---
title: "Nextcloud"
canonical: "https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (toc)
## Overview
Nextcloud is a file hosting service, similar to Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive, that allows stations to access and download user reports. PBS has replaced Salesforce with Nextcloud to manage and share reports and content.
Before using Nextcloud, the PBS Support team must first set your station up with an admin account. The admin account gives your station's designated admin control over Nextcloud management functions. After the account is created and account credentials are sent to your station admin, the admin is responsible for creating accounts for each station user who will be eligible to receive reports.
Each station has its own unique folder in Nextcloud and that folder contains subfolders which hold various reports that were previously accessible in Salesforce. Only designated station admins can access the folders. It is up to your station admin to grant permissions to additional staff.
## Getting started
To begin using Nextcloud, [contact PBS](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new) to have an account set up and a unique folder assigned to your station. The name of the folder is typically your station call letters (ex: WETA). Once PBS has set up and assigned a station admin to your Nextcloud account, the station admin is responsible for creating users and assigning permissions. To create groups, station admins should [contact PBS](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new) and make that request. Once the groups have been created, the station admin can manage users and file sharing within each group.
## Web browser requirements
For the best experience, please be sure to use the latest version of any of the following browsers:
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Microsoft Edge
- Mozilla Firefox
- Google Chrome/Chromium
- Apple Safari
## Dashboard
The table below maps each item that is present on your dashboard. Click the image below the table to enlarge and view where each field displays.
| **Number** | **Element** | **Definition** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **1** | **All files** | The dashboard defaults to the all files view. To return to this view, click All files in the left navigation menu. |
| **2** | **Recent** | The most recent files that have been modified, added, or deleted. |
| **3** | **Favorites** | All files marked as favorites. |
| **4** | **Shares** | All files and folders that have been shared. |
| **5** | **Deleted files** | View or recover files that have been deleted. |
| **6** | **Storage space** | A graphical representation of how much storage you have used. |
| **7** | **Activity** | Activity that has taken place in the console. |
| **8** | **File Search** | Search for files in your folders. |
| **9** | **Notifications** | Notifications from Nextcloud, typically about system updates. |
| **10** | **Contact Search** | Search for contacts in your organization who have access to your Nextcloud instance. |
| **11** | **Login** | Click your login to access additional features and log out of the site. |
| **12** | **Layout** | Change your dashboard view from list to grid. |
| **13** | **Notes** | Type important notes, links, or lists that display upon login. |
| **14** | **Files** | Most recently modified files. |
## How to manage users
### How to create a user
Station admins are responsible for creating users and managing folders for their organization.
- Click your **login** in the upper right side of the page (Figure 1.1).
- When the menu displays, click **Users** (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1
- On the left side of the page, click** New user** (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- Fill out all applicable fields at the top of the page (Figure 3).
- Type the **username** for the person whose account is being created (Figure 3.1)
- Type the user's **Display name** (Figure 3.2). This is the name that displays on record in the Nextcloud console.
- Leave the password field blank (Figure 3.4). The user will be prompted to create a password when they log in for the first time.
- Type the user's **email address** (Figure 3.5). This is the email address the user will use to log in to Nextcloud and should be their station email address.
- Click the **Add user** **in group textbox** and select the group to which the user should be associated (Figure 3.6).
- If the user should be a group admin, click the **Set user as admin for** textbox and click the **station** that is associated with the user (Figure 3.7).
- Click the **Default quota textbox** and select the amount of data the user should be allowed to add to the account (Figure 3.7).
- When finished, click the **blue circle** to commit the changes (Figure 3.8).
Figure 3
- The new user displays in the console with all assignments (Figure 4).
Figure 4
### How to disable a user
Disabling a user prevents the user from accessing files in your organization but it retains all of their account information, making it easier to enable them in the future.
- Click the **three horizontal dots** to the right of the user you want to disable (Figure 1.1).
- When the menu displays, click **Disable user** (Figure 1.2).
- To complete the process, type your **Nextcloud password** in the textbox in the popup and click **Confirm** (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- The user is removed from the list of users on the console. To find and re-enable the user, click **Disabled users** on the left side navigation menu (Figure 3).
Figure 3
- The list of all disabled users displays.
- Click the **three horizontal dots** to the right of the user you want to enable (Figure 4.1).
- When the menu displays, click **Enable user** (Figure 4.2).
Figure 4
### How to delete a user
Station admins can delete users. Once a user has been deleted, they are deleted permanently and must be created again. If you want to retain the user's information, consider [disabling them](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud#How-to-disable-a-user) instead.
- Click the **three horizontal dots** to the right of the user you want to delete (Figure 1.1).
- When the menu displays, click **Delete user** (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1
- Click the** red Delete button** to confirm the deletion (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- Enter your **Nextcloud password** in the authentication textbox to complete the deletion (Figure 3.1). This is the password associated with your Nextcloud login.
- After entering your password, click **Yes** to complete the deletion (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3
The user is permanently removed from Nextcloud and must be created again.
## How to share content
Content in Nextcloud is stored in folders that can be shared between registered users or groups. Only station admins can share content in Nextcloud and they are responsible for managing folders and making sure content is shared with the appropriate people.
There are four ways to share content:
1. [By folder](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud#How-to-share-folders)
2. [By file](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud#How-to-share-files)
3. [With groups](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud#How-to-share-content-with-a-group)
4. [Send link](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577451/Nextcloud#How-to-share-content-using-a-link)
### > Macro (anchor)
How to share folders
Station admins can share entire folders or individual files within a folder. This section illustrates how to share entire folders.
- From the main files dashboard (Figure 1.1), click the **share icon to the right of the folder name** that holds the content you want to share (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1
- In the the textbox on the right side of the page, begin typing the **name or email address of the user** with whom the content is being shared (Figure 2.1).
- When a list of matching entries displays, click the **name of the person** with whom you want to share the content (Figure 2.2).
Figure 2
- The person with whom the folder was shared receives an email from their station's Nextcloud account and should click the blue button at the bottom of the email to access the content on the Nextcloud site (Figure 4). The email is sent to the email account associated with the user's Nextcloud login.
Figure 3
The user has access to all of the files in the folder (Figure 4).
Figure 4
### > Macro (anchor)
How to share files
- Click the **name of the folder** that holds the files you want to share (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Click the **share icon** next to the file you want to share (Figure 2.1).
- In the textbox on the right side of the page, begin typing the **name or email address of the user** with whom the file is being shared (Figure 2.2).
- When a list of matching entries displays, click the **name of the person** with whom you want to share the content (Figure 2.3).
> ℹ️ From this page, you can also share the entire folder by clicking the** share icon next to the folder name** in the breadcrumbs at the top of the page (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2
- The person with whom the folder was shared receives an email from their station's Nextcloud account and should click the blue button at the bottom of the email to access the content on the Nextcloud site (Figure 3). The email is sent to the email account associated with the user's Nextcloud login.
Figure 3
### > Macro (anchor)
How to share content with a group
Sharing content with groups is similar to sharing content with individuals.
- To the right of the **folder** **or file** you want to share, click the **share icon** (Figure 1). In this example, we are sharing a folder.
Figure 1
- In the textbox on the right side of the page, begin typing the **name of the group** with whom the folder is being shared (Figure 2.1).
- When a list of matching entries displays, click the **name of the group **with whom you want to share the content (Figure 2.2). Groups are indicated by a multi-person icon ().
### > Macro (anchor)
How to share content using a link
- After clicking the share icon on a file or a folder, click the **Share link** on the right side of the page in the share section (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- An alert notifying you that the link has been copied displays (Figure 2). You can now paste the link into an email and send to a registered Nextcloud user.
Figure 2
## Notifications
Notifications are alerts that are released when an action by you or someone else on your account has occurred on your Nextcloud instance. Notifications can display as an activity stream on your Nextcloud dashboard or sent in an email to the account associated with your Nextcloud login.
1. **Streaming** - View a list of changes on a real-time stream through the Activity button on your dashboard
2. **Email** - Receive email notifications through the email address associated with your Nextcloud account
Notifications are sent when an action has occurred. Some examples of actions that could prompt a notification are as follows:
- A file or folder has been shared
- A new file or folder has been created
- A file or folder has been changed
- A file or folder has been deleted
[Learn more about notifications](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/stable/admin_manual/configuration_server/activity_configuration.html)
### How to set up notifications
- From the Nextcloud dashboard, click your **login** in the upper right side of the page (Figure 1.1).
- Click **Settings** (Figure 1.3).
- From the left side navigation menu, click **Activity** (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1
Your activity settings dashboard displays. From this dashboard you can select which notifications you want to receive by email and which you'd like to view in your console activity stream.
- In the Mail column, click the **checkbox** next to each item you want to receive a notification about via email (Figure 1.1).
- In the Stream column, click the **checkbox** next to each item you want to receive a notification about in your console stream (Figure 1.2).
- Click the **checkbox** next to which of your own items you wish to receive by email or console stream (Figure 2.3).
- Click the** Send emails dropdown menu** and select frequency in which you want to receive email notifications (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2
After making your selections, you can return to any page and your changes are automatically saved.
## Reports
Three reports are available for download in Nextcloud and display when you click your station's call letters in the Nextcloud console:
| **Report** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| [Prospect](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577418/Prospect) | Prospective donor information consisting of a collection of individual email addresses associated with a PBS account that has been used to sign on to an OTT device or has been used to subscribe to any newsletters that are not categorized as a donor. |
| [TVault](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577542/TVault) | Transaction and Reconciliation data submitted by Passport members. |
| [VPPA](https://docs.pbs.org/space/REP/3577424/VPPA) | The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) requires that Passport members who use PBS Video apps explicitly grant PBS permission to share their viewing information (viewing history and times, devices, etc.) with the member's station. |
### How to download reports
- From your Nextcloud dashboard, click the **AmazonS3 folder** (Figure 1.2).
> ⚠️ If you are not on your dashboard, click **All Files** from the left side navigation menu to access it (Figure 1.1).
Figure 1
- Click the **folder that displays your station's call letters** (Figure 2).
Figure 2
- All folders containing reports display (Figure 3). Each folder is labeled with the report it contains. The three available reports are:
- Prospect
- TVault
- VPPA
- Click the** folder **that holds the report you want to download.
Figure 3
- To the right of the report you want to download, click the **three horizontal dots **(Figure 4.1).
- When the menu displays, click **Download **(Figure 4.2).
Figure 4
- Click the **arrow** next to the file name to expand the download options (Figure 5.1).
- Click one of the **available download options** (Figure 5.2).
> ⚠️ **This step may look different depending on which operating system you are using.**
Figure 5
### How to share reports
All available reports can be shared with your team through the [Nextcloud console](https://nextcloud.pbs.org/).
- From the main reports director, click the **share icon** to the right of the report you want to share (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Select one of the share options on the right side of the page (Figure 2).
- **Share link** - creates a public link that can be shared with anyone (Figure 2.1).
- **Others with access** - share the report with everyone who has access to your reports (Figure 2.2).
- **Internal link** - share the report with users who have access to the report folder (Figure 2.3).
- **Add to a project** - associate the report with a project and share through the project (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2
## How to use the Nextcloud API
Refer to the Nextcloud documentation to learn how to integrate the API with your CRM. [View the documentation](https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/client_apis/index.html)