Skip to main content
Documentation

Clickwraps

A Clickwrap is a configurable agreement that requires explicit acceptance before a person can proceed. This means that a Clickwrap gates access entirely, and people cannot access your Files.com site until they actively indicate agreement. If they decline, they cannot proceed.

Clickwraps have two uses in Files.com. For user accounts, they gate web app login: someone who has not accepted the required terms cannot proceed past the login screen. For external visitors, they block access to a Share Link or Inbox until the visitor accepts.

Both uses draw on the same pool of Clickwraps. A single Clickwrap can be configured to apply at login, on Inboxes, on Share Links, or any combination. The settings on each Clickwrap determine where and how it is used.

Clickwraps are designed for human users, so they are displayed only to people accessing your site through the web interface. People connecting in any other way are not shown Clickwraps. This means that if a user only connects through protocol access like SFTP, and you require a Clickwrap on every login, that user is not prevented from connecting even though they never see the Clickwrap.

Who Can Create and Modify Clickwraps

Only Site Administrators can create, edit, and delete Clickwraps. This restriction exists because Clickwraps represent legally significant agreements. Allowing non-administrators to modify the text or reassign them would undermine their enforceability and create compliance risk.

Clickwrap Settings

Each Clickwrap has a name, body text, and a set of availability settings that control where and how it is presented. The availability settings are independent of each other, so a single Clickwrap can be active at login, on Inboxes, and on Share Links simultaneously.

Clickwrap Name

The Clickwrap name is used for internal identification only. It is never shown to the person accepting the agreement. Use a name that makes it easy to distinguish between multiple Clickwraps, particularly when several are active at once.

Clickwrap Body Text

The body of the Clickwrap is the agreement text displayed to the user or visitor. Body text is written in Markdown, which supports headings, bold, italics, numbered and bulleted lists, and hyperlinks. There is no length limit; the display scrolls appropriately on any device.

Editing the body text of a Clickwrap configured to require every user to accept it once does not re-prompt users who have already accepted. Their acceptance record remains valid against the original text. To require re-acceptance after a terms update, create a new Clickwrap with the revised text and assign it the same Availability mode.

Best Practices for Clickwrap Body Text

Effective Clickwrap text uses clear, plain language organized with headings and logical sections. Avoid dense legal prose without structure because readers are more likely to engage with agreements that are easy to scan.

Make sure every link is descriptive. The text around a link should make it obvious where it leads; avoid using "click here" or bare URLs. If your agreement references an external policy document, link to it directly.

Files.com renders Clickwrap body text in a scrollable display that works on any device, so length is not a constraint. Shorter agreements with a clear structure are more likely to be read than long unbroken blocks of text.

Clickwrap Availability for Users

The Availability for Users setting controls whether and how the Clickwrap is shown to users who log into your Files.com site using the web interface. There are four options.

When None is selected, the Clickwrap is not shown to web app users at login.

When Require for new email signups is selected, users who authenticate via the email signup method must agree to the Clickwrap the first time they log in to create their password.

When Require all users to acknowledge this document on their next web sign-in is selected, users who successfully log in to the web UI see the Clickwrap before any pages render and must accept before accessing site content. Subsequent logins skip the prompt. Use this option when you need all users who access the web UI, regardless of authentication method, to agree to the Clickwrap.

When Require all users to acknowledge this document on every web login is selected, the Clickwrap always appears on the web UI login page, and users cannot log in without agreeing. Use this option when acknowledgment must be confirmed at every session rather than stored once.

One Active Clickwrap Per User Availability Mode

Each option that displays a Clickwrap to users can only be assigned to one Clickwrap at a time. Assigning a mode to a new Clickwrap removes it from the one that previously held it.

All three modes can be active on different Clickwraps simultaneously. You could have three Clickwraps all running at the same time: one for new email signups, a second shown to all users on their next login, and a third shown on every login.

Clickwrap Availability for Inboxes

The Availability for Inboxes setting controls whether and how the Clickwrap can be used with Inboxes. There are four options.

When Do not allow this document to be required for Inboxes is selected, the Clickwrap cannot be attached to any Inbox.

When Allow any user to require this document for their Inboxes is selected, Folder Admins can attach the Clickwrap to Inboxes they manage.

When Allow only administrators to require this document for Inboxes is selected, only Site Administrators can attach the Clickwrap to an Inbox.

When Require all Inbox recipients to acknowledge this document is selected, the Clickwrap is automatically applied to all Inboxes on the site. Only one Clickwrap at a time can be set to apply to all Inboxes.

The Availability for Share Links setting controls whether and how the Clickwrap can be used with Share Links. There are four options.

When Do not allow this document to be required for Share Links is selected, the Clickwrap cannot be attached to any Share Link.

When Allow any user to require this document for their Share Links is selected, any user can attach the Clickwrap to their own Share Links.

When Allow only administrators to require this document for Share Links is selected, only Site Administrators can attach the Clickwrap to a Share Link.

When Require all Share Link recipients to acknowledge this document is selected, the Clickwrap is automatically applied to all Share Links on the site. Only one Clickwrap at a time can be set to apply to all Share Links.