Skip to main content

Internal File Sharing at Dreambox

  • Updated

Purpose : 
The purpose of this document is to advise DreamBox users on best practice and processes for sharing files internally in the organization using Office 365, and demonstrate how to do so. 

 

Requirements :

In order to share documents to users of DreamBox Learning, the following must be true:

  • Possess a DreamBox Learning (DBL) Okta Account

  • The Microsoft Office tile is visible in Okta

  • Have successfully logged into your Microsoft account using DBL Okta

  • The end user you are sharing documents with must have a valid email address

* NOTE DreamBox has legal requirements that dictate what type of data/content can be shared with whom. If you have ANY question about whether you are permitted to share content with an outside party, please submit a ticket to ithelpdesk@dreambox.com first in order to have your request vetted by the Security Team.

 

Before you start : 

Understand the use cases for different tools

Explains how to choose what tool to share your files


Sharepoint usage

“Like a bulletin board in the office.”

SharePoint is primarily used as an intranet and content management system. It's where you create, organize, and store files and documents that multiple teams or the entire organization need to access.

Use SharePoint when:

  • You need to create a company-wide intranet.

  • You're working on a project with multiple teams and need a common platform to store and manage all files and documents.

  • You need to create workflows or automations for business processes.

  • You want to create public pages or sites within your organization to share news, updates, or resources.

Microsoft Teams usage

“Like a conference room desk.”

Teams is a collaboration hub. It's used for communication within teams (chats, calls, meetings) and collaboration on files in real-time. Teams integrates with SharePoint and OneDrive to allow for seamless collaboration on files.

Use Teams when:

  • You need to communicate with your colleagues through chat, audio, or video.

  • You're working in a small team and want to keep all your communication, files, and tools in one place.

  • You need to set up a meeting, especially if you want to use features like screen sharing or recording.

  • You're working on a document with others in real time.

OneDrive usage

“Like your file cabinet.”

OneDrive is a personal cloud storage service from Microsoft. You use it to 'back up' your files and access them from anywhere. You can share files, but it's mostly meant for individual use.

Use OneDrive when:

  • You're working on files that are not meant to be shared with others, such as personal or draft documents.

  • You want to access your work files from anywhere, on any device.

  • You want to share files with specific people, with more control over who can see or edit them.

  • You need to sync local files to the cloud for backup or remote access.

Note * In practice, you'll often use these tools together. For example, you might store a file in SharePoint, work on it with colleagues in Teams, and then save a backup in OneDrive. The integration between these tools is what makes the Microsoft 365 suite so powerful for collaboration.

 

Check existing permissions first

It is important to know what existing audience and permissions are for the site you are posting to or sharing from.

OneDrive

How to check your OneDrive permissions*

*OneDrive, by design, is yours and yours alone. No one else gets access to the whole drive (unless this has been explicitly requested from a high level to IT). However, individual folders and files can be shared out from it by you. This shows how to check the existing permissions on those folders or files

  1. Open OneDrive on the web

    1. From your Okta homepage, click the Office 365 icon

    2. From the Office 365 Home, click the OneDrive icon from the menu

  2. Click on “My Files” from the left column:

     

     

  3. Right-click on the file/folder you want to check permissions on and select “Manage Access”:

     

  4. A small window will pop open with all the people that have been granted access to that resource – and next to the name of the user, their specific permission (View or Edit) will be displayed as well:

     

     

  5. You may edit these as you see fit

Teams

How to check your Team permissions

  1. Open up your Microsoft Teams application and select one of your Teams:

     

     

  2. Click the ellipses (…) to open a menu like this:

     

  3. A window will open with two expandable sections (“Owners”, and “Members and Guests”):

     

     

  4. You can click on each one of these to expand the section and see the list of users and their role. It should be assumed that ALL of these people have access to EVERYTHING stored in the Team, unless you have personally inspected the folder and channel permissions to ensure that they have been specifically locked down

SharePoint

How to check your SharePoint site permissions

  1. Navigate to the Documents section of the Sharepoint

     

     

 

2. Look at the upper right of the page to see how many members of that site exist:

 

3. If you click on the Members link there, it will pop open a list of all current members of the site:

 

 

4. Vet these before you add or share any files/folders

 

 

Sharing Files Internally : 

OneDrive

How to share files with other DreamBox users in OneDrive

  1. Open your OneDrive folder to the file or folder that you want to share

  2. Right click on the item you’d like to share internally, and click “Share”

    Mac Example:

     


    Web Example:

     

  3. You will see a window similar to below – notice that the default permission is “People you specify can view”:

     

     

  4. You may specify in the top field with whom you’d like to share this file or folder – this can be individual users, or it can be an existing group, or a mix of both:

     

     

  5. Double check that you are only sharing this file/folder to the people you intend to. If you include a group, be sure you know all the members included in that group and are ok with them viewing the file/folder.

  6. Click the “Send” button to email a link to the file/folder to all the users you specified in step 4. Alternatively, you can click “Copy link” to get a link to the clipboard, which also retains the permissions you set in step 4. You may paste this link wherever you need it to be available.

 

Teams

How to share files with other DreamBox users in MS Teams

  1. Open Teams to the file or folder you would like to share (you can see all files using the “Files” tab at the top of your Team)

  2. Right click on the file or folder you want to share, and select “Share” from the drop-down menu:

     

  3. You will see a window similar to below – notice that the default permission is “People you specify can view”:

     

  4. You may specify in the top field with whom you’d like to share this file or folder – this can be individual users, or it can be an existing group, or a mix of both:

     

  5. Double check that you are only sharing this file/folder to the people you intend to. If you include a group, be sure you know all the members included in that group and are ok with them viewing the file/folder.

  6. Click the “Send” button to email a link to the file/folder to all the users you specified in step 4. Alternatively, you can click “Copy link” to get a link to the clipboard, which also retains the permissions you set in step 4. You may paste this link wherever you need it to be available.

 

Sharepoint

How to share files with other DreamBox users in Sharepoint

  1. Open SharePoint by clicking on the Office 365 icon in your Okta dashboard, then select SharePoint from the menu in the upper left of the O365 home page.

  2. Navigate to the site from which you want to share your file/folder.

  3. Right-click on the file/folder you would like to share and select “Share” from the menu:

     

  4. You will see a window similar to below – notice that the default permission is “People you specify can view”:

     

  5. You may specify in the top field with whom you’d like to share this file or folder – this can be individual users, or it can be an existing group, or a mix of both:

     

  6. Double check that you are only sharing this file/folder to the people you intend to. If you include a group, be sure you know all the members included in that group and are ok with them viewing the file/folder.

  7. Click the “Send” button to email a link to the file/folder to all the users you specified in step 4. Alternatively, you can click “Copy link” to get a link to the clipboard, which also retains the permissions you set in step 4. You may paste this link wherever you need it to be available.

Related articles