The Extranet Part of Your Intranet Portal

Extranet: what's it for?

Our clients and partners got used to the idea that when you set up and run Bitrix Intranet Portal it is presupposed that you can use only a limited number of users (let's say "employees") within your corporate network. Well, I can say that this statement is now wrong… Twice.

First of all, you have an option to buy Bitrix Intranet Portal with unlimited user licenses. And secondly, the product has a brand new Extranet module that allows third party users (we can call them "non-employees") to access a part of your corporate network and interact with you and your colleagues!

Basically, the Extranet module is a kind of additional story built on your corporate network (Intranet Portal) that can be used as a neutral territory for inviting and working with people who do not belong to your company directly.
Extranet: what's it for?
Features available in the Extranet part of your Intranet Portal
Preparing to work with the Extranet
Understanding the difference between the Intranet and Extranet users
Registering new users for the Extranet
Creating workgroups and inviting users from the "outside"
Finishing projects and archiving workgroups
Give it a try - 30-day trial is already available!


Features available in the Extranet part of your Intranet Portal

Besides its main social networking functions (user profiles, workgroups with blogs and forums, file sharing, etc.), the Extranet has a number of other features and tools available for the benefits of your colleagues and the people invited into your Extranet.

	The "Contacts" section displays available contact names of the non-employees (users invited from the "outside") and your company employees who have been granted access to the Extranet;
	Information on absent users, and users' upcoming birthdays is also displayed.
	Blog feeds will be available only to those users who have permission to view this content;
	All users in the Extranet will be able to view the content of the "Documents" section (which is built on the standard bitrix:webdav component);
	Besides general information, the "Company" section contains also a "Subscription" page where Extranet users can subscribe to receive newsletters via email;
	The "Help" section contains both help topics and a webpage on which you can submit a TechSupport ticket. You can modify the TechSupport tickets submission procedure by using the "Wizard - Extranet" component (go to Adminstrative Panel > Content > Information blocks > Information block types > Services);
	Synchronization with Outlook is limited to and regulated by your access permission level to Extranet content, e.g. you will be able to synchronize only the data from the workgroups (incl. workgroup calendars and workgroup tasks) where you have group member status;
	The "Contacts" gadget can be displayed on your Desktop. In the Extranet part of your Portal it is split into two lists: "Members in my workgroups" and "All accessible Extranet users". The number of entries in each of them can be customized in the gadget settings. The most recently contacted person will appear automatically on the top of each list.

The "Contacts" gadget on your Desktop

Preparing to work with the Extranet

You have probably noticed that when installing Bitrix Intranet Portal, the Extranet module is not available by default. To use the Extranet network, you will have to install the Extranet module first.

Go to the Administrative Part > Settings > System Settings > Modules > and then choose to install the Extranet module from the list of all modules available according to your license. After you have install the Extranet module, follow the link shown in the last step of the installation process (or displayed in the Extranet Setup Wizard list menu), and launch the Extranet Customizer (bitrix:extranet).

When using the Extranet Customizer, you'll be able to set all the parameters you need for the proper use of your Intranet and Extranet portals, including the new website ID, its root folder, etc.

When you are finished with creating and customizing your Extranet, it will be then available with for the user groups described above; your brand new Extranet will use the template you have chosen during the installation process and can be changed anytime you want -- just click the "Extranet Configuration Wizard" in the Control Panel.

Important: To avoid "license agreement violation" error code, please disable and remove the Extranet part of your Portal before buying and registering Bitrix Intranet Portal: Office Edition. In this edition you are allowed to have one website only, and the Extranet part of your Portal will count as the second website.

Understanding the difference between the Intranet and Extranet users

So, here is the main question: Can the Extranet users access your company's Intranet? The answer is NO they can't. And that's the point, that's the essence of the Extranet module concept! Your extranet users are persons you want to keep close enough to cooperate with, but still at a secure distance that helps you remain business-private.

All Extranet users (non-employees) have permission to view/modify only the content of the workgroups to which they had been invited. Think of it as of a separate room inside your company where people from the "outside world" have been invited to discuss a project with some of your colleagues. They use a backdoor and cannot see the rest of your company's adjoining premises or other employees

But what about the Intranet users wanting to get access to the Extranet part of your Portal? It's not a problem at all! Any Intranet user with appropriate user permissions is able access the Extranet part of the company's Portal. For employees, access restrictions are controlled by standard mechanisms that you use for the Intranet Portal: all you have to do is bind a user to a user group to limit (or grant additional) access permissions.

But then how is the access to the Extranet limited for the non-employees? If the user is not bound (assigned) to any of the Intranet Portal user groups, then after authorization they will be recognized by the system as "non-employees" and will be automatically directed to the Extranet.

Registering new users for the Extranet

There are different Extranet user groups that regulate access permission level for employees and non-employees of your Corporate Portal that can be registered as Extranet users. When creating a new user you can choose whether or not they will have access to the Extranet part. It can be done when managing User group membership settings, here:

Administrative Panel > Settings > Manage Users > User List > ... Create New User … "Groups" Tab

Different Extranet user groups

As I've already mentioned, the Extranet is specifically created to help connect employees and non-employees. Users from either of these two groups must be assigned to the “Extranet users” group which can be modified in the administrative part of the Intranet Portal

Administrative Panel > Settings > Manage Users > User List > ... "Groups" Tab

Important: Remember that the Intranet users have to be assigned to the " Extranet users" group as well to be able to switch to and use the Extranet part of their company's Portal.

Users (both employees and non-employees) can create workgroups in the Extranet only if they are assigned both to the "Extranet Users" group and to the "Allowed to create extranet user groups" group.

Users assigned to the "Extranet Support" user group have access to all TechSupport requests submitted from the Extranet.

Users with "Extranet Site Administrators" access permissions can manage all third party users' accounts (non-employee accounts with access to the Extranet); these users will be able to view and edit all data present on the Extranet pages and sections, as well.

Also, a new option in the Custom Fields / Additional tab in the user profile customization window has been added, Public Extranet person (called "Visible to all in Extranet" in the updated version). If you check this box, the user will become visible to all Extranet users whether the user is a member of any workgroups or not. "Public Extranet persons" can be contacted by any employee or non-employee having access to the Extranet.

Administrative Part > Settings > Manage Users > User List > ... "Custom Fields" or "Additional" Tab

Public Extranet User / Visible in Extranet checkbox

Creating workgroups and inviting users from the "outside"

Logged in as a Portal Administrator or as a user with appropriate access permissions (e.g. when bound to the Allowed to create extranet user groups user group), you will be able to create workgroups in the Extranet, and invite users from the Intranet or people from the "outside" to join these workgroups.

We have developed a new component for creating workgroups within the Extranet Portal, called bitrix:extranet.group_create. Using this component, you can create a new workgroup in two simple steps:

- create a group (name, description, group image, keywords);
- build up members of the workgroup by inviting your colleagues (users who are your company's employees and who have access to the Intranet Portal) and by inviting users form the "outside" (by sending email notifications containing links and authorization instructions). Just have a look at the screenshots, below:

Creating a workgroup

Inviting people to join the workgroup

If you need to cancel invitations or invite more people to join the workgroup, click the "Group Invitations" link on the workgroup main page. A new page will appear containing the list of all persons who had been invited to the group but haven't accepted the invitation yet. You can modify the list of the invited persons by cancelling invitations or inviting new people to the group.

Important: When you invite a company employee (an Intranet user) to join an Extranet workgroup for the first time, they will be automatically assigned and bound to the "Extranet users" group. However, the "Extranet" button will appear in their Intranet site's upper navigation bar only after they log out and authorize into the system again.

Finishing projects and archiving workgroups

When a project’s goals have been reached and it comes to an end, the workgroup can be archived. By archiving a workgroup in the Extranet, you will make sure that its content will never be modified and that there will no longer be any new notifications sent to the former group members.

Important: Despite the fact that a workgroup once created in the Extranet was closed and archived, all users invited to join this workgroup from the outside will be able to view the content of the Extranet further on until you decide to remove them from the "Extranet Users" group manually.

Give it a try - 30-day trial is already available!

Hope this post helped you understand some of the advantages of the Extranet module your company could benifit from. Don't forget that is available in Bitrix Intranet Portal: Extranet Edition and in Bitrix Intranet Portal: Enterprise Edition, only. You can try for free either of these editions by downloading and installing a 30-day trial.

I will be glad if this new module will help you more easily and flexibly accomplish your everyday business tasks and effectivey re-organize ways you communicate with your partners and clients. Your comments will be very appreciated!