SharePoint Permissions So Easy a Caveman Can Do It

These drawings, found in a cave in Redmond, WA, date back to early 2001. The pictographs have stumped archeologists throughout the ages, until now.

Recent discoveries by a SharePoint addict reveal the true meaning of these images.

“It looks like the four building blocks of SharePoint permissions.” Take a look at the cave drawing again, this time with annotation.

But how do SharePoint Permissions work?

Here are the basic steps:

1. Add users to the SharePoint group
2. Give the group a permission level
3. Grant the group access to somewhere

Of course if you are not satisfied with the permission levels or SharePoint groups that are available, given the correct rights, you can create your own groups and permission levels.

Although it is not considered a Best Practice, you could also give permissions directly to a user.

1. Give the user a permission level
2. Grant the user access to somewhere

Some of the drawings show another figure. This additional figure depicts secure Active Directory (AD) groups.

1. Add AD groups to the SharePoint group
2. Give the group a permission level
3. Grant the group access to somewhere

Further interpretation of the drawings revealed another option

1. Give the AD group a permission level
2. Grant the AD group access to somewhere

Some archeologists were stunned that there was no pictograph for audiences, but then someone pointed out that SharePoint audiences are not part of permissions or security. SharePoint audiences are just a way to reduce noise on a page.

In our next session we will discuss the pros and cons using AD Groups and Users to manage SharePoint Permissions.

View and download the entire deck here.