---
title: Set folder permissions for users and groups
description: How to Set Folder Permissions
---

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2. [Managing Workspace (General)](https://help.safelinkhub.com/managing-workspace-general?hsLang=en)
3. [Groups & Permissions](https://help.safelinkhub.com/managing-workspace-general?hsLang=en#groups-permissions)

# Set folder permissions for users and groups

## Control who can view, upload, print and download in each folder, for everyone, specific groups or individual users.

### Before you start

- You need the **Add and edit folder access permissions** workspace permission. Workspace Managers have it by default. If **Folder Permissions** doesn't appear under **Access and Permissions**, ask your Workspace Manager.
- Group permissions can only be set for groups that already exist. Groups are set up under **Access and Permissions** \> **Groups**.
- If you're unfamiliar with how folder permissions, inheritance, or permission hierarchy work, see [Understanding Folder Permissions](https://help.safelinkhub.com/understanding-folder-permissions-in-the-workspace?hsLang=en).
- Users must have the **View Folder** permission on the main **Documents** folder to access its contents. If they do not have permission to view the **Documents** folder, they will not be able to access any documents or subfolders within it, even if they have been granted View permissions for those documents or subfolders.

### Steps

1. Click **Manage Workspace** from the side panel.  
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/0992175a-a9f5-42f7-b3ea-a8b62d840490/ascreenshot_521138719dc348d8b793411b235a1b86_text_export.jpeg)
2. Go to **Access and Permissions**, and select **Folder Permissions**.  
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/0cd7f24e-3334-4695-838b-e4fa67d21547/ascreenshot_295bc53089f3400fbcd924b58977c20e_text_export.jpeg)
   
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/2f700b7a-f53a-4634-bef2-f5a349f65c01/ascreenshot_10a4187682284e0394744e044014e89f_text_export.jpeg)
3. The first set of permission buttons represents the Default Permissions for all users and groups in the workspace.  
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/2ce75e9b-69b0-4501-b97b-a0ed4a6728fb/ascreenshot_db73cf8fc7c64e79a0c9c876e582445c_text_export.jpeg)
4. Click the appropriate permission button to allow or deny actions. 
     - **Green** indicates the permission is allowed.
     - **Red** indicates the permission is denied.
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/2ce75e9b-69b0-4501-b97b-a0ed4a6728fb/ascreenshot_cf3e1b50724b4c4fb3214b4f32abee3a_text_export.jpeg)
5. Select one of the following options: 
     - **Can...** – Indicates the action is allowed.
     - **Can't...** – Indicates the action is denied.
     - **Inherit this setting** – Indicates the permission is inherited.
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/f79dc1b3-56bf-42ec-810d-107ee6c20f62/ascreenshot_c0eeff7867734e3091b5fdbb0d5025fb_text_export.jpeg)
6. Click **Save Permissions**.  
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/44de79d8-fcf5-4c4d-bffc-05286e0dd2c4/ascreenshot_05650db9f0624965b9f58053f8ce7c83_text_export.jpeg)
7. Click the **Which user or group do you wish to change permissions for?** drop-down menu and select a group.  
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/9cfd0cd5-8b61-4e90-8111-a59f0e1b9498/ascreenshot_1295086045cf4879b3f5acb62e92754b_text_export.jpeg)
8. A second set of permission buttons appears above the default permissions. 
     - **Green** indicates the permission is allowed.
     - **Red** indicates the permission is denied.
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/255f1fa0-87c8-4da4-a87d-636d4c4ab21d/ascreenshot_5088d2a61a4945e38b18e6495d8a5ece_text_export.jpeg)
9. Select one of the following options: 
     - **Can...** – Indicates the action is allowed.
     - **Can't...** – Indicates the action is denied.
     - **Inherit this setting** – Indicates the permission is inherited.
   ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/cb4eb50a-2a31-4311-a50a-ca792f604d53/ascreenshot_7b4c9e4ed6a0487d88531eb9cc47ba3e_text_export.jpeg)
10. Click **Save Permissions**.  
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/7f29617d-3be4-437e-b942-91afd9d9a7b5/ascreenshot_169731d4e1244e8d831575d9e9f660d0_text_export.jpeg)
11. Click the **Which user or group do you wish to change permissions for?** drop-down.  
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/f741bcfe-b569-4932-9f84-085be072f483/ascreenshot_62aa0da270904125adff9ebf40d6aae6_text_export.jpeg)
12. Enter the user's name in the search field, then select the user from the list.  
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/b33f23d0-16e7-4363-a786-f301b76e0520/ascreenshot_cf7a4823f34b4a7483083ddc9a439641_text_export.jpeg)
    
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/f70a7217-1bca-45fe-8a8e-b9484e0b5bd9/ascreenshot_c077ada4f3a649e39941893be7fad10d_text_export.jpeg)
13. Depending on whether the selected user belongs to a group, two or three sets of permission buttons are displayed: 
      - **Top buttons:** Individual user permissions.
      - **Middle buttons:** Group permissions (only displayed if the user belongs to a group).
      - **Bottom buttons:** Default permissions.
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/a78beeac-55e4-44ae-af0c-8bba50d0b1ce/ascreenshot_7fa5239f89f9441b869d14ef4c68f0bd_text_export.jpeg)
14. Click the appropriate button in the top permission button set, then select one of the following options: 
      - **Can...** – Indicates the action is allowed.
      - **Can't...** – Indicates the action is denied.
      - **Inherit this setting** – Indicates the permission is inherited.
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/f04e4ff9-ddcf-4264-bec3-c65dc1fc65f1/ascreenshot_560738f15d6a4df08c6eb8af3cb76f70_text_export.jpeg)
15. Click **Save Permissions**.  
    ![](https://colony-recorder.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/files/2026-07-06/8beba6af-43ee-4005-ba71-dcea07760d6b/ascreenshot_755cfd924ffd49c4bf1639645bbe7e92_text_export.jpeg)
16. Each time you click **Save Permissions**, a confirmation prompt appears. Review it, then click **OK** to save your changes, or **Cancel** to go back and review them. The prompt shows whose permissions you're changing and who will be affected: 
      - **Default permissions:** "This will affect all users and groups with default permissions."
      - **Group:** "This will affect all users within this group."
      - **Individual user:** "This will affect the selected user's access permissions."
      
    ![](https://help.safelinkhub.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Oct-23-2026-10-51-26-8158-PM.png?width=500&height=311&name=image-png-Oct-23-2026-10-51-26-8158-PM.png)

### What happens next

When you click **OK**, you'll see "Changes to permissions were saved successfully." and the button changes to **Saved**. The changes take effect straight away, so users see their new access the next time they open or refresh a page.

- Folders a user can't view are hidden from them, along with everything inside.
- Documents a user can't view are hidden from them.
- Users can only print or download where those permissions are allowed.
- If a user can't view the main **Documents** folder, they see a message asking them to contact their Workspace Manager.
- New folders and documents inherit the permissions of the folder they're added to, until you give them their own settings.

You can use [View as User](https://help.safelinkhub.com/view-as-user?hsLang=en) to review folder permissions for a specific user and verify that they have the correct access. You'll find it next to each user under **Access and Permissions** \> **Workspace Access**.

### Good to know

#### What each permission allows

| Permission | When allowed, users can | Also needs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| View Folder | See and open the folder | Nothing else |
| Upload | Upload documents and create subfolders in the folder | View Folder |
| Folder Admin | Rename, move or delete documents and subfolders in the folder | View Folder |
| View Docs | Open and read documents | View Folder |
| Edit Docs | Update the contents of documents | View Folder and View Docs |
| Print | Print documents | View Folder and View Docs |
| Download Original | Download documents in their original format | View Folder and View Docs |
| Download PDF | Download documents as PDFs | View Folder and View Docs |
| Watermark | See a watermark on documents | View Folder and View Docs |

Edit Docs only appears if the spreadsheet editor is enabled in your workspace, and Watermark only if watermarks are enabled. For Watermark, allowing it adds the watermark rather than removing it.

#### How permissions are worked out

- On each folder, an individual user setting overrides a group setting, and a group setting overrides the default.
- **Inherit this setting** uses the setting from the folder above. If nothing is set on any folder above, the permission is denied.
- A setting made on a folder takes priority over anything inherited from the folders above. For example, if a subfolder's default denies Print, a user allowed to print in the parent folder can't print in that subfolder unless you allow it for them there too.
- If a user is in several groups with different settings on the same folder, they get the permission if any of those groups allows it.
- To open a folder, a user needs View Folder on it and on every folder above it.
- Folder permissions apply to everyone, including Workspace Managers. The exception is users with the **See all folders & documents** workspace permission, who can see every folder and document.

#### On the Folder Permissions page

- A solid outline shows a setting made on that folder for whoever is selected. A dashed outline shows an inherited setting.
- A greyed-out button can't be changed, because a permission it needs isn't allowed or a folder above it is hidden.
- A ◇ marks folders and documents with their own settings. The bar at the bottom shows how many there are, and your plan's limit if it has one.
- Documents appear under their folders, so you can set permissions for individual documents. View Folder, Upload and Folder Admin don't apply to documents.
- If the part of the tree you're viewing holds more than 500 documents, only folders are shown. To work on a smaller part, select the folder in **Documents**, then select **Permissions** in the Actions panel.
- Anyone who can change folder permissions sees the names of every folder and document on this page, including ones hidden from them elsewhere.

#### Saving changes

- You can change settings for several users and groups before saving. Switching the selection in the drop-down keeps your changes, and the button shows how many are waiting, for example **Save 3 Changes**.
- Take extra care with default permissions. They apply to everyone without their own or a group setting on that folder, so they may affect more people than you expect.
- Clicking **Cancel** on the confirmation returns you to the page with your changes still in place.

Need help? Please contact our support team at [support@safelinkhub.com](mailto:support@safelinkhub.com).

 

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