What are workspace roles?
Roles control what features a member has access to in a workspace. Workspace Owners and Org Workspace Admins can assign roles to workspace members to set what members can do. Roles are unique to each workspace–if you belong to multiple workspaces, you’ll have a role for each workspace you belong to.
Permissions, on the other hand, determine the level of access you have to specific resources.
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Roles provide access to features, such as Filing or XBRL.
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Permissions provide access to documents and data, such as a specific document or section.
So, to set the overall access in a workspace, assign the role needed for feature access and set permissions based on the file or document.
Note: There are also roles at the organizational level for those that manage all workspaces and people in your organization. Learn more about Organization Roles.
How do roles and permissions intersect?
A role determines the maximum you will be able to do in any workspace. Permissions dictate the level of capabilities you have to a specific resource (folder, file, section, etc) within the workspace. For example, if you have a Viewer role and someone gives you Editor permission to a document, you still won’t be able to edit the document because of your Viewer role.
Can you have multiple roles?
If you have multiple roles, the role with the most access takes precedence. For example, if you have both Editor and Viewer roles, the access provided by Editor will be applied. As such, you normally only need the role that gives the most access.
What roles are available?
There are several different workspace roles available, each with their own level of access to features. For a detailed list of role abilities see:
- Organization Roles are only available at the organization level and typically reserved for admins
- Workspace Roles are general roles available in workspaces
- Database Roles are additional roles available for SOX, Internal Audit, and other database solutions.