Advanced Permission Management for SharePoint Sites and Folders

Cloud Collective Support Updated by Cloud Collective Support

Sharing SharePoint Sites and Folders

Overview

SharePoint allows you to share entire sites or specific folders with users. However, permissions in SharePoint can be complex because of permission inheritance. Understanding how site-level and folder-level permissions interact is key to managing access correctly.

Site-Level Sharing

When you add a user to the site, they gain access to the site and any content that inherits permissions from the site. However:

  • If inheritance is broken on certain folders or document libraries, the user will not automatically see those folders.
  • This is common when sensitive folders have unique permissions applied.
Adding a User to the Site

If you want a user to have access to the entire site (or at least all content that inherits site permissions), you can add them at the site level:

  1. Open your SharePoint site.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner and select Site Permissions.
  3. In the Site Permissions panel, click Advanced permissions settings at the bottom.
  4. On the Permissions page, click Grant Permissions.
  5. Enter the user’s email address, select the appropriate permission level (e.g., Read, Edit, Full Control), and click Share.

Note: If certain folders have unique permissions (inheritance broken), the user will not see those folders even after being added to the site.

Folder-Level Sharing

While our test user has been granted access to the site, they still cannot see the folder "Without Inheritance" To give access to a specific folder when inheritance is disabled:

  1. Navigate to the folder in SharePoint.
  2. Click Manage Access.
  3. Scroll down and select Advanced.
  4. On the Advanced Permissions Settings page, click Grant Permissions.
  5. From here we can see the same menu to add a user. Enter the user’s name or email, choose the appropriate permission level (e.g., Read, Edit), and click Share.

Important Notes

  • Breaking inheritance means permissions must be managed manually for that folder.
  • Always review existing permissions before granting access to avoid accidental exposure.
  • Use SharePoint Groups for easier management when multiple users need similar access.

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