You can control which folders guest invitees can see by specifying folders at the folder level. By adding guests to a group, and then enabling "Allow guest user access" only for the folders you want to show within those group-filtered folders, you can control folder visibility per guest. For example, you can show only approved folders from the Manufacturing Department to guests from Partner Company A, while hiding folders that other departments have shared with guests.
Guest invites are available in Core, Pro, and Enterprise plans. For more information about guest invites in general, see What are guest invitations?
How visibility works
Guests see only folders where "Allow guest user access" is enabled. The visibility then changes depending on whether folder filtering is applied:
- Folders without filtering: shown to all guests
- Folders with filtering: shown only to guests belonging to the "accessible group"
Folders with "Allow guest user access" disabled are not shown to any guest, even if the guest belongs to a group. To control visibility per guest, combine filtered folders with group membership.
Configuration example
Here is an example of showing only approved Manufacturing Department folders to guests from Partner Company A:
- Add Company A's guests to the "Manufacturing Department" group
- Enable "Allow guest user access" only for folders you want to share (e.g. "For Partners") within the Manufacturing Department filtered folders
With this configuration, Company A's guests will see only the "For Partners" SOP. Other Manufacturing Department folders and folders filtered by other departments (even those with "Allow guest user access" enabled) will not be visible.
Note: When a guest is added to a group, they also inherit access from parent groups. If there is a parent group above Manufacturing Department (e.g. Head Office), Company A's guests will also see folders filtered by Head Office with "Allow guest user access" enabled.
How to configure
1. Add guests to a group
Add guests to the group that filters the folders you want to show (e.g. Manufacturing Department). For instructions, see Edit user group affiliation.
You can also create a guest-specific subgroup under that group (e.g. Manufacturing Department → Partner Guests) and add guests there. You can use this approach to keep internal members and guests organized separately. For instructions on creating groups, see Step 5: Set up groups (for administrators).
2. Enable guest access for folders you want to show
- Open the folder you want to show to guests from the Manufacturing Department filtered folders
- Click the menu icon [...] in the top right, then click "Access Restriction Settings" → "Edit"
- Enable "Allow guest user access" and click "Save"
[Image: Access Restriction Settings dialog with "Allow guest user access" enabled for a Manufacturing Department filtered folder]
When you enable this setting for a parent folder, all subfolders are automatically shared with guests (you cannot disable it for subfolders individually). Enable this only for folders you want to show.
Also verify that the folders you are enabling have group filtering applied (or are subfolders of filtered folders). If you enable this for unfiltered folders, all guests will see them.
Separating guest access within the same group
If you want to show only "For Company A" folders to Company A guests and only "For Company B" folders to Company B guests, create guest-specific groups for each company.
- Create a group "Company A Guests" and add Company A's guests to it. Create this as a separate group, not as a subgroup under Manufacturing Department
- For the "For Company A" folder, enable "Apply filter" in Access Restriction Settings and specify both "Manufacturing Department" and "Company A Guests" as the accessible groups
- Enable "Allow guest user access" and click "Save"
- Repeat the same process for Company B with a "Company B Guests" group and "For Company B" folder
If you create guest groups as subgroups under Manufacturing Department, guests in these subgroups will inherit Manufacturing Department membership, which means they will see all folders filtered by Manufacturing Department with "Allow guest user access" enabled (including "For Company B" folders).
Create "For Company A" folders at the home level or within unfiltered folders. If the parent folder is filtered only by Manufacturing Department, guests cannot access subfolders created within it.
Verify the configuration
At the top level of the guest's screen, the topmost folders that the guest can see are displayed. Folders outside this range and folders the guest cannot see will not be listed. Subfolders and SOPs are shown when the guest opens a folder. After configuration, log in with the guest account and verify that only the intended folders appear in the Procedure list.
[Image: Procedure list showing only folders where guest access is enabled when logged in as a guest]
Important notes
Visibility is controlled at the folder level, not per SOP. You cannot show some SOPs and hide others within the same folder.
FAQ
Q. If I add a guest to a group, can they see all folders in that group?
A. No. Guests only see folders within that group's filter where "Allow guest user access" is enabled.
Q. Can I show the same folder to guests from multiple companies?
A. Yes. You can add each company's guests to the same group, or specify all guest groups for each company in the folder's accessible groups.
Q. What if I want to share only one SOP with external users?
A. You can also use External Sharing URLs. The differences are explained in Sharing SOPs externally: usage guide (External Sharing URL / Guest invite).