Access Across Sites and Storage
A partner's exchange folder can lead to an internal folder, another Files.com Site, or connected storage. The path people use determines where access is granted and activity is recorded. The location holding the files determines which processing and retention rules govern them. Understanding both lets administrators grant an exchange without unintentionally changing how its files are handled.
Access at Each Site
Files.com checks the account or credential recognized by each Site involved. A Partner Channel Route Path uses the requester's permission on the Channel path; it does not require another grant on the target folder on that same Site. Crossing to another Site adds that Site's access check. A permission on the first Site cannot supply access missing on the next one.
| Connection | Access Required | Folder Settings Governing the Files | History Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner Channel Route Path | Requester's permission on the Channel path | Final target folder's settings | Channel path |
Child Site folder at _/Sites/<child-site-id> | Parent Site Administrator access | Child Site's settings | Both Sites, each at its own path |
Connected Site folder at _/Sites/<host-site-id> | Guest-side access and the Host Partner's permission for every operation | Host's settings | Both Sites, each at its own path |
| Remote Server Mount | Requester's permission on the mounting Site and the remote connection's access | Mounting Site's supported settings | Mounting Site's mount path |
| Files.com Remote Server mount | Requester's permission on the mounting Site and the paired API key's permission on the other Site | Both Sites' settings, with mount support determining those available on the mounting Site | Both Sites, each at its own path |
Folder listings, file counts, and folder sizes include only content permitted by all applicable access checks. A connection can lead through another route or mount; the same rules continue to apply at each Site it reaches.
Sharing requires Share permission from every Site involved. A Share Link that includes files in a Files.com Remote Server mount requires both the creator's Share permission on the mounting Site and the paired API key's Share permission on the other Site, on the folders being shared.
Connected Site Access and Sharing
The Guest's own permissions and workflows follow the Guest's settings. The Host Partner's permissions limit what any Guest feature can reach on the Host. Guest administration does not grant authority beyond those Host permissions.
A Guest Share Link cannot include Host files under _/Sites/<host-site-id>, including when a Guest Site Administrator creates or changes it. A Host Partner can never hold Share permission. Creating a link or changing its paths or permissions to include Host files therefore fails with the same permission error as sharing any folder without Share permission. The Guest's Share Links to its own files follow the Guest's sharing settings; the Host's sharing settings do not apply to them.
File Rules and Folder Structure
A route or a folder under _/Sites/ gives another view of existing files. It does not create another copy or a separately configurable set of file rules. Through a route, file processing and retention come from the final target. Through _/Sites/, they come from the Site storing the files, whose Folder Settings remain private to that Site. The viewing Site's root processing or retention settings do not carry across the connection.
A Remote Server Mount is a folder administered on the mounting Site, backed by remote storage. Its supported Folder Settings govern work through that folder alongside the remote account's access. Recursive settings above a mount apply only when they support mounts. File Expiration has a further boundary: a rule above a mount stops there, so expiration of native files does not also remove connected storage's files. Configure expiration on or within the mount when those files need it. Archive Removed Files and Storage Location (Region) apply only to native storage.
A Files.com Remote Server mount also reaches another Files.com Site. Both Sites' file rules apply. For example, an Archive Removed Files rule on the storing Site can preserve a file deleted through the mount in that Site's archive, even though the mounting Site cannot apply its own archive rule inside a mount. Scope & Inheritance explains where to configure Folder Settings.
Folder structure remains protected along the access path and at the destination. Lock Subfolders, Permission Fences, Partner Channel directional and Managed Folder rules, and finalized Snapshot restrictions continue to apply wherever the operation reaches them. Routing does not let a partner place files at a level reserved for Managed Folders. Locks above a Channel path apply alongside the target's locks.
Site Controls and Activity
Archive Only Mode and administrator lock bypass apply separately on every Site involved. A lock bypass on one Site relaxes only that Site's own locks. A Parent's lock bypass does not remove a Child's locks, and a Guest's bypass does not remove a Host's. The separate connection controls for native Files.com Remote Servers determine which network and protocol restrictions apply to that connection.
Each Site records activity using its own paths in History Logs. Its notifications, Event Channels, and Automations use that record. Routed activity uses the Channel path, letting an exchange have its own responses even when several Channels share a target. Activity through _/Sites/ or a Files.com Remote Server is recorded on both Sites; direct work inside a Child Site does not create a Parent-side record.
Notifications report activity rather than process file contents. Recursive notification Folder Settings on a viewing Site's root can therefore respond to its _/Sites/ activity even though that Site's processing and retention settings do not govern the other Site's files.