Understanding Roles and Permissions

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About this lesson

Understand the 3 default permission groups in SharePoint Online. 

Quick reference

Understanding Roles and Permissions

By default, there are 3 permission groups that users can be assigned to in SharePoint. Each permission group allows a different level of access to the site. 

When to use

All site members must be assigned to a permission group. 

Instructions

There are 3 default permissions groups in SharePoint:

  • Owner (Full Control) - As the owner, we have full control over every aspect of the site. We can add, modify and delete items, assign permissions levels to others and even delete the entire site. When we create a site in SharePoint, by default we become the owner. A site can have more than one owner. 
  • Members (Contributors) - Most people are assigned the Members permission level. This allows us to work with the content and contribute to the site but we can't delete anything. 
  • Visitors (Read Only Access) - Visitors have read-only access to the site. This means we can view files, documents, libraries, lists, and other content but we cannot modify it or delete it. 

Permission groups are customizable and we can create our own permission groups outside of these 3 default groups. 

Hints & tips

  • If you are the only owner of a site, do not change your permission level to member or visitor. 
  • External people added to a SharePoint site will be given the permission level of Guest. 
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  • 00:04 One of the biggest selling points of SharePoint is its permissions.
  • 00:07 To gain access you need to be given permission to do so by being invited and
  • 00:12 assigned a permission level.
  • 00:14 And there are three default permission levels in SharePoint.
  • 00:18 The first permission level is owner.
  • 00:20 And this means that you have full control of the SharePoint site.
  • 00:25 You can create new lists and libraries.
  • 00:27 You can work with all of the content.
  • 00:30 And you can even delete files, libraries, lists,
  • 00:33 even the entire site if you wanted to.
  • 00:35 Although, I wouldn't recommend it.
  • 00:38 And as the owner of the site, you can assign permission levels to other people.
  • 00:43 And you can have more than one owner.
  • 00:45 The next permission level is members.
  • 00:47 So this is for contributors.
  • 00:49 And I would say that in an organization most people in a SharePoint site
  • 00:54 are members.
  • 00:55 Members can work with the content, they can edit files,
  • 00:59 they can upload things, but what they can't do is delete anything.
  • 01:04 And then the final permission level is visitors or guests.
  • 01:08 And anyone who has this permission level assigned only has read only access to
  • 01:13 the SharePoint site.
  • 01:15 So they can view content, they can look at documents,
  • 01:18 they can look at the information in libraries,
  • 01:21 but they can't edit anything and they definitely can't delete anything.
  • 01:27 It's also worth noting that if you add an external person to your site, so
  • 01:31 somebody who isn't within your organization,
  • 01:34 then they're going to be assigned the permission level of guests.
  • 01:38 And as you can probably imagine, all of these groups you can modify, so
  • 01:42 there is a certain level of customization you can do to get these groups working
  • 01:47 exactly as you see fit.
  • 01:49 You can even create your own permission groups,
  • 01:51 which is something you might want to explore.
  • 01:54 And this is why this is such a big selling point when it comes to SharePoint.
  • 01:57 You can essentially lock down content and
  • 02:00 assign permission levels to different people.

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