First Steps

In this article, we will show you the steps to test the key features of the system and understand their value when organizing Due Diligence or other projects where you share confidential documents with external partners.

Please note that this is a trial version of VDR. If you decide to purchase, we will set up a new instance tailored to the needs of your transaction or project. Let's get started!

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Steps to follow:

Create Structure and Upload Documents
Create a Group and Set Document Access
Add and Invite Users
Grant Group Management Permissions (Optional)
Configure Q&A Discussion Forum (Optional)
Key VDR Settings (Optional)
Best Practices for Activity Reports

Prefer videos? Check out our special collection of videos that will guide you through VDR step by step.

✅ Create the Structure and Upload Documents

Upload Everything at Once
Create Structure Based on the Requirement List
Upload Files to the Structure

Do you already have prepared directories on your computer?

Go to the Documents tab, then Structure Management and upload, and drag and drop the folders onto the index.
Wait a moment for the empty folders to upload to the VDR and check if everything is okay.

🤔 Tips

If you have all the necessary data on your disk, including folder directories with files, upload them directly to the VDR.
The layout, order, and names of documents and folders will be exactly reflected in the VDR as your original copy from the disk.

Do you have a list of questions or topics needed to create the structure?

Use the possibility of creating the structure in an Excel file,
Upload it to the system, and before accepting, check if everything is correct.

🤔 Tip

When both sides of the process have access to the same list of questions, create the structure so that only the main folders contain the full name.

For other levels of directories, enter only the numbers (corresponding to those from the requirement list).

This will save you a lot of preparation time, ensuring that all interested parties know how to navigate it.

Are you planning to upload files from your computer?

Grab the entire folder with its contents or select the documents and drop them into the chosen place within the prepared structure.
Wait until all the files are successfully uploaded to the VDR.

🤔 Tips

The document upload process continues uninterrupted, whether the browser tab is visible or minimized, or if certain files are skipped (because the system detected they are damaged).
At the end, download the Excel report from the completed upload session to thoroughly verify the status of all uploaded files.

✅ Create a Group and Set Document Access

It's time to create a new group and determine which documents its members will be able to view.

In the Permissions tab, click ADD GROUP, name it, and select Document Permissions.
Specify exactly which documents will be visible to the group (including folders).
Then, to secure the content from downloading and printing, select the appropriate permissions.

When granting document permissions, use the Show Available Documents function to display the structure preview from the perspective of the selected group.

✅ Add and Invite Users

Create accounts for the people who will be involved in the process by assigning them to groups.

In the Users tab, click ADD USER and fill in the required fields, such as email address, and assign the group.
Decide whether to invite them to the system immediately, allowing them to receive an email enabling account activation within a few minutes.

🤔 Tip

If you plan to add many participants to the process, use the bulk user function to save time and speed up the task.

To do this, download an empty Excel file from the bulk user addition tab, fill it in with email addresses, assign them to the selected groups, and finally upload it to the VDR

✅ Grant Group Management Permissions (Optional)

If you know that there will be additional people involved in your process responsible for uploading files to the structure, it is best to create a new group for them and grant it document uploading permissions (within the functions permissions section).

This way, you will have full control over defining their work scope, ensuring that their work focuses only on a limited area in the VDR.

🤔 Tip

In the functions permissions section, all available activation options allow the group to make important changes in the VDR and access potentially sensitive information.

For security reasons, carefully enable the selected options depending on the process specifics and participants.

✅ Configure the Q&A Discussion Forum (Optional)

Inviting people from the other side to the process is a great time to launch the Discussion Forum, where the groups you indicate will have the chance to ask questions related to the ongoing process.

In the Moderator Forum tab, start configuring the module by assigning roles to selected users and questioning teams, and specify categories for the questions being asked.
All discussions in the form of new threads and responses to existing ones will take place in the main tab.

🤔 Tip

Go to your account settings by clicking on the email in the top right corner of the screen and enable notifications for new discussions in Q&A. This way, every time a new entry or response appears on the Forum, you will receive an email. You won't need to constantly check the VDR for new content.

✅ Key VDR Settings (Optional)

Use several useful system functions to better tailor it to the process needs.

In the Settings tab, go to Notifications for New Documents and activate automatic email notifications to all project participants about newly uploaded documents to the system.

This ensures that process participants will receive an email every time new files are added to the folders they are working on in the VDR.

Go to Confidentiality Terms and customize the content (or use the default template) that will be required to accept by everyone who logs into the VDR.

Thanks to NDA, you reduce risk, regulate cooperation, and build trust among the involved parties.

Participants who do not accept the content will not gain access to the VDR.

In the See Statistics tab, stay up to date and monitor current statistics on used pages or megabytes.

Gain confidence and control over the amount of data placed in the VDR.

If you want to set the numbering of the structure that dynamically adapts to files and folders, activate the Automatic Numbering of Files and Folders option in the settings.

This will be particularly helpful in navigating the structure for you and other process participants.

✅ Best Practices for Activity Reports

Keep track of the work of all participants in the VDR with 15 available reports. Below are four reports that can particularly streamline your work in the process.

User Logins - Here you will check who is currently logged in, how much time they spent in the selected session, and the total time spent in the VDR divided by groups.

This report will help you assess the level of engagement of selected participants in the ongoing process.

Activity Summary - This report primarily collects information on who viewed which document, when, and for how long. It also includes a graph presenting information for each group in the context of the number of actions taken on files relative to all documents available to them.

This report is a true treasure trove of knowledge about the history of document events.

Document and Folder Permission Comparison - One of the most helpful reports to verify the correctness and consistency of document viewing permissions granted to created groups in the VDR. Ensure that groups cannot download or print anything.

Use the report, generate the necessary comparison, and make sure the permissions for the groups are correctly assigned.

Documents and Folders Uploaded and Downloaded within the Structure Management and Loading Tab - Thanks to the data collected in this report, you can continuously monitor which files were uploaded to the VDR, when, and by whom.

The report allows you to precisely control which documents are uploaded, when, where, and by whom, which is especially important when there are multiple people adding documents to the VDR.

🤔 Tips

You can generate each report to an Excel file, allowing you to keep track of work progress on your disk.
Use filters to specify your search and better tailor the report to your needs – for example, set a time frame or find information about a specific person, group, or document in the VDR.

Do you have any additional questions?

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