At companies that run Windows, Active Directory is the one place that holds everyone's passwords and groups. Files.com checks logins against it — and any LDAP directory — directly, so people sign in to file transfer with the same login they type for Windows, and access follows the directory the way every other company system does.
Files.com checks each login against Active Directory, or any LDAP directory, at sign-in time — the same username and password behind Windows logins and network drives. Nothing is copied or synced into a second password store.
This is the big one. With AD or LDAP, the same directory password works over the website, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, the Desktop App, mobile, and the API — not just the browser. Cloud sign-in services can't do that, and it's the main reason teams pick LDAP.
Remove someone from Active Directory and they lose Files.com access the same way they lose every other company login. Access tracks the directory, so a departing employee is cut off everywhere at once.
Say that only members of a certain directory group get Files.com accounts, and let that same group decide which folders they can reach. The access setup already in your directory carries straight through.
Set a backup directory server and Files.com switches to it on its own when the main one can't be reached — so people can still sign in during directory maintenance and outages.
Your directory says who someone is. It was never meant to decide which folders they touch, or what they can do once inside a file platform. Files.com adds that part on top of the directory it checks logins against — fine-grained folder access, a full record of everything, and a connection built for directories that live behind the firewall.
Set access per person or group, folder by folder — with nine levels, the ability to block a folder, and fenced-off admins. The groups you already have in your directory feed straight into it.
Every sign-in and permission change lands in the Files.com audit log, and the hourly directory sync is recorded too — the history a SOC 2 review or an access dispute asks for.
Files.com connects with a read-only account limited to the parts of the directory you pick, and uses a secure, encrypted connection (LDAPS) so passwords are never sent in the clear.
Most setups can't reach an internal-only directory. Files.com can: either add its published IPs to your firewall's allow-list, or run a small Files.com Agent inside your network that reaches the directory for you — without ever exposing it to the internet.
The directory password works over the website, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, the Desktop App, mobile, and the API. Company credentials work over the file-transfer protocols, not just the browser — which no cloud sign-in service can do.
Set a backup directory server and Files.com switches to it on its own when the main one can't be reached, so people can still sign in during directory maintenance and outages.
Every login is checked against the live directory right then, so a password change or a disabled account takes effect at the very next sign-in. There's no sync to wait on.
Pick Active Directory/LDAP in Files.com and point it at your directory — the server address, a read-only account, and which part of the directory to search. Use this when the same password has to work over the file-transfer protocols, not just the browser. Works with on-premises and hybrid directories.
If the directory sits behind the firewall and you'd rather not open it to the internet, run a small Files.com Agent inside your network. It reaches the directory from inside, so the directory server never needs an open inbound port.
When you move the directory to the cloud, run Entra ID alongside LDAP, switch people over one at a time, and turn off LDAP once everyone's moved. No flag day, no lockout.
A person connects over SFTP with their Active Directory username and password — the same one they use for Windows — with no separate Files.com password or key. The directory checks the SFTP login, not just the browser one.
Only members of a chosen directory group get Files.com accounts, and that group also decides which folders they can reach. The access setup already in your directory carries through.
The main directory server goes offline for maintenance, Files.com switches to the backup, and people keep signing in without a break.
A company moving from on-premises Active Directory to Entra ID runs Entra alongside LDAP, tests one person, moves the rest, then turns off LDAP — no flag day, no lockout.
The folder-by-folder access, with nine levels, that your directory groups feed into.
Learn MoreWhere every sign-in and permission change is recorded, ready to export for a compliance review.
Learn MoreHow folder permissions reach FTP, SFTP, and WebDAV — not just the browser a person signs into.
Learn MoreRules that decide how long files stick around once someone has put them in Files.com.
Learn MoreWhat buyers ask about how Files.com connects to Active Directory / LDAP, what it costs, and what the integration actually does.
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