Someone wants to share documents with you through NetDocuments instead of Dropbox or Google Drive. If you’ve never used NetDocuments before, don’t worry—you can be up and running in less than 5 minutes.
This guide covers everything you need to access shared documents: creating your account, viewing files online, and optionally syncing them to your computer.
Step 1: Create Your NetDocuments Account
When someone shares documents with you, you’ll receive an email with a NetDocuments link. Click the link and follow the prompts to create your free external user account.
You’ll need to:
- Click the link in the invitation email
- Create a password for your account
- Complete any verification steps
Once registered, you can log in and view shared documents directly in your web browser.
Step 2: Access Your Shared Documents
After logging in, you’ll see the documents or folders that have been shared with you. If you don’t see anything, ask the person who invited you to send a direct link to the shared workspace or folder.
Tip: NetDocuments’ Collabspace feature is what enables this external sharing. The firm sharing documents with you controls what you can see and whether you can edit or only view files.
Step 3: Sync Documents to Your Computer (Optional)
Viewing documents in the browser works fine, but if you prefer working with files locally—as you would with Dropbox—you can install ndSync.
ndSync creates a folder on your computer that stays synchronized with your shared NetDocuments content. Edit a file locally, and it syncs back automatically.
Install ndSync
Choose your operating system:
After installation, log in with the same credentials you created in Step 1, then select the shared workspace to sync.