Convert shared folders to contract spaces with one click

We recently introduced contract spaces as a single concept to organise your contract repository and share granular access rights to contracts across your organisation. Contract spaces replace the need for both private folders (“My contracts”) and shared folders in Contractbook. This means that all legacy folder functionality will be retired during fall 2024. 

Most organisations using Contractbook have relied on shared folders to share access rights to their contracts across the organisation. To make the switch to contract spaces as smooth as possible, we introduce a temporary “one-click” conversion feature. This feature allows you to convert a shared folder (and any sub-folders it contains) to a contract space. 

How does the conversion from shared folders to contract spaces work?

The process is quite simple and can be initiated with one click from any shared folder. See below the most important information and most common questions answered.

Which shared folders can I convert?

You can convert any shared folders to contract spaces that are at the root level of your shared folder repository. You can initiate the conversion process either by clicking on the contextual menu of your folder in the sidebar…

…or by opening the folder and clicking on the banner on top of the page:

What if my shared folder contains sub-folders?

If you convert a shared folder that contains sub-folders, we will keep the tree structure fully intact and replicate it as a root contract space containing sub-spaces. So you don’t need to worry about re-building your folder structure as everything will stay as is. Conversely, this means that you cannot convert any single sub-folders to contract spaces individually but always have to initiate the conversion from a root folder.

Will users with access to the shared folder get access to the contract space?

Yes. All users who have access to the shared folder you convert will automatically get “View and comment” access on the newly created contract space. So you can rest assured that no one loses access. Even better, you can then open your contract space and manage access rights more granularly, for example you might give some users “Manage contracts” or even “Manage space” permissions, while others retain “View and comment” access. The user who converts the shared folder will get all access permissions on the resulting contract space. Read more on “Who can convert a shared folder?”. 

What about automations connected to my shared folders?

No worries. When you convert a shared folder, we automatically convert all automations connected to that shared folders to work with your newly created contract space. If you have an automation that moves all contracts from a certain template into a shared folder based on some conditions, we will automatically adjust this automation so that it moves those contracts into the converted contract space.
Note: If you have shared folder automations that dynamically find or create shared folders with the option Use a variable to find or create a folder, you need to re-map these to new "Move to a space" automations manually.

What about templates connected to my shared folders?

If you have connected some of your templates to shared folders so that any draft created from those templates automatically gets added to a shared folder, this will not be migrated automatically! We are moving all automation capabilities into Automation Builder. If you want to retain automatic connections between templates and contract spaces, please use Automation Builder to create automation on your team owner account like so:

The simplest way is to configure your automation to apply to drafts from a specific template. But you can also configure the automation to apply to all drafts and add an “Only continue if…” action to filter more flexibly on multiple template IDs, draft names, or other criteria.

Who can convert a shared folder?

Contract spaces let you grant more powerful permissions to contracts than shared folders did. This is why we allow only team owners to convert shared folders to contract spaces. In the rare case that no team owner has access to a given shared folder, team members can perform the conversion too. 

To check if you have the right to convert a shared folder, just click “Convert to space” in the sidebar or in the folder view. 

If you have the right to convert this shared folder, you will be able to proceed to “Start conversion” in the following modal. 

If you do not have the right to convert this shared folder, you will be pointed to one or multiple users who can perform the conversion. This will usually be your team owner, so feel free to reach out to that person to assist you.

What if some of my contracts are in multiple shared folders at the same time?

With shared folders it was possible to add a single contract to multiple shared folders. This has caused a great deal of confusion, which is why with contract spaces a given contract can only ever live in one contract space at a time. When you try to convert a shared folder which contains some contracts that are also added to other shared folders, we will give you a heads-up in the conversion modal. 

If you proceed to "Start conversion", the contracts in question will be moved to the newly created contract space and thereby removed from all shared folders they were previously added to. 

Why can’t I convert private folders (“My contracts”)?

Contracts can often live in private folders and shared folders at the same time. This is a relict from the days when Contractbook was mostly used by individuals and small agencies and it’s been a source of confusion since. When you move a contract to contract spaces, it will be removed from both private and shared folders so that you have a single source of truth for where your contracts live. 

Why can I not convert my shared folder even though I’m the team owner?

In some rare cases, you will see the below modal when trying to convert a shared folder to a contract space. This means that your shared folder contains some contracts that are owned by users from a different company. This is likely not a problem, but we want to make sure that no access rights are overwritten. Just click “Get contacted by us” and we will help you migrate this folder manually in no time. 

What happens if I don't convert my shared folders?

Folders will be fully retired from Contractbook in fall 2024. This means you won't be able to use any folder functionality anymore. If you don't convert your shared folders to contract spaces, we will migrate them for you at the deadline. In any case, you won't lose access to any contracts if you don't convert your shared folders to contract spaces on your own. 

Private folders will be retired at the same time. We won't convert private folders to contract spaces. Instead, we will dispay all contracts that you have created or signed in a contract view called "My contracts".