support the Office Online integration:

   • Windows 10 & 11: Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome
   • Mac OS X (10.15 and later): Apple Safari 10+ or Chrome
   • Linux: Office Online works in both Firefox and Chrome on Linux. However, some features may not be available.