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Bulk Create Partners

Create many Partners at once by uploading a CSV import file. This is commonly used during migration from a legacy system.

You can populate all of the important values for a Partner in your CSV import file. Files.com validates the file and shows warnings and errors before it creates any Partners.

Bulk Create Partners is available only in the web interface. Only Site Administrators and Workspace Administrators have access to the Bulk Create Partners feature.

Supported CSV Columns

The table below lists the columns supported in the Partners bulk create CSV file. The name column and the root_folder are required. We recommend also populating the folder_permissions to minimize manual setup after importing the Partner.

Column NameDescriptionAcceptable Values
nameThe name of the Partner. This column is required.Any text.
root_folderThe Partner's root folder path. This column is required.Text containing a valid folder path, e.g. Partners/Acme. Do not include leading or trailing slashes.
folder_permissionsFolder permissions for the Partner. All permissions must be within the Partner's root folder.Text containing a list of folders and permissions, separated by pipe symbols (|), to assign to the Partner. Value if omitted or blank: empty
allow_user_creationControls whether Partner Admins can create users for this Partner.Y or N. Value if omitted or blank: N
allow_credential_changesControls whether Partner Admins can manage credentials for users in this Partner.Y or N. Value if omitted or blank: N
allow_bypassing_2fa_policiesControls whether Partner Admins can bypass two-factor authentication policies for users in this Partner.Y or N. Value if omitted or blank: N
allow_providing_gpg_keysControls whether Partner Admins can provide GPG keys for users in this Partner.Y or N. Value if omitted or blank: N
allowed_ipsRestricts connections for users in this Partner to specific IP addresses or CIDR ranges.One IP address or CIDR range per line within the cell. If using a spreadsheet application, add line breaks within the cell rather than typing \n. Value if omitted or blank: empty
notesAdministrative notes for the Partner.Any text. Value if omitted or blank: empty

Assigning Folder Permissions

We recommend using the folder_permissions column to add permissions for your Partners at the time of import.

Automatically assign folder permissions to a Partner with the folder_permissions column of the import file. Supply a list of folders and permissions, separated by pipe symbols, to be assigned to the Partner (see example). Folders that don't already exist are automatically created during import.

If you omit the folder_permissions column or leave it blank for a Partner, the Partner is created without any folder permissions. Partner Users will not be able to access any folders until permissions are assigned manually after import.

Partners cannot be granted admin, bundle, or history permissions. Use the permission values from the table below.

ValueDescription
fullCan read, write, move, delete, and rename files and folders
readonlyCan list and download files and folders
writeonlyCan upload files and create folders
readwriteShorthand for readonly,writeonly
previewonlyCan list files and folders, preview using the web UI, but not download.
listCan list files and folders, but not download

Example Folder Permissions

Partners/Acme/Incoming=writeonly|Partners/Acme/Outgoing=readonly

This defines 2 permissions: Partners/Acme/Incoming=writeonly and Partners/Acme/Outgoing=readonly. All folders must be within the Partner's root folder. If any of those folders do not exist, they are created automatically.

Advanced Usage Notes

If a folder name contains a vertical bar, for example Partners/Acme/TEMP|Project, the vertical bar must be escaped with a preceding backslash: Partners/Acme/TEMP\|Project=readonly.

Folder permissions are applied recursively to all sub-folders by default. To limit a permission to the specified folder and not its sub-folders, add an asterisk * after the permission value. For example, supplying Partners/Acme/Incoming=writeonly* creates a non-recursive write-only permission for the Partners/Acme/Incoming folder.

Root Folders

Root folders are created automatically when they do not already exist. If a specified root folder path already exists, it is treated as success and the Partner is created normally.

Allowed IP Addresses

The allowed_ips column sets the IP whitelist for the Partner. Every Partner User can connect to the Files.com site from any address in the list, regardless of the site-wide IP whitelist configuration.

Partner Import Validation

Before creating any Partners, Files.com validates the uploaded CSV file. This validation checks file structure, required fields, and data integrity.

The best practice is to address all warnings and errors from the validation step before processing a file so that your import file is directly comparable to the results you obtained. This reduces complexity and makes it easier to follow up on issues with new Partners.

Common Partner CSV Validation Errors

The pre-validation step of the import notifies you of problems that prevent importing your records. The most common types of failures are listed below.

Partner Name is Required

The name column must be included in your import header row, and it must not be blank in any of your data rows.

When every row of your import file reports the error name is required., check that the first row of your import file contains a correct header row. Failing to include the header row means that every record is invalid because no column is identified as containing the name. When you see this error, edit the import file to fix the problem.

When only some of your Partner records display the name is required. error, look for missing commas or quotes. Edit your input CSV and start the import process again.

Duplicated Partner Names

Partner names must be unique in your site. If you try to import a Partner name that already exists somewhere in your site (even in a separate Workspace), the importer will not create the new record.

Root Folder is Required

The root_folder column must be included in your import header row, and it must not be blank in any of your data rows.

When every row of your import file reports the error root_folder is required., check that the first row of your import file contains a correct header row. Failing to include the header row means that every record is invalid because no column is identified as containing the Root folder. When you see this error, edit the import file to fix the problem.

When only some of your Partner records display the root_folder is required error, look for missing commas or quotes. Edit your input CSV and start the import process again.

Invalid Boolean Values

The allow_user_creation, allow_credential_changes, allow_bypassing_2fa_policies, and allow_providing_gpg_keys columns only accept Y or N as values. Any other value in one of these columns causes that row to fail validation.

To fix the error, edit the affected cells to contain only Y or N and re-upload the file.

Invalid Folder Permission Type

Partners cannot be granted admin, bundle, or history permissions. If any value in the folder_permissions column uses one of these permission types, that row will fail validation.

To fix the error, replace the disallowed permission type with one of the supported values and re-upload the file.

Folder Permission Path Outside Root Folder

All paths in the folder_permissions column must be located within the Partner's root_folder. If a permission path is outside the root folder, that row will fail validation with the message Folder permissions must be set on the Partner's Root Folder or one of its subfolders.

To fix the error, update the affected folder_permissions values so that all paths fall within the Partner's root folder, then re-upload the file.

Errors in Partner CSV Structure

Errors related to file structure, column formatting, and other general CSV issues, are listed with the discussion of CSV Import Files.