One of the concerns that customers have is how to secure content once it’s been published to Xyleme’s CDS. We’ve found that many customers want flexibility and require a number of different ways to distribute their content to different audiences. We have a variety of options for distributing and securing content.
The table below looks at each in order from least secure to most secure.
Level 1: Public Link
Description
A URL link accessible to anyone with the link. Does not require an account on CDS to access the content.
Typical Application
Information you want to make publicly available, often via a website.
One of my favorite uses of this option is for those that sell their content. The public link together with Studio’s ability to easily link content into new assemblies allows them to create mini samples of their content and make those available through their website, in email, on social media.
Anyone that has that link can just click to access that content, so it’s a great way to try before you buy without having to manage accounts on the online learning management system.
Level 2: Public Link with Whitelisted Domains
Description
A URL link only accessible from specific web site(s)
Typical Application
You may have users both internal and external to your organization and you don’t have a central database of users that could be used to set up Single Sign-On. You may have a partner portal or other website with some access control that can be leveraged via the whitelist option.
You can put public links on that web site (could be a hidden page on your public website perhaps) and when a user click those links from that website they are allowed to access that content. If they tried to access that link by any other method (a link in an email, bookmarking, copy and paste in a browser) they would not be able to access that content.
Note: Once the whitelisting option is enabled on your instance that is the only way public links will work. So you can’t make some links only accessible via a whitelisted site and also send public links out in emails.
This only applies to Public Links, so Preview Links, Thin Packages, and Private links are still available to users with accounts on the system.
Level 3: Private Link or Private Thin Package
Description
Users must have an account on the online learning management system and permission, but do not need specific access to the folder where the content is stored.
This is used for employee access where you don’t want to manage permissions to individual folders/documents.
Typical Application
You could store content in folders that no one has permission to access through the CDS Portal but if they have the Private link they will have access via that link.
Note: A number of customers have been concerned that if they send a Preview Link to a user (see level 4) they would be able to access additional content by going back to the root of the URL (training.bravais.com). This method of giving access via a Private link would prevent them from begin able to access other content from the portal.
Additionally, we’ve recently added the ability to disable portal access altogether for groups of users.
Level 4: Preview Link or Launch Link or Thin Package
Description
A URL link that requires a user to have an account on the online learning management system AND have permission to access the folder where the content is stored.
Typical Application
This is typically used for employee access to specific content often through Single Sign-on.
Have a question? Come to open Q&A or ask your account manager.
