SciLifeLab protocols.io Workspace Admin Guidelines

This guide introduces key settings that workspace admins with a protocols.io premium licence can configure. If you haven’t already, we recommend reading Section 1. Getting started with protocols.io in the SciLifeLab protocols.io User Guidelines to familiarise yourself with the platform’s basic terms and features.

For more in-depth documentation and tutorials, visit the protocols.io Help Center or check out their webinars.

NOTE: The protocols.io interface may change over time. If you spot any changes, please let the SciLifeLab Data Centre know datacentre@scilifelab.se, thank you!

SciLifeLab protocols.io Workspace Admin Guidelines

1. The workspace admin role

When you create a workspace, you automatically become its owner and administrator (“workspace admin”).

As a workspace admin, you can:

Manage workspace settings and members.
Add instructions that appear as a pop-up message that members must acknowledge when joining the workspace.
Transfer the admin role to another member.
Enable the signing flow, so designated signers can review and approve protocols before publication.
Assign a member as a signer.
Configure detailed file access or sharing settings.
Perform other administrative tasks (e.g., branding, organisation, accessibility).

NOTE: Workspaces created by the premium users become always premium workspaces, granting all members access to premium features for its content.

Workspace settings

Workspace admins can configure a range of workspace settings. To access these settings in the file manager, click the arrow next to the workspace icon in the left toolbar, select Administration, and then click Settings.

The settings menu includes the following sections:

General: Set a profile photo, name, URL, description, keywords, additional information, or delete the workspace.
Security and Privacy: Control workspace profile visibility (public or private), manage how new members join, and enforce two-factor authentication if needed.
Support: Provide the organisation’s technical support contact information and manage support notification preferences.
Notifications: Choose notification settings to stay up to update.
Membership & Access: Invite members via an invitation link, and manage member access privileges for the root workspace folder.
Subscription: Manage the subscription plan and adjust the storage plan as needed.

The sections below outline commonly used workspace settings. For more details on these and other features, see the workspace management section in the protocols.io Help Center.

Change the workspace visibility

A workspace can have either a public or private profile:

A public workspace profile is visible to anyone on protocols.io.
A private workspace profile is accessible only to workspace members.

To change the workspace profile visibility:

Click the workspace icon in the left toolbar of the file manager.
Go to Administration > Settings > Security and Privacy > Visibility Settings.
Select Public or Private/Internal.

Choose how members can join the workspace

Workspace admins can control how members join the workspace.

To adjust these settings:

Click the workspace icon from the left toolbar of the file manager.
Go to Administration > Settings > Security and Privacy.
Under Workspace Membership, choose one of the available options:

Open to all – Anyone can join without approval.
By request – Users can request to join; an admin must approve.
By invitation only – Only users invited by an admin can join.

Invite colleagues to join the workspace

To send invitation to the workspace:

Select the workspace icon from the left toolbar of the file manager.
Go to Administration > Members.
Click Invite People.
Follow the on-screen instructions. You can:

Enter email addresses manually.
Invite your followers or people you follow.
Send an invitation link.

Click Invite to send the invitations.

Assign a workspace member as an administrator

As a workspace admin, you can grant administrator rights to members of your workspace:

Select the workspace icon from the left toolbar of the file manager.
Go to Administration > Members.
Locate the member you want to make an administrator and, in the Access column, select Admin from the drop-down menu.

This allows the selected member to manage the workspace settings.

NOTE: A workspace admin has the same permissions as the workspace owner, except for the ability to transfer ownership. For more details, visit the workspace management section of the protocols.io Help Center.

2. Communication with workspace members

Set up a workspace instructions message

Under the workspace Administration, use the File Manager Instructions option to set up a pop-up message that members must acknowledge when they join the workspace.

TIP: File Manager Instructions is a good place to include workspace rules, codes of conduct, and other important information to ensure every member reads and accepts it.

Send a message to all members

Also available under Administration, the Notify Members option allows you to send a message to all workspace members. Once sent, the message notification will be visible both in the bell icon area and in the Announcements section. These notifications do not require acknowledgment.

Email notifications

Each workspace member can choose whether or not to receive email notifications about actions and messages. These settings can be found under Profile > Settings > Email Notifications.

If members turn off email notifications, they will only see updates when they login to protocols.io. Keep this in mind when planning how to communicate with your workspace members.

3. The signing (acceptance) flow

NOTE: This feature is available only in premium workspaces and must be enabled by a workspace admin.

The signing flow allows researchers to digitally sign their own protocols or request signatures from designated workspace members (“approval signers” or witnesses). When approval signers are involved, the process serves as a quality-control step, ensuring that protocols are reviewed and approved by members who confirm that the content is complete, accurate, and ready for public release.

Once a protocol is signed, it becomes locked and cannot be edited. If an “approval signer” rejects a protocol, it becomes editable again so that the protocol owner can make corrections before resubmitting it for approval.
Once all required signatures are collected, the protocol is ready for publication.
However, keep in mind that in an unrestricted workspace, nothing prevents publication from proceeding without signatures.
If the publication should be restricted (e.g. for quality control procedures), follow the steps in point 4.

Enable the signing flow for the workspace

To enable the signing flow in your workspace:

Select the workspace from the left-side menu.
Go to Administration > File Access Settings.
Open the Sharing & Signing Settings tab and scroll-down to the Signing Settings section.
Choose one of the available options:

Owner-only signing – Only the protocol owner can sign.
Owner and additional signers – Allows the protocol owner to assign approval signers.
No signing – Disables the signing feature.

To enable the signing flow, select Owner-only signing or Owner and additional signers.

Choose Owner and additional signers if you want to appoint some members as approval signers.

Click Save to apply the changes.

Assign a member as an approval signer

To assign a member as an approval signer:

Select the workspace from the left-side menu.
Go to Administration > Members. All workspace members will be listed.
For the person you want to designate as a signer, tick the Approval signing box in the Signing column, then click Save.

Sign a protocol as a workspace admin and approval signer

If you are a designated approval signer, you will receive signing requests from workspace members via email and through notifications accessible via the bell icon in the top navigation bar of your account.

To respond to a signing request, click the Accept or Reject button:

If you accept, enter the one time password sent to your email to authenticate.
If you reject, provide a reason and optionally suggest changes.

4. Restrict protocol publication to the workspace admins

For workspaces that require stricter control on protocol publication, it is possible to restrict publication to workspace admins only. In this case, the admin(s) responsible for publishing must also be assigned as “approval signer”, so they can complete the publication process after all signatures have been collected.

To ensure that only workspace admins can publish protocols:

Enable the signing flow using Owner and additional signers (as described above). Any admin responsible for publication must also be assigned as “approval signer”.
Go to Administration > File Access Settings.
Turn off Allow publishing for Member (while keeping the Admin option enabled).

TIP: Workspace admins are always able to publish even unsigned protocols if they choose so.