1. Sign in at https://drive.switch.ch.
2. Find the file or folder and click the share icon next to its name. The sharing panel opens on the right.
3. In the search box, type the person's first and last name, or the name of a custom group.
4. Wait a moment. A list appears. Pick the right person or group. The person's email address is shown in grey, so you can tell people with the same name apart.
5. Open the sharing options of that person (the small cogwheel, or the three dots) to set what they may do.

Search tips:

• Type the name as you know it. Capital letters and accents (ö, ä, ü, é, è) don't matter.
• Can't find the person? Type only the last name and scroll through the list.
• You can also search by email address. Always choose the entry marked User. Do not choose an entry marked Federated, unless the person is at another cloud service such as Polybox (see below).

Extra options:

• Notify by email: sends the person an email with a link to the shared data. You can send this only once.
• Expiration date: on this date, the share is removed automatically. The person is not told. Shares with an expiration date show a small clock.

1. In the switchdrive folder on your computer, right-click the file or folder.
2. Choose Switch Drive, then Share….
3. Type the person's name or the group name, wait for the list, then pick the correct entry. Pick it even if only one entry is shown. For groups, choose the entry with (group) behind the name.

Tip: this window also shows who already has access to the file or folder, and what they may do.

Try these steps in order:

1. Search by last name only.
2. Search by email address. If the person has an account, choose the entry marked User. If you only see Federated, Switch Drive has no such account. It then looks for the person at another cloud service and shows an error that the server can't be reached.
3. Check whether the person has a Switch Drive account at all. An edu-ID alone is not enough, and the person must have signed in at least once. See "I created a Switch edu-ID. Do I now have a Switch Drive account?" in the Login and Passwords FAQ.
4. Ask the person to share a test folder with you. To do that, they have to sign in, so you can then find each other.

By default, people you share a folder with can view, edit, add and re-share files. They cannot delete or move anything. That protects you from accidents, for example when somebody wants to remove a share and deletes the data instead.

To change what someone may do:

• Browser: open the sharing options (cogwheel or three dots) next to the person or group and tick or untick the options. Tick Delete if they may also move and delete files. Untick Share if they must not pass the files on to others.
• Sync Client: click the three dots behind "can edit" and choose from the menu.

To stop sharing: click the trash bin icon next to the person or group.

Create a public link. Anyone who has the link can open the data in a web browser, without an account.

A link looks like this: https://drive.switch.ch/index.php/s/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the browser:

1. Click the share icon next to the file or folder.
2. Open Public Links (or Share link).
3. Click Create public link.
4. Set the permissions and, if you wish, a password and an expiration date.
5. Copy the link and send it.

In the Sync Client: right-click the file or folder, choose Switch Drive, then Copy public link to clipboard. Paste the link into an email. For more options, choose Share….

You can create several links for the same file or folder, each with different permissions, password or expiration date. You can change a link later without creating a new one.

Is a public link not an option? Ask for a voucher, so your partner gets their own account. See the Login and Passwords FAQ.

Choose the permission when you create the link:

For sensitive data: always set a password and an expiration date.

You can share with people who use Polybox, or any other service based on ownCloud or Nextcloud. For this, you swap Federated Cloud IDs, because you can't look the person up in the Switch Drive address book.

1. In Switch Drive, open your personal settings and scroll to Federated Cloud ID.
2. Copy it and send it to your contact. Ask for theirs. A Polybox ID looks like xxyyyyy@polybox.ethz.ch.
3. Create an empty test folder and share it. Type the other person's ID into the sharing box and wait until (federated) appears behind it. Select it.
4. Ask your contact to do the same for you.

If it works in both directions, you can share real data from now on. If you see an error, the address doesn't exist, or the other service doesn't allow federated sharing. Hover over a person's name in the sharing list to see their full Federated Cloud ID.

By default, a shared folder comes with all permissions except Delete. This is on purpose, so shared data isn't deleted by accident.

• Delete and move: you need the Delete permission. Moving a file counts as delete, because the file is copied and then removed from the old place. Ask the owner to give you this permission.
• Rename: you can rename the folder itself if the owner gave you at least Edit permission. Your new name is not passed on to the owner or to others.
• Move the folder itself: you may move it into one of your own folders. For example, create a folder "Shared with me" and collect all shared folders there. Never move it into another shared folder, because then you share that data with somebody else.

How can I tell whether I have Delete permission? In the browser, click the three dots next to a file in the shared folder. If you see Rename and Delete, you have it. If you only see Details and Download, you don't. This can't be seen in the Sync Client.

In the browser, open All files. Items that show Shared behind the name are shared with others. Items that show a person's name or a project folder's name were shared with you.

For details, use the menu on the left:

• Shared with others: lists everything you share, with the people or groups, for example "Agenda" with the custom group "Toolbox".
• Shared by link: lists everything shared by public link. Click an entry to see the link details.

An item with only the word Shared and a small link icon is shared by public link.

With the Sync Client, you can also open the sharing window of any folder in your file explorer. It lists who has access.

This only works in the browser, not in the Sync Client.

1. Open All files. The owner of a shared folder is shown behind its name.
2. Open Shared with you to see who actually shared it. This can take a few seconds, sometimes up to a minute or two if you have received many shares.

The owner of a folder and the person who shared it with you can differ. This happens when the owner allows people to share on. If you don't want that, untick Share in the sharing options.

The person who shared it. It does not become yours.

• The owner can remove the share at any time. The data then disappears from your browser and your Sync Client. It does not go to your trash.
• You can decline a share and accept it again later, if you want to use it again. In the browser, click Accept share.
• Shared data can disappear suddenly, for example when the owner leaves their institution and the account is closed. Make sure the owner is an active user you can reach by phone, chat or email, and keep a copy of anything important.

Tip: keep a copy of important shared data. Copy it out of your switchdrive folder. Then you can ask the owner to hand the data over to you.

Sharing a folder doesn't change the owner. To hand over ownership, including existing shares with other people:

1. Ask the other person to create an empty folder and share it with you, with edit permission. Example: TransferToMe.
2. In the browser, drag the folder you want to hand over onto TransferToMe. Wait until the target folder is highlighted, then release.
3. Move one folder at a time. Wait until each has left your account before moving the next.
4. When you're done, remove the share of TransferToMe. All files now belong to the other person.

Good to know:

• Shares to other users stay valid. The new owner doesn't need to share again.
• Public links are not handed over. The new owner has to create them again.
• The new owner can move the files out of TransferToMe and keep them wherever they like. If you still need access, they can share the folder with you again.
• Do this in the browser, because only there you can see who owns the source and target folder.

Best ask the current owner to hand it over (see above). It is simple for the owner, and nobody ends up with two copies.

If you can't reach the owner, you can take a copy:

1. Copy the shared folder out of your switchdrive folder, for example to the desktop. Copy, don't move. In the browser, download it instead.
2. In the browser, decline the share. If you use the Sync Client, wait until the folder has gone from your switchdrive folder.
3. Move the copy back into your switchdrive folder. You are now the owner and can share it again.

When you share it again, make sure everybody now works with your copy and not with the old one.

A Custom Group is a list of Switch Drive users that you create once. Instead of sharing a folder with every person one by one, you share it with the group. Everyone in the group gets access.

Why use one?

• Less work. If you often share with the same people, create the group once and share with it from then on.
• Instant. When you share with the group, all members get access at once. When you stop sharing, all of them lose access at once.
• Easy to manage. To give someone access to everything shared with the group, add them to the group. To remove their access, remove them. You don't need to visit each shared folder.
• Members stay in control. If a member no longer wants to receive the shared data, they can leave the group themselves.
• Everyone can share with the group. Members can also share their own data with the group.
• Private. The name of a group is visible only to its members. Other users can't find it when they search.

1. Sign in at https://drive.switch.ch and open your personal settings.
2. Click Custom Groups on the left. You see all the groups you own or belong to.
3. Type a unique group name into the text box.
4. Click Create group.

Good to know:

• Only you and the group members can see the group.
• As the group owner, you can add members, change their roles and remove them. You can leave the group as long as at least one other owner remains.
• Every member can leave the group at any time.

1. Click the share icon next to the file or folder.
2. Type the name of the group.
3. Choose the entry marked (group) behind the name.

A Project Folder is a shared storage space for a team. It suits teams that work with a lot of data (up to 1 TB) and projects that run for a long time, especially when the project manager may change.

A Project Folder works like a normal shared Switch Drive folder, with one big difference: it doesn't belong to a person. It belongs to the institution that issued it. So it doesn't disappear when someone leaves the project, or leaves the institution.

Who manages it? Each Project Folder has one project owner. This role can be handed over to somebody else. The owner sees the folder in their Switch Drive like any other shared folder, with full rights to edit, delete and re-share.

Usually the owner shares the whole folder, or some subfolders, with the project members. They see that the folder belongs to the project at an institution, not to a person.

Example: you see three folders in your Switch Drive.

In the browser, the institution is shown in brackets behind the name of a Project Folder. In the Sync Client, Project-B and Project-C look the same, so you can't tell them apart there.

Project Folders come with their own storage, so you have to apply at your institution. You may be asked for the planned size, the purpose of the project and a list of project members.

Contact your local Switch Drive administrator. How to proceed.

Drag it in. That's all.

1. Open the Project Folder in the browser or in the Sync Client.
2. Move or copy your files into it.

Important: files that you create in a Project Folder, or move into it, belong to the project, not to you. If you leave the project, they stay.

Can't see all the files? Project Folders are always shared with the project members. If some members can't see your data, check two things: that you have permission to add data to the folder, and that the other members have permission to see the folder.

There are two ways. It depends on how the project owner set things up.

• The owner allowed you to re-share. Share the Project Folder with the new member, as with any other folder.
• The owner manages access with a Custom Group. Ask the owner to add the new member to the group. If you have the permission, you can add them yourself.

Tip: combining a Project Folder with a Custom Group is very useful. You can always see who is in the project, and you can share more data with the same people just by entering the group name.

To see who has access: open your personal settings, go to Custom Groups and open the group of the project.

To add a member (as group owner): add the person to the group. The Project Folder is shared with them immediately.