Setting up SharePoint by Silex: folders and groups

These steps are carried out by the account holder of the Silex organisation, once, before members start uploading documents. Steps 4 to 6 are described in the article on restricting a folder.

Step 1 — Sign in to the SharePoint site

Sign in with the SharePoint credentials you received by email when the storage was activated. You land on the site; your documents are in the Documents library.

Step 2 — Create the folders

In Documents, click + Create or upload → Folder, and create your structure: the top-level folders (a shared folder for the whole firm, one folder per office), then inside each office a shared folder, the known matter folders and one space per person. Tip: in a folder's … menu, Folder colour lets you flag restricted folders visually, for example in red.

Step 3 — Create one group per office or team

A group saves you managing people one by one: when someone joins or leaves, you change the group, and every folder linked to it follows.

• Click the gear icon Settings, then Site permissions, then Advanced permissions settings.

• Click Create group and name it — for example "Geneva office".

• Under Group owner, you can name the office manager: they will be able to add and remove members of their office themselves, without being owner of the site.

• In the section offering to give the group a permission on the site, tick nothing: access will be granted folder by folder.

• Confirm, then add the members: in the group, New → Add users.

What next?

Restrict each office folder to its group, then create the personal spaces and confidential matters. See the article on restricting a folder in SharePoint by Silex.