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Channel Defaults: Contacts

Updated

How to Configure Default Contact Settings

1. What This Feature Does

Contact Settings allow administrators to control how contacts are added to channels and how notifications are handled when files are accessed.

These settings help balance collaboration, privacy, and user control across your organization.

You can define:

  • Whether users can add multiple contacts to a channel
  • Whether file access notifications are sent to contacts (retroactively)
  • Whether external users receive notifications (retroactively)
  • Whether notification changes should be applied to existing channels (retroactively)


 

2. Who Can Use It

  • Admin users can configure Contact Settings

Plan-Based Behavior

For Non-Enterprise Plans

  • Settings apply across the entire subscription
  • When a setting is enabled, it is enforced for all users and all new channels
  • “Allow Users to Choose” determines whether users can override the default at the channel level

For Enterprise Plans

  • Settings act as feature controls (similar to admin configuration)

When a setting is:

  • Enabled → The option becomes available to assign in Manage Roles
  • Disabled → The option is not available anywhere in the system

Important:

  • A setting must be enabled here before it can be assigned to a role
  • For full control, settings should be managed through custom roles

For more granular control, we recommend managing these settings through custom roles in the Manage Roles page.

3. Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Navigate to Channel Defaults
  2. Select Contacts
  3. Configure the following options:

A. Add Multiple Contacts

  • Toggle ON to allow users to add multiple contacts to a channel
  • Toggle OFF to restrict channels to a single contact


 

B. Do Not Notify Any Contacts

This setting controls whether contacts receive notifications when files are accessed.

  • Set Default
    • Enables “Do not notify any contacts when files are accessed” by default in new channels
  • Allow Users to Choose
    • Allows users to enable or disable this setting when creating or managing a channel


 

C. Do Not Notify External Users

This setting applies specifically to external contacts.

  • Set Default
    • Enables “Do not notify external contacts when files are accessed” by default in new channels
  • Allow Users to Choose
    • Allows users to enable or disable this setting at the channel level


 

 Changes are saved automatically when toggles are enabled or disabled.

D. Apply Changes to Existing Channels (Retroactive Application)

When changing notification settings, a confirmation popup will appear with the option to apply changes to existing channels.

  • Select “Apply to all existing channels” to enforce the updated setting across current channels
  • Leave unchecked to apply changes only to newly created channels

4. What Happens After

For Non-Enterprise Plans

  • Settings are applied across the entire subscription
  • Users follow the defined defaults (based on “Allow Users to Choose”)

For Enterprise Plans

  • These settings act as feature availability controls

When enabled:

  • The option becomes available in Manage Roles

When disabled:

  • The option is not available anywhere in the system

Important Behavior

  • If “Allow Users to Choose” is disabled:
    • Users cannot modify this setting at the channel level
  • If enabled:
    • Users can override the default when permitted by their role
  • If retroactive application is selected:
    • Existing channels are updated to match the new notification setting
  • If retroactive application is not selected:
    • Existing channels remain unchanged

5. Best Practice for Enterprise

For greater flexibility and control:

Enable the feature in Channel Defaults
Then manage access using custom roles in Manage Roles

This ensures:

  • The right users have the right level of control
  • Default roles (Admin/Standard) do not become overly permissive

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