Share and Collaborate

You can share content and collaborate with others using MATLAB^® Drive™ online. To share content, you can either invite others to access a shared folder or share a link to the folder. When you are invited to access a shared folder, either by invitation or by link, you can preview the folder before accepting the invitation.

Sharing can be initiated and managed from MATLAB Drive, MATLAB Online™, and desktop MATLAB. Accepting an invitation can only be done through MATLAB Drive online and requires a MathWorks^® Account.

Share Folders with Others

To share a folder, go to MATLAB Drive online or MATLAB Online, right-click on the folder you want to share, and then click Share from the context menu. You can choose to share a folder with select participants and give 'Can View' or 'Can Edit' permission, or you can create a link providing 'Can View' permission to anyone with access to the link. You can use both methods with the same folder. MATLAB Drive online and MATLAB Online indicate shared folders using the icon.

Share Folder by Invitation

For a folder that you have not shared by invitation before, right-click the folder and select Share > Invite Members.
For a folder that has been shared by invitation before, right-click the folder and select Share > Manage Members.
Enter the email addresses of the people that you want to share this folder with and select whether to share with 'Can View' or 'Can Edit' permission.
To share the folder with multiple people, enter multiple email addresses and separate them with a semicolon or comma. To share the folder with multiple people using different permissions, send each invitation separately.
Optionally, enter a message to include with the invitation.
Click Send to send the invitation.
MATLAB Drive sends an email invitation to the people you have chosen to share the folder with. They must accept the invitation to have access to the shared folder.
Once a folder is shared, you can revoke access or edit permissions for any invited member.
When you have completed inviting people to the folder, click Close.

Share Folder With View-Only Link

For a folder that you have not shared by link before, right-click the folder and select Share > Create Link. Click Create a view-only link to create the link.
For a folder that has been shared by link before, right-click the folder and select Share > Manage Link.
Click Copy Link to copy the link to the clipboard.
After you copy the link, click Close.
Make this link available to others for example, by including it in an email.

Revoke Invited Shares

You can rescind invitations to a shared folder when you no longer want the content to be shared.

Right-click the shared folder and select Share > Manage Members.
Next to each member name, click X to delete shared access.
When you are finished, click Close.

Changing the access of invited members does not change access for people who joined using a shared link.

Remove Shared Link

To remove access to a shared folder from a view-only link:

Right-click the shared folder and select Share > Manage Link.
Click Delete Link.
Confirm that you want to delete the shared link by clicking Delete.
When you have finished, click Close.

People who joined using the link will no longer have access to the shared folder, and anyone who then clicks the link gets an error. Deleting the link does not cause any change in access for members who received personal invitations.

Forward Shared Link

You can forward 'Can View' links to others, no matter how you gained access to the link, but you cannot forward personal invitations to shared folders - they work only for the named participant.

Access Folders Shared with You

You can get access to a shared folder either by invitation or by receiving a link to the shared folder. Before accepting an invitation, you can preview the contents of the shared folder.

Access Folders Shared by Invite

When you are personally invited to access a shared folder, you will receive an email invitation with a link to the invitation. Click View Invitation to open the pending invitation in MATLAB Drive online.

When the invitation opens, MATLAB Drive online displays a preview of the shared folder. You can navigate the structure of the shared folder and preview individual files before accepting the invitation.

To accept the invitation and make the shared folder visible in your files, click Add to my Files and select Add Shortcut. To create an unshared copy of the folder and its contents and add it to your files, click Add to my Files and select Copy Folder. After selecting an option, click Files on the left side of the page to access the folder in your MATLAB Drive.

You also can open a pending invitation directly from your MATLAB Drive online. To view pending invitations, click Shared Content on the left side of the page.

You must be logged in with your MathWorks Account to preview a folder shared by invitation, accept an invitation to a shared folder, and add a shared folder to your files.

Access Folders Shared by Link

When you are provided with a link to a shared folder, click the link to open the pending invitation in MATLAB Drive online. When the invitation opens, MATLAB Drive online displays a preview of the shared folder. You can navigate the structure of the shared folder and preview individual files before accepting the shared link invitation.

To make the shared folder visible in your files, click Add to my Files and select Add Shortcut. To create an unshared copy of the folder and its contents and add it to your files, click Add to my Files and select Copy Folder. After selecting an option, click Files on the left side of the page to access the folder in your MATLAB Drive.

To forward the shared the link with others, click Share Link to open the Share by Link dialog box. Then, click Copy Link to copy the link to the clipboard.

Previewing a folder shared by link does not require a MathWorks Account. However, you must be logged in with your MathWorks Account to add a shared folder to your files.

Manage Shared Folders

When you accept a shared folder invitation, the folder appears in your MATLAB Drive. MATLAB Drive Connector syncs the contents of the shared folder to your local drive and makes it appropriately 'Can View' or 'Can Edit', depending on what access you were given. As members of the folder make changes, MATLAB Drive connector keeps the shared folder on your local drive up-to-date.

The files in a shared folder have a SHARED indicator in MATLAB Drive Connector Activity. You can edit the contents of a shared folder, as well as move, rename, and delete the shared folder.

Edit Shared Folders

If you have been given 'Can Edit' access to the contents of a shared folder, you can edit the contents of the files within that folder. It is possible that other participants with 'Can Edit' access are also editing the same files as you are. However, the most recently saved copy overwrites any other saved copies.

You cannot edit a shared file in a 'Can View' folder. Files in a 'Can View' folder are indicated by a padlock symbol .

Move or Rename Shared Folders

You can move or rename shared folders in your MATLAB Drive, but they are moved or renamed only for you. Anyone else with access to the shared folder does not see these folder changes. This is true even for the shared folder owner.

You can move or rename shared folders regardless of whether you have 'Can View' or 'Can Edit' access. If you have 'Can Edit' access, you can move or rename content inside a shared folder and that content is moved or renamed for all members with 'Can Edit' access.

Note

You can move a shared folder into a non-shared folder. You can also move a non-shared folder into a shared folder.

However, MATLAB Drive does not allow moving a shared folder into any sub-directory location of a different shared folder.

If you try, MATLAB Drive makes a copy of the moved shared folder in the target shared folder, with the moved folder adopting the same permission as the target folder. The original shared folder is then deleted (you can find it in your Deleted Files). You can restore the deleted shared folder and it will return to its original state.

Delete Shared Folders

When you delete a top-level shared folder:

The shared folder and its contents are deleted only for you. Anyone else with access to the shared folder does not have the shared folder deleted on their MATLAB Drive
If you have 'Can Edit' access, you can delete content inside a shared folder and that content is moved to Deleted Files for all members with 'Can Edit' access.
Members with 'Can View' access cannot delete subfolders under a shared folder and do not see shared folder contents in their Deleted Files.
MATLAB Drive moves the folder to Trash.
If you are an invited member, MATLAB Drive keeps the invitation active and accepted.
MATLAB Drive does not count the deleted shared folder in your storage usage.

When you permanently delete a top-level shared folder:

The shared folder and its contents are permanently deleted from your MATLAB Drive. However, others with access to the shared folder do not have the shared folder permanently deleted.
If you are the folder owner, others who already have accepted their invitation continue to have access to the content, but there is no owner on the folder and no new member can join the folder (not even using a previously created Open link). All pending invitations are deleted.
MATLAB Drive deletes the invitation (if you were an invited member).

Sharing Limitations

You must have a MathWorks Account to issue invitations. The number of invitations you can send depends on whether you have an eligible MATLAB license that is current on Software Maintenance Service. Customers that do not have an eligible license are allowed fewer invitations.

Per folder:

If you have an eligible MATLAB license, you can share a folder with:
- 1,000 people using an open invitation (public 'Can View' link), and
- 100 people using a personal invitation ('Can Edit' or 'Can View' access)
If you do not have an eligible MATLAB license, you can share a folder with:
- 10 people using an open invitation (public 'Can View' link), and
- 10 people using a personal invitation ('Can Edit' or 'Can View' access)
After you have reached your limit for personal invitations, you cannot invite others to share that folder. If another member leaves the shared folder or declines an invitation to the share, then additional members can access the folder.
For open invitations, when the number of people accessing the link reaches your total, others who try to use that link cannot access the folder.

Per person:

You can have up to 100 shared folders. This total includes both folders shared by you (regardless of whether anyone has accepted any invitations) and folders shared with you (excluding those you haven't accepted). Sub-folders to a shared folder are not included in this limit.
You are allowed to have any number of pending invitations sent to you, but if you already have 100 shared folders, you cannot accept another invite, nor can you create a new shared folder.

Sharing and Storage Quota

When you accept a shared folder, the total content of that shared folder is included as part of your total storage allotment, regardless of whether your access to that shared content is 'Can View' or 'Can Edit'. Anytime someone adds content to that shared folder, the storage is again updated.

If you exceed your storage quota:

Others with 'Can Edit' permission can add content to your shared folders, but you cannot.
You cannot accept any pending invitations to a shared folder or create any new invitations or shared links.

For more about storage quotas, see Storage Quota.