A Partner Channel is a structured, two-way exchange path under a Partner's root folder. It pairs a folder for files you deliver to the partner with a folder for files the partner submits to you, and it sets the access for both in one step.

Because the partner channel defines this structure, Files.com creates the outgoing and incoming folders and applies their permissions automatically, and keeps them consistent for every partner. Each partner exchange is a single configuration.

A Partner can have more than one channel when an exchange needs separate paths.

Partner Channel Folders and Directions

A partner channel has a base folder and two directional folders beneath it. Saving the partner channel creates the base folder and both directional folders automatically. The partner channel's base path must either not exist yet or already exist as an empty folder, which the save converts into the partner channel's base folder.

The two directions are named from the partner's perspective:

The Pickup Folder holds files your site delivers for the partner to retrieve. Its default name is outgoing.
The Drop-off Folder holds files the partner submits to your site. Its default name is incoming.

A channel's Folder Path is a relative path. It gives the partner channel's location beneath the Partner's root folder, such as EDI, and is the path the partner sees. The Channel Folder Path is the corresponding absolute path on your site, such as partners/Acme Co/EDI, which administrators see in the partner channel's settings. The Pickup and Drop-off folders are created inside it.

A Folder Path is not limited to a single level. You can place channels at multi-level paths, such as EDI/X12/Orders and EDI/EDIFACT/Orders.

Creating a Partner Channel

Site Administrators and Workspace Administrators manage Partner Channels. Workspace Administrators manage only Partners within their own Workspace.

A channel's configuration has three parts: Channel Details, Files To Partner, and Files From Partner. You set the partner channel's Folder Path, configure the Pickup Folder for files going to the partner, and configure the Drop-off Folder for files coming from the partner. Each direction can optionally use a Linked Folder.

You can name both the Pickup and Drop-off folders in the settings. If you leave a name blank, the default name is used.

Partner Channel Permissions

A Partner Channel sets its permissions automatically, and they are inferred rather than created as editable permission rows. Partner Users receive:

non-recursive List Only access at the partner channel's base folder,
recursive Read Only access on the outgoing folder, and
recursive List Only and Write Only access on the incoming folder.

This gives the partner read access to retrieve files you place in the Pickup Folder and write access to submit files to the Drop-off Folder. Folder Permissions shows the Partner Channel context for these folders and keeps the inferred permissions out of the editable permissions table, so the partner channel's access model stays intact and cannot be partially edited into an inconsistent state.

A Partner Channel's permissions are independent of any other folder permissions the Partner has been granted. The partner channel grants access only to its own folders, and it neither extends nor is changed by other access permissions that the Partner has been granted. A Partner Channel can be set up only within the Partner's root folder, not within any other folder the Partner has permission to use, which keeps each channel contained to the Partner's own area.

Non-Partner users can be given access to the partner channel's folders through ordinary folder permissions. Those permissions are entirely separate from the partner channel's inferred permissions. Granting a non-Partner user access to a partner channel folder does not change what the partner can do, and the partner channel's permissions do not affect the non-Partner user's access.

Linked Folders

Each direction can optionally use a Linked Folder. A Linked Folder points the partner channel's Pickup or Drop-off folder at another folder, so the two locations show the same files. Anything in the target folder appears in the partner channel folder, and anything placed in the partner channel folder appears in the target. Partner Users keep working in the partner channel path, while site operations resolve to the linked folder. Routing is automatically configured on the partner channel itself, and no separate Automation is required for it.

A Linked Folder can point to a folder on the local site, on a Remote Server Mount, on a Child Site, or in a Workspace. Linking to a folder in a Workspace is only supported from the default Workspace, which can link into any other Workspace. A partner channel in a non-default Workspace cannot use a Workspace as a Linked Folder target. Files.com validates that the target exists and is accessible before saving. Linking to a folder on a Remote Server, for example, requires that the Remote Server is online and that the folder exists there.