Folder permissions can be inherited from Roles, from a Host, or from a “parent” folder. Individual (non-inherited), folder permissions can be set on any folder from the Site Browser tab.
Although permissions can be set and inherited from the system host or set individually on folders and objects from the Website tab, as a general rule larger implementations will find setting permissions from the system host to be a more efficient and centralized permissions management strategy whereas smaller implementations may prefer the convenience of setting permissions on objects from the the Site Browser tab. The dotCMS is flexible and allows users to implement their own permissions management style using either method.
To view the permissions set on a folder, right-click on the folder from the Site Browser tab, then click “edit folder”. Now click on the Permissions tab next to the folder Properties tab.
Folder Permission Inheritance from System Host
Below is an image of a folder that is inheriting all its permissions from the “System Host”. This means that permissions on this folder, and the host above it, are inheriting permissions directly from the Role permissons themselves set at the System Host* level.
*For more information on setting permissions on dotCMS objects from the System Host, please see the documentation on Role Permissions.
Setting Individual Permissions
While editing a folder, clicking on the Permissions tab and the “Permission Individually” button will stop any role inheritance coming from higher up the permission hierarchy and allows for permissions to be set from the folder itself. The individual folder permissions can then also define how “child” objects will directly inherit permissions. The image below shows a folder whose permissions have been set individually.
*For more information on setting permissions on dotCMS objects from the System Host, please see the documentation on Role Permissions.
Note on Required Permissions for Users
Performing different operations on a folder may require different levels of permission:
- Creating or renaming a folder requires Edit permission.
- Deleting a folder requires Edit Permissions permission.
