Workiva Support Center

Understand folder permissions

Folder permissions determine who can view and edit folders in a workspace. You can update and set folder permissions for collaborators and groups to control who sees what folders. By default, when a user creates a folder, they will be granted Owner permissions by default. No other collaborator or group will have access.  

How do folder permissions interact with file and subfolder permissions?

Setting or changing permissions on a folder does not change the permissions on files or subfolders in that folder. Files and subfolders within a folder do not inherit permissions from the folder–permissions are set separately for folders, subfolders, and files.

For example, if someone has Viewer access to a folder, but Owner permissions to a file in it, they keep Owner permissions to the file. Similarly, if someone has Viewer access to a folder, but Owner permissions to a subfolder within that folder, they keep Owner permissions to the subfolder. Also, if you move a file or subfolder into or out of a folder, it does not change the file's permissions.

What happens when I create a new file in a folder?

When you create a new file or upload a file to a folder, by default it sets the file with the folder's permissions. After you create a file, you can change or adjust permissions on files as needed. If you need to be set as the file's owner, you can create a file from Home.

What happens if I remove permissions to a folder?

If you remove permissions on a folder for someone, they’ll no longer see the folder listed in Files. They can still access any files they have permission to in that folder with a direct link or using search. Additionally, if the file was recently opened or starred, they can still see the file listed in Starred or Recent Files.

Permission levels

There are three levels of permissions you can set for folders:

• Owners can edit and manage folder contents, as well as modify permissions.
• Editors can edit the folder's contents, as well as add new files and subfolders.
• Viewers can see and open a folder, but can't make any changes.

If you remove permissions to a folder, collaborators won’t see the folder listed in Files. Read the tables below to see what each permission level can do.

Use folders

Manage folders

Tip: To prevent users from moving files from one folder to another, you can set their folder permissions to viewer.

Set folder permissions

To set permissions for a folder:

1. From Files, right-click the folder.
2. Select Permissions , then click This Folder.
   
3. Search or scroll the list to find collaborators. You can click the Filter icon to view collaborators by permission level.
4. Select a permission level by clicking an option.
5. Click Apply Changes.

Remove folder permissions

To remove a collaborator or group from a folder:

1. From Files, right-click the folder.
2. Select Permissions , then click This Folder.
3. Hover over their name and click the X.
4. Click Apply Changes. 

Note: If you remove a collaborator's permission to a folder, they won't be able to see the folder in Files.

Update folder and file permissions

If you have Owner permissions to all the files and subfolders in a folder, you can bulk update permissions for multiple items in that folder from the Folder and Files option. 

To open a matrix view of your files and their permissions in the Advanced Permissions Editor:

1. From Files or Home, right-click a folder.
2. From Permissions, select Folder and Files.

   
   

   This view shows a list of all the files in your folder, including any subfolders and their files.
   

   To edit permissions on an individual section of a file, right-click the file and select Section Permissions. You can also open a file by right-clicking the file name and selecting Open. 
   

3. Click Save to apply changes made in the Advanced Permissions Editor. 

What’s next

For additional details on using folders, see the following articles:

• Using Folders
• Manage Folders and Files