Storing your data files on the OSF makes them easier to share, interact with, and cite. ## Sharing / Publishing Everything on the OSF is private by default. You can keep your materials private, grant certain contributors the ability to see or modify those materials (see this "[Add Contributors](http://help.osf.io/m/projects/l/482001-add-contributors)" guide), or you can choose to make the materials viewable to the public at large (see this "[Control Your Privacy Settings](http://help.osf.io/m/projects/l/524048-control-your-privacy-settings)" guide). You can share everything in your project or just some parts. Every component in a project can have its own contributors and its own privacy settings so you can work with one group on your analysis scripts and a separate group on the data collection or manuscript editing. You can then choose to make just one of those components public and leave the other as a private work space for your collaborators. ## Interacting with files The OSF is able to display many different kinds of files directly on the site. This makes it easy to view [a word processor document](https://osf.io/x8vf4/), play [a video](https://osf.io/dqkeb/), interact with [a 3D model](https://osf.io/qc45t/?show=view), or sort through [a CSV](https://osf.io/y3f4v/), all without having to download the files and open them on your local computer. ## Citing your data Every file, project, and component on the OSF gets a Globally Unique ID ([GUID](http://help.osf.io/m/faqs/l/726460-faqs#what-s-a-globally-unique-identifier-guid-what-metadata-is-maintained-about-them)). The GUID is the five characters after the "osf.io/" in the web address. The GUID for this "Data" component is "tyjgc". These IDs make it easy to direct people to exactly the right material in your project. This article: "Measuring changes in transmission of neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and enteric pathogens from quantitative antibody levels. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11(5): e0005616." [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005616](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005616) is a great example of how you can use OSF GUIDs in your publication. They include GUIDs for the Data and Script components of [their OSF project](https://osf.io/8tqu4/) directly in the figure captions so that readers can quickly jump to the source material and see exactly how those figures were created. In addition to GUIDs, Components and Projects each have "Citation" tools that provide properly formatted citations for those parts of your project in a wide range of different citation formats. Publicly shared Components and Projects can also receive free DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or ARK (Archival Resource Key) IDs.