Permissions and Access Control Features

BlueDocs provides enterprise-grade permissions and access control, giving you complete flexibility to manage who can see, edit, and interact with your organization's knowledge base.

Organization-Wide User Management

Four-Tier Role System

BlueDocs uses a straightforward four-level role hierarchy that makes it easy to assign the right level of access to each team member:

• Admin – Complete control over the organization, including user management, permissions configuration, and all document operations
• Manager – Can oversee content, assign documents, approve changes, and manage team workflows
• Editor – Create and edit content across document types with controlled publishing rights
• Viewer – Read-only access to view and acknowledge documents

Simple User Onboarding

Add team members by email invitation with automatic role assignment. Users receive a welcome email and can access the platform immediately upon accepting the invitation.

Granular Document Permissions

Every role can be configured with seven distinct permission levels for each document type (SOPs, Policies, Training Materials, Knowledge Base, and Custom Types):

• Create – Start new documents
• View – Read and access content
• Edit – Modify existing documents
• Delete – Remove documents
• Publish – Make content live for the organization
• Approve – Review and authorize document changes
• Assign – Delegate documents to team members for completion or acknowledgment

These permissions are customizable per document type, so you can grant your HR team full access to policy documents while limiting their access to technical SOPs.

Department-Based Permissions

Organizational Structure

Create departments to mirror your company structure (e.g., HR, Finance, Operations, IT). Each department can have its own permission set for different document types.

Department-Level Control

Configure permissions at the department level to automatically grant appropriate access based on where users work. For example:

• HR department gets full control over policy documents
• Operations team can create and edit SOPs but not delete them
• Finance department has read-only access to operational procedures

Department Administration

Assign department administrators who can manage members within their department without needing organization-wide admin rights.

Group-Based Permissions

Flexible Team Grouping

Create custom groups that cut across departments for project teams, committees, or temporary working groups. Groups support:

• Custom naming and color coding
• Optional membership expiration dates
• Same granular permission controls as departments
• Multiple group memberships per user

Cross-Functional Access

Use groups to give specific teams access to documents regardless of their department. Perfect for:

• Compliance committees
• Project teams
• Leadership groups
• Training cohorts

Advanced Visibility Controls

Document-Level Visibility

Beyond organizational permissions, you can set specific visibility rules for individual documents, folders, or pages:

• All Users – Everyone in the organization can access
• Specific Roles – Limit to admins, managers, editors, or viewers
• Job Titles – Restrict to specific positions (e.g., "Manager", "Team Lead")
• Departments – Show only to members of selected departments
• Organization Permissions – Use default permission settings

Inheritance and Override

Folders can have their own visibility settings that apply to all documents within them, but individual documents can override these settings when needed.

Owner Controls

Document creators and administrators can modify visibility settings at any time, ensuring sensitive information stays protected while allowing collaboration where needed.

Approval Workflows

Configurable Review Process

Set up approval workflows for each document type to ensure quality control and compliance:

• Role-Based Approvals – Route approvals to specific organizational roles (e.g., all changes to policies must be approved by a Manager)
• Group-Based Approvals – Assign approval authority to specific groups (e.g., Compliance Committee approves training materials)

Request and Track

Users can request approval for their documents with optional comments. Track approval status with visual indicators showing:

• Pending approval requests
• Approved content with timestamp and approver name
• Rejected submissions with feedback

Guest and External Access

Public Sharing

Share specific documents with external stakeholders using secure, unique URLs without requiring them to create accounts. Perfect for:

• Vendor policy sharing
• Customer documentation
• Partner collaboration

No-Account Access

External users can view shared documents without logging in, while you maintain control over what's accessible.

Permission Inheritance and Hierarchy

Smart Permission Logic

BlueDocs evaluates access in a logical hierarchy:

1. Individual document visibility settings (highest priority)
2. Folder visibility settings
3. Group permissions
4. Department permissions
5. Organization role permissions (base level)

This layered approach means you can set broad defaults and override them where specific access is needed, without managing every document individually.

Security and Audit

Access Tracking

Every permission change and document access is logged, providing a complete audit trail for compliance purposes.

Secure by Default

New documents inherit sensible default permissions based on organizational settings, ensuring nothing is accidentally exposed.

Granular Control Without Complexity

While BlueDocs offers detailed permission controls, the interface remains intuitive with smart defaults and bulk operations to save time.

At a Glance: What You Can Control

✅ Who can access content (roles, departments, groups, individuals)

✅ What they can do with it (view, edit, create, delete, publish, approve, assign)

✅ Where it applies (organization-wide, folders, individual documents)

✅ How changes are approved (configurable workflows)

✅ When access is granted or expires (group memberships with expiration)

BlueDocs' permissions system scales from simple setups with basic role assignments to complex enterprises with intricate departmental structures and cross-functional teams—all managed through an intuitive interface that doesn't require technical expertise.

Updated on: 28/10/2025