In this article, you will find how you can Share a project, Phase, or certain items with a client, consultant, or any external collaborators.
In Fohlio you can share the project with External Users; for example, clients you want to approve specs, consultants you are working with, or even a supplier you want to edit the spec on your dashboard.
1. External Roles:
Start by checking the external roles access so you would know what Columns the External user has access to, you can filter Columns per Phase in case you want to give access for a certain Phase.
Column access can be:
Edit access: The user can make changes to the values of that column.
View access: The user can only view that column.
No access: The column won't appear to the user even if it's in the shared Phase.
Reach the External roles from the left Main Menu - Settings - User Management - Roles And Access - External Roles
2. Share your project:
From the Project Sheets upper bar - Share
You have multiple options to share with the external user.
A) Share the entire project:
This means all the items on this project will be shared with the user, the column will show up depending on the access granted.
After you click on it, a popup screen will show up.
On this screen you should:
- Fill out the External user emailSelect their role (Client-Consultant...)
- Select which Phase you want to share, this is very important as it determines which information will be shared. We recommend creating a different phase for the Client view, and including only the columns you want to share to keep internal information internal.
- View: you can select which view to be shared Table view/Grid view
- Allow Invitee to add items: External Users can add up to 20 items.
B) Share Categories:
Similar to the previous option but only the Items in the selected category will be shared:
C)Share selected items:
If you don’t want to share the entire project with the client, you have the option to select specific items and share them.
To identify which items have been shared with external users, on the Project sheets a sign next to the item selecting box will be displayed.
You can remove access to items after they have been shared, or share new items.
D) View user's access:
The last option will open the External Users List, which you can also reach from the Main Menu - Settings - User Management - External User List.
From that list, you can track which external user has been invited, which project they have access to, who invited them, when they were invited, and what role they were granted.
You can change or remove their access to projects also.
3. External user view:
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The image below is an example of a Client view, here the estimated 1 phase was shared with the user.
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The client can edit the columns shared with him - you can set the column access to View only from Roles.
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Also, they can download Reports, use Group by and Filter feature, and they have access to Moodboards.
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If they are granted to add items, then they will have the Add menu too.
FAQ: External Users
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Q: How can I invite my client to view and approve items?
A: After you share the project with your client, make sure that they have access to the Client Approval column, also Client Comment.
Using these 2 columns is the best practice to follow up on any client notes or updates.
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Q: Will the client have access to all projects?
A: Only the projects or items shared with the client will have access to them.
If the Client has access to more than a project, they can switch between them using the project filter on Project Sheets.
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Q: I want my client or contractor to check my project but I don’t want to add a license.
A: You can invite them as External users to view and approve items, and you can control their access. Read the article to know the steps.
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Check out the latest project sharing walkthrough video from the Fohlio 2025 Q1 Training Sessions:
We hope this article was helpful, please rate the article, and reach us via Live Help if you still need assistance.