In this article we cover the three steps required to setup the CloudFiles - Salesforce integration. We also provide a list of three quick start guides at the end that can be used by an admin or architect to setup basic file and folder functions in their Salesforce objects quickly.

Refer to the simple steps below.

Installing from AppExchange

Follow the steps below to install CloudFiles in your Salesforce account. The same steps are applicable for both production and sandbox -

1. Log into Salesforce as a Salesforce Admin.
2. Go to the CloudFiles listing on the Salesforce App Exchange, and click on Get It Now
3. Follow the prompts to install either in production or in a sandbox.
4. At separate points during the installation, the installer prompts you to:
   1. Choose who to install CloudFiles for - Select "Install for Admins Only". Don't worry, all your users will be able to access CloudFiles. We select this option to better control the permissions for all users
   2. Approve Third-Party Access - Accept third party access request. Here is the information about why we need access to these sites -
      1. *.amazonaws.com - This is needed to upload files to AWS s3 storage. This permission is only applicable if you're using s3 as storage platform. This URL is maintained by Amazon
      2. api.cloudfiles.io - CloudFiles uses an external agent to do the heavy lifting of common file related tasks like upload, download etc. This API is security reviewed by Salesforce and other agencies. You can learn more about our compliances and privacy policy here - trust.cloudfiles.io
      3. salesforce.cloudfiles.io - A domain used to show preview of files within Salesforce. This is governed by same policy as api.cloudfiles.io
      4. streamapi.cloudfiles.io - A domain used to facilitate file upload and download to external storages except AWS s3. This is governed by same policy as api.cloudfiles.io
   3. Click Next or Continue in other screens to complete the installation.



Permissions

CloudFiles comes with various permissions which can be used to control the access to CloudFiles features. Learn more about CloudFiles Permissions

Setup CloudFiles Account

You can setup the CloudFiles app from within Salesforce by first going to the CloudFiles App Launcher. Click on the 9 dots icon(App Launcher) on top left of salesforce and search 'CloudFiles'. Then select the CloudFiles app.



This will open the CloudFiles App Launcher. Click on the Setup Tab on top and then click on Setup CloudFiles button. Follow the on-screen instructions as shown below.



That's all the setup we need to get started. You can now start setting up flows and widgets to streamline your file management and sharing in Salesforce. Check the next section to know how to get started quickly.

Getting started guides

To get started quickly, we provide 3 quick start guides that talk about incrementally advanced features. Refer to these guides in sequence to become a Salesforce - CloudFiles integration expert.

1. Connect external folder to a record - Talks about accessing external storage from Salesforce objects. Also talks about automation capabilities.
2. Access, share and track a file - Talks about file and folder sharing by creating a link, configuring it's settings and viewing it's analytics all from the Salesforce objects. Also talks about automation capabilities.
3. Share files in experience cloud (community) - Sharing files with community and partner users using experience cloud and receiving files from them to collaborate is a common use-case. This article gives a basic overview and also talks about automation capabilities.

Once you are done with these, check the list of categories and articles in the left sidebar for all features and use cases.