vBoxxConnect provides users with the ability to share various items with other people within their organization. This includes both primary and secondary resources. For instance, vBoxxConnect offers default calendars, contact lists (address books), task areas, and more. These can be shared, and each new "folder" you create (a new calendar, a new task area, etc.) can also be shared individually. For email folders, parent folders can be shared with any subfolders created within the parent folder, or individual subfolders can even be shared separately. This makes collaboration with colleagues within your organization highly convenient and flexible.

When syncing with a mobile device or certain desktop clients using protocols like EAS and EWS, shared items may be available on those devices and in those clients. However, each device and client behaves slightly differently, and not every shared resource may be available to you due to device/client limitations or protocol restrictions. For example, using the Gmail client on an Android device may not allow you to receive shared tasks. Additionally, some clients behave differently based on the type of permission given to a shared item. Generally, shared items sync when the item is shared with full permissions, as opposed to read-only or availability. Clients like eM Client and Outlook generally reject any share with a different permission type.

The following areas can be shared with other organization members:

• Email Folders - Parent folders and subfolders
• Calendars - Primary and secondary
• Contact Lists / Address Book - Primary and secondary
• Tasks - Primary and secondary
• Notes - Primary and secondary

This means that areas like online meetings, news feeds, and file storage are the only areas without traditional sharing options. However, both online meetings and file storage are inherently collaborative. They can be "shared," just not in the same way as contacts, tasks, etc.

Shares, Sync, and MAPI/EWS

Any client connecting to vBoxxConnect via MAPI/EWS has direct access to all shared resources, whether these shares are assigned in webmail or not. MAPI/EWS protocols behave differently from webmail because both protocols automatically "see" all resources shared with the connecting user. Therefore, there may be some inconsistency between shares in webmail and in an MAPI/EWS client. While shares automatically occur in webmail, there may be cases where a share does not appear in webmail but is available in Outlook for Windows connecting via MAPI. In such cases, the user just needs to verify that the share is correctly displayed in webmail.

Shares via webDAV

In broad terms, webDAV is a network protocol for creating interoperable, collaborative applications. In the context of a mail server, webDAV is split into two protocols created for specific functions: calDAV for calendars and cardDAV for contacts. Both protocols are designed for collaborative software, whether client or server, needing to maintain, access, or share specific items (namely calendars and contacts, respectively).

Both calDAV and cardDAV are supported by various clients and applications, as well as web-based services, as they are both robust and free solutions for sharing items. For example, some scheduling services can connect via calDAV to a user's calendar, allowing the service to know the user's availability, and any appointments made using the service can be added to the user's calendar.

To share items via calDAV or cardDAV, a user simply needs the webDAV URL for their account. Whoever the link is shared with can then use the link for calendar apps, contact apps, or even email clients to access all shares made available by the user. To find the webDAV link, a user simply logs into their webmail account, navigates to Settings > Account, and then copies the link from the WebDAV-card.

How to Share

There are several different ways to share items: from within an area itself or from the Shared Folders area of your user settings. One important thing to know about sharing is that when you initiate a share with someone or revoke sharing, these actions happen automatically. This means the other person—or those other people—don't need to do anything. They'll either see the shared item, or it will be removed. The same applies if something is shared with you or if that sharing is revoked: it will simply appear or disappear.

Sharing an Individual Item

Whether you're sharing a calendar or a task list, the process is essentially the same. The only real difference is that with vBoxxConnect, you can share individual email folders instead of calendars, task folders, etc., which are essentially all-or-nothing shares since there's nothing sub-item within those areas. Therefore, an email folder requires a user to right-click to open a context menu providing options, while a calendar, for example, automatically opens the options for that calendar when clicked directly. This latter action is the same for Tasks, Notes, and Contacts.

Regardless of how you access the share option of a folder, you will see the following:

• Users - In this area, you can share the item with one or more users, and each user added to the share can have their own permission level. These are:
  -None - This permission acts as a 'denial' and is therefore only available to users.
  -Availability - This permission is exclusively used for calendars and means the user with this permission can see if a person is available for scheduling purposes but cannot view the calendar or its appointments/events.
  -Read-only - This means the user can only view the items in the share (calendar items, contact lists, etc.) with no control over editing items, adding items, etc. For example, a read-only share might be suitable for a colleague who needs access to a contact list but doesn't need to manage contacts in any way.
  -Manage - With this access, others can add, edit, and/or delete items within the share. (But more importantly, NOT the share itself.)
  -Owner - In this area, you can share the item with groups of users previously set up. When sharing with a user group, the same permission levels are available EXCEPT for None, as this is a permission that only applies to the user.

  

Using the Share Area

Another way to share items is through the Sharing section. You can access this by navigating to Settings > Sharing. You'll notice that this area is divided into two different tabs: Shared with Me and Shared with Others.

Shared with Me

This tab displays all items that have been shared with your user. This includes email folders and subfolders, contact lists, tasks, and notes. On this tab, the following is shown:

• Shared By - The user who is sharing the item with you.
• Folder - The name of the 'folder' that is shared. This is essentially the name of the shared item. (For example, Meeting Room A)
• Type - The type of shared item: calendar, email folder, notes, etc.
• Attached - Indicates whether the item is actually attached to your user. If it's not attached, it is not accessible.
• Subfolders - Indicates whether subfolders within the parent are also shared with you.
• Permissions - The permission level you have for the shared item. (For example, read-only)

Clicking on an item in the Shared with Me list opens the details of the item. You can see the name, who shared it, and the permission for the item. In some cases, there are also customization options and additional information available. For calendars, for example, you can customize the color of calendar items to adjust how they are displayed. Finally, you can link or unlink the share from the modal window. You can also easily link or unlink items by checking the box next to the item and then clicking the appropriate button at the top of the content window.

You will also notice the 'Attach' and 'Detach' buttons. Although sharing happens automatically, there may be a need to remove or detach a shared item for some reason. For example, if your CEO's calendar is shared with you, but you need to show your calendar to someone (possibly a client), you might temporarily want to detach the CEO's calendar from yours so that no sensitive information is displayed. In this case, you select the CEO's calendar and click the Detach button. Once the potential client leaves, you would then select that calendar and click the Attach button. The key here is that you removed the share, but the CEO didn't. Therefore, the calendar is still shared with you but temporarily detached.

Shared with Others

This tab displays the items that you have shared with others within your organization. It provides similar information to the Shared with Me tab, including:

• Folder - The name of the 'folder' that is shared. This is essentially the name of the shared item. (For example, Meeting Room A)
• Type - The type of shared item: calendar, email folder, notes, etc.
• Subfolders - Indicates whether subfolders within the parent are also shared.
• Permissions - The permission levels associated with the share. This is an indication of how many users and/or user groups the item is shared with.

Clicking on an item opens the options. This allows you to modify the share by adding additional users, changing permissions for existing users and/or user groups, etc.

It is also possible to create a new shared item via the Shared with Others tab. Simply click the New button at the top of the content window. This opens a new modal and provides the following options:

• Folder - The type of share you want to create, based on the "folder" or item you want to share. This dropdown lists all items you can share: all calendars, all email folders, all address books, all notes, and all tasks.
• Users - In this area, you can share the item with one or more users, and each user added to the share can have their own permission level. These are:
  -None - This permission acts as a ‘denial’ and is therefore only available to users. Suppose you have set up a user group for your marketing department.
  -Availability - This permission is exclusively used for calendars and means the user with this permission can see if a person is available for scheduling purposes, but cannot view the calendar or its appointments/events.
  -Read-only - This means the user can only view the items in the share (calendar items, contact lists, etc.) and has no control over editing items, adding items, etc. A read-only share, for example, might be suitable for a colleague who needs access to a contact list but doesn't need to manage contacts in any way.
  -Manage - With this access, others can add, edit, and/or delete items within the share. (But more importantly, NOT the share itself.)
  -Owner - With this access, others can rename and/or delete the specific folder being shared. In short, they use everything shared as if it's their own material.
• User Groups - In this area, you can share the item with groups of users previously set up. When sharing with a user group, the same permission levels are available EXCEPT for None, as this is a permission that only applies to the user.

As you can see, the process for sharing contacts, calendars, tasks, and even email folders is essentially the same and relatively straightforward: you select the item you want to share, add the users and/or user groups you want to share with, and set the access rights for each. After saving your settings, the items are automatically assigned to the people you have shared them with.

Delegation

One feature of Microsoft Outlook (and a few other clients, like eM Client) is the ability to set up "Delegation." Delegation is the process by which another user in your domain gains access to your user and its associated items (such as Calendar, Notes, etc.) and acts 'on behalf of' you, based on the permission level you've set for them.

The advantage of this is that someone (an employee, an executive assistant, etc.) can assist you in managing your schedule, answering questions for you, handling tasks for you, etc. For particularly busy individuals, it can be useful to have someone else help with managing tasks. Delegation can be highly beneficial. When actions are taken "on behalf of" someone (such as sending a meeting invitation), it is also noted on the item, even when viewed in the webmail client.

The delegation process is handled within the client itself, outside of vBoxxConnect. On the Delegation tab, you can easily see to whom you have delegated access and what permission level has been granted to each user. On this tab, you can also remove a delegate.