---
title: Bulk User Onboarding
description: >-
  Add up to 1,000 users, import a contact list, share sites, and create an
  individual site for each user. Review access and invitation results in one
  workflow.
ogTitle: Bulk User Onboarding Guide
ogDescription: >-
  Import users, choose site permissions, add group memberships and tags, and
  create individual Draft or Published sites in Clear Ideas.
ogImage: /assets/images/og/administrators-guide-bulk-user-onboarding.webp
navigation:
  icon: fasl fa-user-plus
---

# Bulk User Onboarding

Use **Add users** to bring a list of users into Clear Ideas, give them access to existing sites, and optionally create a separate site for each user. The dialog has four steps: **Users**, **Access**, **Review**, and **Results**.

Open **Users** and choose **New User** to open the **Add users** dialog, or start from the Users area of a site you administer. When an **Account** selector is available, choose the personal or organization account that will manage this batch. Available sites, groups, templates, and advanced options follow that account and your permissions.

The users table, site access, group memberships, and user tags are available on supported sharing plans. Business, Enterprise, and Custom accounts also support AI document import, individual sites, and the Advanced settings described below.

## 1. Users

Each user needs both a **Name** and a valid **Email** address. Names support international characters. A batch can contain up to **1,000 users**.

Enter one name and email per line in **Names and emails**, then choose **Add to list**. You can also select **Add a user** to enter a row, or **Import file** to read a contact list.

| Format | How it is imported |
| --- | --- |
| CSV, TSV, XLSX | Names and emails are read from spreadsheet rows. Column headings such as Name and Email help identify the values. |
| TXT, DOCX, text-based PDF | AI extracts names and emails into editable rows. Business or higher, enabled AI, available AI credits, and the account's AI policy are required. |

The upload limit is **10 MB per file**. Convert older `.xls` workbooks to `.xlsx`. PDF import reads existing text; scanned or image-only PDFs need conversion to readable text first. For a workbook with several populated worksheets, the importer uses the first and identifies it in the import message.

Imported values appear in the users table before any users are added. Edit names and emails there, review entries marked **Needs attention**, and use **Show issues only** to focus the list. Repeated email addresses are merged when lists are combined; conflicting names require confirmation. Use the page controls for long lists and **Remove selected** to remove unwanted rows.

Choose **Continue** when the list is ready.

## 2. Access

### Existing sites

Under **Existing sites**, select the sites to share. Set a **Permission** and, optionally, **Access expires** for each selected site. For example, users can be Viewers on a fund site and Downloaders on a document library, with different expiry dates for each.

These selections apply to all users in the batch. Existing direct roles and expiry dates are preserved; adding an existing user again does not replace their access settings. Use [Managing Users](/site-administrator-guide/managing-users) for later permission changes. Plan limits and organization policies still apply, and **Review** shows the resulting access.

### Groups and user tags

**Groups (optional)** adds the listed users to selected existing groups. They inherit the site access those groups already have. This selection adds users to groups; it does not grant those groups access to another site or to newly created individual sites.

**Tags (optional)** labels these users within the selected administering account. User tags help organize the list and do not grant site access.

### A separate site for each user

On Business or higher, enable **Create a separate site for each user**. Select a starting point:

- **Empty site** creates a site ready for content.
- **Folder template** creates the folder structure from an available template.
- **Copy an existing site** copies supported content from a site available to copy in the selected account.

Choose the user's **Permission** for their individual site; the default is Viewer. Copying content does not copy the source site's users or groups. Some protected or unsupported source content cannot be copied; use an available folder template or empty site instead.

Set a **Site name template** using the variable menu:

| Template | Example for Jane Smith, jane@example.com |
| --- | --- |
| `Investor - {{Name}}` | Investor - Jane Smith |
| `Investor - {{Email}}` | Investor - jane@example.com |

The supported variables are `{{Name}}` and `{{Email}}`. Check the example and generated names in Review. Each generated name must be unique in the selected account and no longer than 100 characters. If users share a name, including `{{Email}}` can distinguish their sites.

**New site tags (optional)** applies the same site labels to every site created by this batch. These are separate from user tags. Source-site tags are not automatically inherited by copied sites.

Choose **Create sites as**:

- **Draft**, the default, keeps a site available to its administrators while it is being prepared. It sends no site invitation.
- **Published** makes it available to users who have permission and sends pending site invitations.

Draft and Published describe site visibility. Publishing makes a site available to its authorized users; it does not make documents available to everyone on the internet. See [General Site Settings](/site-administrator-guide/general-site-settings).

### Advanced

Business and higher accounts have two initial preferences for newly created users:

| Setting | Default and effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Use simplified interface for new users** | On. New free users without administrative responsibilities see their sites and review tools, with site creation, user management, analytics, and agents hidden. The introductory walkthrough follows this simpler interface. |
| **Send Clear Ideas welcome emails** | Off. Suppresses the Clear Ideas welcome email journey. Site invitations and sign-in or security messages still arrive. |

Existing users keep their profile and communication preferences. The simplified interface changes presentation, not permissions. A user can enable **Show the full Clear Ideas interface** in [Settings > Profile](/guide/profile-settings) whenever they want the additional tools.

## 3. Review

Review the users, generated site names, groups, user tags, new site tags, and Advanced settings. The existing-site summary shows effective permissions and expiry, including access inherited **Via group**. User counts beside an access variant identify which users receive it.

Use **Back** to change the list or access settings. Changes are reviewed again before submission. Select **Add users** to start processing the reviewed batch.

### When invitations arrive

Site invitations are individual emails containing the link to the site being shared. They are sent when access to a Published site becomes available. They are separate from [activity notifications](/guide/notifications), which may follow an hourly or other configured digest schedule.

For example, if an investor receives access to a Published fund site and a new Draft individual site, the fund invitation is sent first. The individual-site invitation is sent when that site is published. If both sites are Draft, neither invitation is sent until its site is published. Invitations are not combined into an hourly activity digest.

You can prepare individual sites and publish several together from the Sites list. See [Sites](/site-administrator-guide/sites) and [General Site Settings](/site-administrator-guide/general-site-settings).

## 4. Results

Results shows progress for each user, the individual site where one was created, and site invitation outcomes. Use **Show issues only** to focus on incomplete work or failed invitations. The existing-site invitation summary also lets you inspect recipients for each outcome.

- **Complete** means the user's setup completed. Invitation outcomes are shown separately.
- **Sent** records an invitation accepted by the email provider; it does not confirm the user has opened it.
- **Not sent at setup — site was Draft** records the site's state during setup. Later publication sends invitations through the site's normal invitation process.
- **Failed** includes the setup or invitation error. **Not sent — access no longer available** means the user no longer has the access needed for that invitation.

Select **Retry failed work** to retry incomplete setup or failed invitations. Completed setup and generated sites are retained, so an invitation retry does not create another individual site. Existing access does not trigger a new invitation simply because the same user is included again.

A submitted batch continues processing when the dialog is closed. Choose **New User** to reopen the dialog, expand **Recent imports**, and choose **View results** to return to its progress. Submitted work can resume after a processing interruption.

Use **Export results** to download a CSV containing names, emails, individual site names, setup status, invitation outcomes, and errors. Open generated sites from Results, or use the individual-site icon beside the user in the Users list. If more than one generated site is linked, the icon opens a selection menu.

## Related guides

- [Managing Users](/site-administrator-guide/managing-users) — roles, groups, expiry, and ongoing access management
- [Profile Settings](/guide/profile-settings) — enable the full interface
- [General Site Settings](/site-administrator-guide/general-site-settings) — Draft and Published visibility
- [Notifications](/guide/notifications) — activity notification preferences