All about doc transfers

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Admin guide to doc transfers

As an Org admin, one of your responsibilities is to ensure that when doc owners leave the organization, their docs get quickly transferred to a new Maker. This is important because when a Maker is deactivated, their docs will become read-only and inoperable for everyone at your company until they are transferred to a new owner.

This doc will detail essentials steps you can take when someone has left your company or is about to leave.

Video tutorial

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Transfer checklist

If the current doc owner is still with the company, we recommend they transfer the docs themselves, as they will be most knowledgeable as to who the doc should be transferred to. Doc owners should follow these steps to prepare the doc for transfer and execute the transfer.

If the current doc owner has already left, you as the admin will need to transfer docs on their behalf. You can transfer docs one by one or do a bulk transfer. Learn more about these options

below⁠

Send the

New doc owner checklist⁠

to the new doc owner(s). This checklist will guide them through becoming familiar with the doc, and reconfiguring any potentially broken integrations and/or automations.

Two effective options for handling document transfers

When choosing who to transfer docs to, admins have two options: transferring the docs in bulk, or transferring the docs one by one. Each have pros and cons:

Transfer in bulk

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Learn how⁠

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This is the option most admins opt for. If transferring in bulk, we typically recommend transferring to a team lead or manager who can then find the appropriate permanent owner for the doc (if it’s not them).

Pros:

Quickest method.

A team lead or manager is likely to be familiar with the doc and it’s processes, and so they should be able to determine the appropriate long-term doc owner.

Cons:

There may be docs with sensitive information that shouldn’t be made visible to the team lead or manager.

If the team lead or manager is not familiar with Coda, there may be a learning curve for them to properly own the doc.

Transfer one by one

Learn how

If there is no single point of contact who it makes sense to own all of the docs, or there are docs that shouldn’t be transferred, you, as the admin, have the option to transfer docs one by one. With this method, you will decide on the appropriate new owner(s) by looking at member roles/activity or by reviewing doc ownership requests.

This is a good option if you are familiar with the team or process the doc is about. If not, we recommend option #1

Pros:

More discrepancy in what docs and information get transferred, and to whom. This is important if there is sensitive information within the docs.

Cons:

Can take a longer time to go through every doc, leaving docs in a read-only state for longer.

Coda Tip

If you (the admin) are a doc maker, you can first make yourself the doc owner in order relieve the docs from being read-only. Then, you can take your time in making the appropriate transfer.

If you aren’t familiar with the individual or team, you may be uncertain as to who the best owner is.

Doc transfer requests

If a user departs without transferring their docs, doc makers on their team can request to become the doc owner. As an admin, you have the ability to approve or deny these requests.

Learn more here⁠

Final considerations

Only Organizational Admins can transfer docs

Docs will become read-only after a user is deactivated or deprovisioned via SCIM.

Read only means that the doc becomes unusable for anything other than viewing. If updating the doc is a key part of a team’s process, a read-only doc can severely impact team execution. We recommend taking action before it comes to this.

Even better, you should have the owner transfer docs before they leave

All public docs (docs in public folders) or docs that were shared with at least one other person will available to be transferred.

Non-transferrable are docs owned by this removed user that are not shared with anyone. These docs will be deleted instead of transferred. If you want to transfer instead of delete these private docs please reach out to Coda support.

When you are transferring a doc to new owner they will need to be (or will become) a doc maker.

Refresh yourself on our

best practices for managing makers⁠

⁠

Video tutorial

Transfer checklist

Two effective options for handling document transfers

Transfer in bulk

Transfer one by one

Coda Tip

Doc transfer requests

Final considerations

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