SharePoint

This guide shows you how to enable SharePoint for file storage, store and open files in desktop Office applications, and understand how Kinabase manages your files.

To use SharePoint with Kinabase, you must first connect your organisation to Microsoft 365. See our Connecting to Microsoft 365 guide.

1. How SharePoint integration works

When you enable SharePoint as your file storage provider:

2. Enabling SharePoint for file storage

Prerequisites

Before enabling SharePoint:

1. Your Kinabase organisation must be connected to Microsoft 365 via Settings → System → Identity & Provisioning.
2. Kinabase must have permissions to access SharePoint. If permissions are missing, your Microsoft 365 administrator will need to grant additional consent.

Steps to enable SharePoint

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → File Storage.
2. Under Storage Provider, select SharePoint from the dropdown (replacing Kinabase (built-in)).
3. If you see a message that Kinabase does not have permissions to access SharePoint, click Continue to grant the required permissions via Microsoft.
4. Once permissions are granted, select the SharePoint document library you want to use.
5. Click Update to save your settings.

Use a dedicated library

We recommend using an empty or dedicated SharePoint document library. Kinabase will manage the folder structure within this library, creating folders for collections and records.

3. Configuring a collection for files

Even with SharePoint enabled, each collection must be configured to show the Files tab:

1. Right-click the collection name in the sidebar, or click the options menu (⋯) and select Configure.
2. Under the Features heading, select Files.
3. Turn on Enable files for this collection.

Each record in this collection will now have a Files tab where users can upload and view files.

Customising folder names

Once files are enabled and an external file storage provider is connected, you can select how each record's folder is named. Under Folder Naming in the collection's Files settings:

1. Select a Name field from the list of eligible fields, or leave it on the default primary field. Only fields visible to everyone are listed, so folder names cannot leak restricted data.
2. Select ID placement, either At the start or At the end, to control where the unique record ID appears.
3. Review the Folder created preview to see exactly how new folders will look.
4. Save your changes. Existing folders are renamed automatically the next time each record is updated.

Kinabase always includes the record ID to prevent duplicate folder names. If you select a field with restricted read permissions, you will see a warning explaining that its values will be visible in folder names.

4. Adding and managing files

1. Open a record in your collection.
2. Click the Files tab (if files are enabled for this collection).
3. Drag and drop files onto the tab, or click Add, then From your device, to upload from your computer.

Files are automatically stored in the corresponding SharePoint folder. The folder structure is:

[Document Library]
└── [Collection Name]
    └── [Record Name or ID]
        └── your-file.docx

Create new documents

You can create new Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents directly from Kinabase. Click Add in the Files tab and select the document type. These are instantly created in SharePoint.

5. Viewing thumbnails and previewing files

SharePoint can supply thumbnails and additional document previews inside the Files tab.

1. Open a record and select the Files tab.
2. Click View, then select Icons to arrange files in a grid. SharePoint thumbnails appear when available; otherwise, Kinabase shows a file-type icon.
3. Select a file, open its menu, and choose Preview. You can also focus a file and press Space.
4. Use the arrow controls or arrow keys to move between files. Press Space to close the preview.
5. Use Download, Open in new tab, or an available SharePoint or desktop action when you need to work with the file elsewhere.

Kinabase displays supported images and PDFs up to 20 MB directly. For other file types and larger files, SharePoint may supply an embedded preview. If no preview is available, you can still download or open the file.

File lists, thumbnails, and previews use the collection’s Files permission. A SharePoint preview or provider page may also ask the user to sign in to Microsoft 365.

6. Exporting folder paths

You can export a CSV of the expected SharePoint folder paths for every record in a collection. This is useful for pre-creating folders, auditing your folder structure, or planning changes to your folder naming convention.

1. Open the collection's Configure page and go to Files.
2. In the Folder Naming panel, click the ⋯ menu and select Export folder list.
3. Review the dialog, which confirms the CSV includes a TargetDirectory column and the same columns as a standard record export. No records or folders will be created, renamed, or updated.
4. Click Download CSV. The file is saved as [collection-name]-file-target-directories-[date].csv.

The export only includes records you have permission to view and export, and is gated by bulk-export rights. Each export is logged against the collection with the record count.

Pre-create folders

Hand the CSV to your SharePoint administrator so they can provision folders before anyone uploads files, ensuring documents land in the correct place from day one.

7. Opening files in desktop apps

Open the ⋯ menu and select Open to open the file. In the desktop app, choose in browser or in desktop app when those actions are available.

With SharePoint enabled, you can open Office documents directly in desktop applications:

1. In the Files tab of a record, find the file you want to open.
2. Click the ⋯ menu next to the file, or right-click on the file.
3. Select Open → in desktop app. You can also select in browser when it is available.
4. The file opens in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on your computer.
5. Make your changes and save as usual.

Changes are automatically synced to SharePoint, and will be reflected in Kinabase.

Desktop apps vs web apps

Desktop Office applications offer more advanced features (such as macros, complex formatting, and specialised tools) than the web versions. Opening files in desktop apps preserves all functionality.

Sometimes you just want to open the SharePoint folder:

8. File management features

9. Changing or disabling SharePoint

If you need to change your SharePoint document library or switch back to Kinabase's built-in storage:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → File Storage.
2. Select a different library, or change Storage Provider back to Kinabase (built-in).
3. You will see a confirmation warning. Click Update to confirm.

Important: When you change SharePoint libraries or switch providers, existing files in the previous location will not be automatically moved. You can still access them directly in SharePoint, but they will no longer be linked to Kinabase records.

10. Troubleshooting

Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.