Folder access restrictions follow the group hierarchy upward (toward parent groups). For example, a folder published to "Manufacturing Section 2" can be opened by members of Manufacturing Section 2 and its subordinate groups. Conversely, members who belong only to the higher-level "Manufacturing Department" cannot open a folder published only to Manufacturing Section 2.

Therefore, to make folders from subordinate groups visible to members of higher-level groups, you must assign those members to each subordinate group individually. Enabling this setting allows members with the selected roles to view folders intended for groups below their own group. You can choose from three target roles: Group Administrator and above, Created user and above, or View-only user and above. If you change group hierarchy during organizational restructuring, members will automatically see subordinate folders without needing to re-add their group affiliations.

Only Owners can configure this setting, and it applies to the entire team. The default state is off, so the current view will not change until you enable it.

The same section also has a setting to prevent folders filtered at higher group levels from appearing in searches for members of lower groups (described below).

What the Settings Can Do

There are four settings available:

View: Allow viewing folders intended for groups below your own group
Target roles: The range of members for whom to enable viewing. Choose from "Group Administrator and above", "Created user and above", or "View-only user and above" (default is "Group Administrator and above"). Guests cannot be targets
Edit: Allow editing and revising, not just viewing, in addition to the viewing permission above (default is off)
Do not display SOPs filtered at higher group levels: Do not display SOPs from folders filtered at higher group levels to members of lower groups (default is off). This can be toggled on and off separately from the three settings above

If you leave editing off, folders made visible by this setting are view-only. Buttons to change folder settings, create new SOPs, or revise existing SOPs will not be displayed.

Owners and Team Administrators can view all folders regardless of access restrictions, so this setting does not affect them. The viewing and editing settings do not change how members not included in the target roles or guests see folders.

How to Configure

Log in as an Owner, and open "Owner Functions" from the side menu
Select the "Business rules" tab at the top, and open "Folder view scope"
Check the box for "Allow viewing folders intended for groups below your own group". A confirmation message will appear; review it and click "Continue"
Next, select the roles for which to enable viewing of subordinate folders in "Target roles". The default is "Group Administrator and above". If you expand it to "Created user and above" or "View-only user and above", a confirmation message will appear
To allow editing and revising, also check the box for "Allow editing and revising, not just viewing". A confirmation message will appear for this as well
To prevent SOPs from folders filtered at higher group levels from displaying to members of lower groups, check the box for "Do not display SOPs filtered at higher group levels to members of lower groups". A confirmation message will appear
Click "Save"

To return to the default state (everything off, target roles set to "Group Administrator and above"), click "Restore defaults" and then click "Save". Changes to settings are recorded in the audit log.

When Changes Take Effect

The changes you make (including changes to target roles) take effect at each member's next login. The screens of members already logged in will not change immediately. Search results are updated at the same timing.

When Editing Groups Are Specified at the Folder Level

If you have specified "Groups that can also edit" in the folder's Access Restriction Settings, that specification takes priority. Even if you allow editing with this team-level setting, members not included in the folder-level specification cannot edit that folder. For information on how to configure folder-level access restrictions, see Access Restriction Settings.

Please Confirm Before Enabling

SOPs that were previously hidden will become visible to members with the target roles. If you expand the target roles to "Created user and above" or "View-only user and above", most members in higher-level groups will be able to see subordinate folders. Be careful if your lower-level groups contain materials such as HR or performance review documents that you do not want higher-level members to see
If you allow editing, members with the target roles can revise, delete, and publish SOPs for subordinate groups within the scope of their permissions (view-only users cannot edit anyway). We recommend starting with view-only operation and allowing editing only when needed
This setting is for teams that use group hierarchies. Since groups cannot be created in Free or Lite plans, enabling this setting will not change how things appear

Do Not Display SOPs Filtered at Higher Group Levels to Members of Lower Groups

By default, members of subordinate groups can view SOPs from folders filtered at higher group levels (members of a group are treated as also belonging to higher groups). When you enable "Do not display SOPs filtered at higher group levels to members of lower groups", SOPs from folders filtered at higher group levels will be displayed only to members who belong directly to that group. For members who can view subordinate folders through "Allow viewing folders intended for groups below your own group", they will continue to see them as before.

Members of subordinate groups can still open higher-level folders to navigate to their own group's folders. When opened, only lower-level folders are displayed, and SOPs from that folder are not shown. If there are no folders below that the member can view, the higher-level folder itself will not be displayed.

Before enabling this setting, please verify the following points:

SOPs from folders within higher-level group folders that have no filtering will also be displayed only to members of the higher-level group. For folders you want to show to lower-level groups, filter them by that group
SOPs from folders created with filtering only at groups with no direct members (such as company-wide groups) will be displayed only to Owners and Team Administrators
SOPs placed by members of lower groups in higher-level folders will also no longer be visible to those members
SOPs that are not displayed will not appear in search results or in release notification emails. Members cannot create or edit hidden SOPs
This applies to guests in the same way

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the scope of "groups below your own group"?
All groups under the group to which you belong. If there are three or more levels in the hierarchy, it includes groups even further below.

Which permissions are targeted?
The permissions selected in "Target roles". If you select "Group Administrator and above", Group Administrators are targeted. If you select "Created user and above", Group Administrators and Created users are targeted. If you select "View-only user and above", View-only users are targeted. Owners and Team Administrators can already view all folders. Members with permissions not included in the targets follow folder-level access restrictions as before.

Can guests be targeted?
No. For folders you want to show to guests, specify them in "Allow guest user access" for each folder. Note that "Do not display SOPs filtered at higher group levels to members of lower groups" also applies to guests. For details, see Divide Viewable Folders by Guest.

Can you toggle this setting on and off for individual folders?
No. This is a team-wide setting. To adjust the visibility scope on a folder-by-folder basis, use the folder's Access Restriction Settings to specify "Accessible Groups" and "Groups that can also edit".

Can it be applied to only some members?
No. All members with the target roles are included. If you want to give broad access to only certain members, adjust their group affiliations, or add them to the folder's "Accessible Groups".

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