Managing Requests for Restricted Files
Overview
The Request Access to Restricted Files feature enables end users to request permission to view files that are currently restricted. Once a request is submitted, the system generates notifications and tasks to inform Researchers and Admins, who are responsible for reviewing and approving or denying the request. Requests appear in both the Researcher’s Private Profile and the Research Information Hub and can be approved or declined by affiliated researchers that are creators or contributors on the asset or by admins. Approved requests generate a temporary access link which is sent to the requester, while declined requests trigger a notification to the requester. Once processed, the request is cleared to prevent confusion and duplicate effort. Researchers and administrators retain full control throughout the process, and the system stores a record of all requests and displays the request status in the Research Information Hub.
Placing the Request
Restricted files display in the Esploro Portal and end-users can click on the key icon to open the request form and place a request for access to the restricted files. All required fields must be filled in before the request can be submitted.
- Full name*
- Valid email address*
- ORCID iD
- Why you need access *
- Planned use*
- Agreement to the file’s terms of use*
The request cannot be submitted if the four required fields are not filled in and the terms of use accepted.
Approving and Rejecting Requests in the Researcher Profile
By default, requests for access to a file display in the private profiles of all affiliated Creators and Contributors. For more information about how the behavior can be configured see:
- Select View all access requests to display the Access request window.
- Click on
to quickly approve the request as is. Selecting "Approve" will grant access to the specific file requested and send an email to the end user with a temporary link to that file.
3. Click on 
to decline the request. An email will be sent the end user informing them that the request was denied.
4. To view additional fields on the request and to see other restricted files attached to the record click on Show more. The file that was requested is selected and the operator can choose to select other files as well. Click on Approve to send an email to the requestor with a temporary link to the restricted file(s). Click on Decline all to send an email to the requestor informing them that their request was denied. A note field is available in both the approve and decline emails.
- Once a request has been processed by one of the researchers or an admin it will no longer display on any researcher profile and the admin task will become inactive.
Approving and Rejecting Requests in the Research Information Hub
When a request is submitted an active task with the category "Assets with Active File Requests". Clicking on the entry will retrieve all assets with active file requests.
To view and manage the file requests click on the "Active File Request" link that displays in the third column or open the asset in Edit mode and navigate to the File Request tab.
If there are active file requests then the tab will have a colored triangle.
The File Request tab displays all of an asset's file requests - those that are active and those that are no longer active. Requests display in reverse chronological order, newest first. The following fields display in the File Requests
- Requested files - these are the specific files that were requested
- Requested by - the name entered on the request form
- Email - email entered on the request form
- Reason - reason for request entered on the request form
- Usage - planned usage as entered on the request form
- Created date - the date that the request was submitted
- Processed by - the researcher or admin who processed the request
- Status - the status of the request - possible statuses are
- Pending - the request needs to be reviewed and processed
- Approved - the request has been approved and a temporary URL sent to the end user
- Rejected - the request has been rejected and a rejection email has been sent to the end user
- Partially Approved - multiple files were requested and only some of the files were approved
- Status date - the date that the request status changed
- Actions - possible actions are
- Accept and generate URL
- Reject
To approve a file request from the file request tab in the hub, select the line action "Accept and generate URL" then select the file from the file list and then select the button "generate temporary link". Once a temporary link is generated it must be copied and pasted into an email. To email the requestor click on the email field and an email will open. Paste the temporary link into the body of the email and send it to the requestor. The file request status will be updated to Approved.
To reject a file request select reject and the status of the request will be updated to rejected. To notify the requestor, click on the email field and an email will open, write a message to the requestor explaining that their request was rejected.
When a request is processed in the Research Information Hub, the request becomes inactive and no longer displays on Researchers' profiles. In addition, the task becomes inactive and stops displaying in the task list.
Additional References
- Configuring file request
- Tasks in the Task List