Help > Visiting Others' Shared Information > How to Visit Others' Shares
   

How to Visit Others' Shares

Overview

Whenever you access information from other users' KeepandShare accounts you are said to be visiting their account. Visiting and Sharing are two sides of one coin: when you visit friends' accounts you are viewing information they have shared with you.

Visiting is built around several simple concepts:

  • The Friends List is a list of KeepandShare account names you want to be able to visit (and also to share information with).
  • Whenever you visit someone's account, KeepandShare automatically shows you all the information they have shared with you.
  • Whenever your friends create new shares for you, or edit an existing share, you receive automatic dashboard notifications with hyperlinks to the shared information.

How to Find & Visit Others' Shared Information

The main method to visit others' shares is:

  • Log in to your account at KeepandShare with your account name and password.
  • Click on in the left panel.
  • It opens up a list of your friends' accounts. For each friend you can see how many items they have shared with you:

  • If your friend's account name is not displayed, then add them to your Friends List by clicking '+ (Add a friend)' at the bottom of the list.
  • Click on your friend's account name or application name in the list.

This takes you to their account and shows you all the information they are sharing with you. In this sample, a user account 'jackie' is visiting a user named 'John Smyth' whose account is 'roperconsulting'. The left panel displays all the information that 'jackie' is allowed to see. Note how the screen looks different from when you are in your own account:

The left panel displays all the information that account 'jackie' is allowed to see. Click on left panel tabs such as 'File' to switch between all the information shared with you. Here the visitor has clicked on 'File':

Click the 'Return to My Account' button at any time to stop visiting this friend and to be back 'in' your own account.

Once your friend's shares are displayed in the left panel there you can click on the "My Recent Visits" left panel tab to view a list of your most recent visits into that account. It's a very handy shortcut to find frequently visited shares.

What if Your Friends Have '0 Shares'?

In this list two of the friends have '0 shares'.

If they have 0 shares, that means they have not yet shared anything with your account name. You should contact them and ask them to set the sharing in their account to share with your exact account name.

Other Visit Methods

Look on Your Dashboard

You are notified of newly sharing information with notifications that appear on your Dashboard under the 'Shares and Comments' section. Click on a notification link to immediately view the shared document, calendar, photo album etc. (the To Do application does not generate notifications).

Click on Links in Dashboard Update Emails

All KeepandShare accounts can set the email frequency of dashboard update emails. These emails are sent to you on a schedule you choose, and they contain live links to all dashboard notifications that have not yet been viewed - just click on a link in the email and you'll be taken directly to the new information.

Click on the Link in your Guest Pass

If you've received a Guest Pass email from KeepandShare giving you a yellow button and password to view a friend's share, you can return to this email and click on the yellow button link as many times as you like. The same password can be used again and again.

Go to their Private Web URL

Every KeepandShare user has an account name that they have picked - e.g., your friend Jack Smith's account name might be "jsmith" and their account name is also their own private web address.

KeepandShare accounts can be visited by typing in the URL (web address) that includes the KeepandShare account name as follows:

jsmith.KeepandShare.com

or www.jsmith.KeepandShare.com

Typing this URL into a web browser takes you directly to that user's share page. You will then see any publicly shared information, or, if you are logged in, any information shared specifically with you.

Use Links or URLs

If your friend has emailed you a URL you can click on links or URLs at any time (or copy and paste it into your browser). If you are not yet logged in you will be prompted to log in to your account. Then the shared information is displayed to you.

Tips

Common Problems

If you see the message 'has not shared any information with you', or if the specific item you seek is not available, it is because your friend not yet set their Sharing control to give viewing permission for your account name. Ask your friend to put your account name in the share group or sharing list used on that calendar, item or folder.

Note: when you visit someone you do not have to be logged in to KeepandShare to view any public information they are sharing, as this is information they are sharing openly on the world wide web.

But you must log in to KeepandShare before you will be granted access to privately-shared information they have explicitly shared with you by account name - this is to validate your identity and protect their information.