Filelocker

Filelocker allows you to share files with other people both inside and outside of the Institute for Advanced Study. It is a temporary and secure storage system for sharing files and data.

What can I do with Filelocker?

  • Upload a file.

  • Share files with other Filelocker users and groups.

  • Share files publicly to people outside of Filelocker.

  • Request files from people outside of Filelocker.

  • Send messages to other users.

  • Advanced users can use Filelocker from the command line and script Filelocker actions.

How do I access Filelocker?

Visit filelocker.ias.edu and log in securely with your IAS credentials.
e.g. If your email is johndoe@ias.edu, you would log in with the username johndoe.

How do I upload a file?

  1. Click the Upload button located near the top of the My Files page.

  2. When the pop-up box appears, you may select an expiration date, add notes to the file, and scan for viruses.

  3. Finally, click Browse and Upload to select a file from your computer to upload to your Filelocker files page with the options you previously specified.

  4. Congratulations, your file has been uploaded! Now, Learn how to share it.

Are there any upload size or time limitations?

  • Individual file uploads are limited to 2GB.

  • Your Vault, or the space for all of your uploads, is 10GB.

  • Files are limited to a period of 7 days before they are purged, but individual uploads can be set to expire earlier or to expire after they are downloaded once.

How do I upload large files?

  • Only certain browsers support file uploads of 2GB.

  • If you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, or 8, you will need to upgrade to the current version of Microsoft Edge.

  • If you are using Mozilla's Firefox versions 1,2, or 3, you will need to upgrade to the current version of Mozilla Firefox.

  • Google Chrome and Apple Safari users can upload large files with any version.

  • If you do not wish to upgrade your browser, you can upload large files using the command line version of Filelocker.

How do I share a file at IAS?

  1. After uploading a file, click on the file that you want to share and click the Share This File button that appears in the drop-down window.

  2. When the pop-up box appears, you can either select to share with a user by searching for them or share with a group by selecting the Share with Groups tab.

  3. If sharing with a single user, simply type their username into the box. After a few characters have been entered, a drop-down selection box will appear with matching results so that you can select the correct user. You may also search for a user by clicking the Name box and typing in the user's full name or just last name.

  4. If sharing with a group, you must first create a group and add members to it. Then, click the Share with Groups tab and simply click the 'share' button.

  5. When sharing with either a single user or a group, you may select the checkbox to notify the user(s) via email so that they know you have shared a file.

  6. Finally, for single-user sharing, click the button with the user's career account in it.

How do I share a file with someone outside of IAS?

  1. After uploading a file, click on the file that you want to share and check the box next to Public Share.

  2. Once the box is checked, you'll be prompted to choose which email addresses should receive a link to the file you are sharing. You must also specify whether the share will expire after one use, or whether it can be downloaded repeatedly.

  3. If the file may be downloaded repeatedly, you must specify a password that must be entered before the file can be downloaded. You will have to communicate this password to any intended recipients of the file through some other secure means (phone, encrypted email, etc).

  4. Once you click share, a publicly accessible URL to download the file will be created, any email addresses you've entered will be sent an email notifying them that the file is now available at the generated URL, and the URL will be displayed.

  5. You may view the publicly accessible download URL and send it to additional people by email at any time after you share the file publicly by clicking on the (view link) text next to the Public Share checkbox.

How do I send a message?

  • Filelocker can be used to send encrypted text messages to other Filelocker users.

  • These messages are removed from the system after 7 days.

  • You can access the messaging interface by clicking on Messages in the upper right corner.

  • The default view is your Inbox - messages that other users have sent you through Filelocker.

  • To read a message, simply click on the subject of the message.

  • To reply to a message, click on the mail icon with an arrow under the Actions column.

  • When you click on the Sent tab, you'll see messages that you have composed and sent to other users.

  • You may effectively revoke a message at any time by deleting the message from your Sent folder at which point it will no longer appear in any of the recipients' inboxes.

How do I use Filelocker CLI (for advanced users)?

  1. To begin using Filelocker CLI, log in to your organization's web interface for Filelocker.

  2. Click Account in the upper-right corner of the page.

  3. Choose Advanced and enter the IP address of the host from which you will be running Filelocker CLI.

  4. Click Generate CLI Key and click the Save/Download icon under Actions for the IP you just added.

  5. Download the resulting configuration file and copy it to the host you specified earlier.

  6. By default, Filelocker CLI will look in the current working directory for the configuration file, but you may specify an alternate location with -c.

What else can I do with Filelocker?

  • Share or delete multiple files, groups, and messages using checkboxes.

  • Sort multiple columns simultaneously by holding down Shift while clicking another column header.

  • Hover over a currently uploading file to see more detailed upload statistics.

  • Hover over your user quota to see actual usage data.

  • Hover over the messages link to see the number of new messages.

  • The messages link at the top will become bold when you have new messages.

  • Keyboard shortcuts:

    • A takes you to the Edit Account dialog box.

    • F takes you to the Files page.

    • G takes you to the Manage Groups page.

    • H takes you to the History page.

    • M takes you to the Messages dialog box.

    • X will hide any success or error messages.

    • ESC will hide any dialog boxes.