Setting folder permissions

The permission system in the Documents application is based on folders. You do not set permissions on an individual file; you set permissions on the folder it is stored in.

You set permission levels for group and public folders only. Personal folders, by definition, are accessible only by you, eliminating the need for setting permissions for them. You must set folder permissions via your web office; you cannot set folder permissions via Web Folders.

The Documents permission system is based on access levels. A member's access level determines what that member is allowed to do to a folder and its contents. For example, a user with Read & Add access can view and add documents to a folder but cannot change the settings for the folder itself, or change other members' documents. By contrast, users with Manage access can view, edit, add, and delete all documents or folders that any member has created.

Each folder has a default access level. This is the access level that all members have to a folder. You can override the default setting for specific members or groups by explicitly assigning the members or groups a different (that is, non-default) access level.

Four permission levels

There are four levels of permission: No Access, Read, Read & Add, and Manage. The permissions you set for the folders determine the permission levels of the documents within that folder.

No Access	Members cannot see the folder or any of the documents saved there.
Read	Members can view the documents in the folder, but can't edit existing documents or add new ones.
Read & Add	Members can view and add documents to the folder. They can also edit and delete the documents they post, but they can't change settings for the folder itself or other members' documents.
Manage	Members can view, edit, add, and delete both documents and folders that anyone created. Administrators automatically have Manage access for all folders.

The following table gives some common permission scenarios and describes the permissions you would set to accomplish them.

Posting a document that only certain members can see	Assign each member or group Read access to the folder where the document is filed, and set the default access to No Access.
Posting a document that all members can see	Set the default access to the folder where the document is filed to Read.
Posting a document that all members can see, but only a few can edit	Give the few editors Manage access to the folder where the document is filed and set the default access to Read.

To set permissions for a folder:

In the Menu, click Documents, then click the All Folders tab.
Find the folder whose permissions you want to set, then click its Permissions icon.

Initially, permissions are only set for administrators and the folder creator. All other web office members have the default access level specified for "--All Other Members--".
If necessary, change the access level for --All Other Members--. This step sets the default access level for all members.
To set permissions for members and groups who need special (that is, non-default) access to this folder, click Choose Members. The Choose Members page appears.
From the Members list on the right, select the member or group that needs special access, then click the add icon to add them to the list of people with special permissions.
To remove a member or group from the special permissions list, select the member or group name and click the remove icon .
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have identified all members and groups that require special access.
When you are done identifying members and groups, click OK to return to the Edit Folder page. This is the page where you set the actual permissions for the members and groups you chose in steps 4 through 6.
Choose the access level for each member or group from the corresponding Access Level menu.
If you would like to apply this permission setting to all the subfolders of this folder, click the Apply permissions to all subfolders checkbox.
Before you save the permissions, review them carefully. The security of your folder's information depends on you assigning the appropriate access levels.
In the Command Bar, click Save to save your changes.

Notes about folder permissions

Because personal folders are accessible only by you, you cannot set permissions for personal folders.
When you use Web Folders to access the Documents application, you are required to enter your web office login name and password. You can only access files and folders in your Web Folder that you would normally be permitted to see in your web office.