Yes, You Can Control Who Sees Your Documents

If you have run a traditional intranet server in the past, you probably have run into the pain of managing permissions. Web pages and files are typically on servers that either have no restrictions or have clunky ones that require you to re-enter your password multiple times. These sites are cumbersome for your employees to use. However, SharePoint makes managing these pages and files significantly more straightforward. With SharePoint permissions, you can precisely control who sees your documents!

Here’s how you can configure your SharePoint instance with the correct permissions for any document, web page, or another asset – whether you want to guard it closely or don’t care who sees it.

SharePoint Permissions: Understand the Seven Default Levels

There are seven default permission levels in SharePoint that you need to know. Each one is customizable, except for the Limited Access and Full Control levels.

1.  View Only: This permission permits users to view pages.
2.  Limited Access: Use this permission to allow certain users access to shared resources and assets. The idea behind this permission is that you can fine-tune other permissions so that users in this bucket can only see a specific list, document, or folder.
3.  Read: This permission is probably the most common one for employees. It allows them to view pages, list items, and download documents.
4.  Contribute: Even though you might think this name implies that people in this bucket can contribute anywhere on the SharePoint site, it doesn’t. With this permission, users can manage personal views and update personal web parts. In essence, this lets them contribute something to the site, but not in an official manner for the company.
5.  Edit: This permission has all the permissions of the Contribute level plus the ability to manage lists.
6. Design: Users can contribute to the site and edit lists, and this permission lets them design the site. So they can add, update, edit, delete, or approve items and pages on the SharePoint site.
7. Full Control: As the name implies, this permission lets the user have free reign over the entire site. They can design, edit, delete, and change everything.

These are the default levels that SharePoint sites have. However, they are not the only permissions you can configure.

More Granularity Is Possible

You can fine-tune the SharePoint permissions for any particular site or component of your site. You can even create custom permission levels and assign people to them. For example, you might want a permission level that lets you design certain aspects of the site but only read others.

Microsoft lists all the possible permission combinations online. Most of the permission combinations are pretty straightforward and intuitive, but some, like Contribute, are a little misleading. If you ever find yourself wondering what permissions will give you the access control you want, that reference is a handy guide.

SharePoint Is Much Better for Permissions Than Other Solutions

SharePoint permissions are much more straightforward to configure and maintain than many other solutions (like a traditional file server). You can fine-tune these permissions to adhere to the principle of least privilege with relative ease.

At INVID Group, we have extensive experience configuring SharePoint permissions. If you are looking for SharePoint assistance, please contact us! We would love to help!

Download our SharePoint Permissions e-Book to learn more.