4.1 Understanding Access Control

Access control is how you specify which users have the right to perform which tasks in which places.

Novell Vibe uses role-based access control. By default, there are seven roles, and each role contains specific rights. If you want a particular user to have certain rights, you can assign that user to the appropriate role.

For example, a user who has been assigned to the Participant role in a workspace or folder can add comments or replies, create entries, delete his or her own entries, modify his or her own entries, and read entries in that folder or workspace.

The following sections help you better understand how access control works in Vibe.

4.1.1 Default Access Control Behavior in Workspaces

By default, most places inherit the access settings of their parent. When you establish settings for a primary space, all sub-places automatically apply the same settings, saving administration time. However, unlike other types of workspaces, Team workspaces do not retain the access control settings of higher-level (parent) workspaces by default.

You can change the access control settings of a lower-level workspace and folder to be different from its parent workspace or folder. For information on how to do this, see Section 4.2, Managing Access Control for Users and Groups.

4.1.2 Default User Rights

By default, all Vibe users have rights to perform the following actions:

  • Participate in any team workspaces in which they are a member (create folders and entries, make comments, etc.)

  • Create team workspaces (by default, only members of a team can view and participate in team workspaces)

  • Visit all personal workspaces (read entries and comment on them)

  • Participate in all global workspaces and folders

4.1.3 Default Roles

Vibe includes default roles that you can assign to users and groups. The default roles for workspaces and folders are described in Understanding Default Roles for Workspaces and Folders, and the default roles for entries are described in Understanding Default Roles for Entries. These sections describe the function of each default role, but do not describe all of the rights associated with each role. For a complete list of rights, click the name of the role in the table on the Configure Access Control page. (In the Action toolbar, click Workspace > Access Control or Folder > Access Control.)

For a complete list of roles that site administrators can add, see Controlling User Access throughout the Vibe Site in the Novell Vibe 3.2 Administration Guide. For a detailed description of each right that can be associated with a given role, see Understanding the Various Rights for Roles in the Novell Vibe 3.2 Administration Guide.

Vibe enables site administrators to create their own custom roles, as described in Defining a New Role in the Novell Vibe 3.2 Administration Guide. If you have a need for a custom role, consult your Vibe administrator.

By default, you can assign users to various roles in workspaces and folders, as well as in entries.

Understanding Default Roles for Workspaces and Folders

Role

Description

Visitor

Has read-only and comment-only access.

Participant

Can create entries and modify those entries, plus perform tasks associated with the Visitor role.

Guest Participant

Can read entries, create entries, and add comments.

Team Member

Has all the rights of a Participant. In addition, can generate reports and manage global tags.

Workspace and Folder Administrator

Can create, modify, or delete workspaces or folders; moderate participation (modify or delete the entries of others); design entries and workflows; set entry-level access controls on entries of others; and can perform tasks associated with the Participant and Team Member role.

Workspace Creator

Can create sub-workspaces. In Team Workspace Root workspaces, this role allows users to create their own team workspaces.

Site Administrator

Has all rights associated with access control. Available only to Vibe administrators.

Understanding Default Roles for Entries

Role

Description

Read

Can read the entry.

Read and Reply

Can read the entry and add comments or replies to the entry.

Write

Can read the entry, add comments or replies, and modify the entry.

Delete

Can read the entry, add comments or replies, modify, and delete the entry.

Change Access Controls

Can read the entry, add comments or replies, modify, and delete the entry. Can also modify the access control settings of the entry.

4.1.4 Default Users and Groups

As you create users and groups in your Vibe site, you can assign default or custom access control roles to them. In addition to the users and groups that you create, Vibe includes four default users and groups to which you can assign roles. For information on how to do this, see Section 4.2, Managing Access Control for Users and Groups.

Default User and Group

Description

Owner of a Workspace or Folder

The person who created the workspace, or the person assigned to be the owner of the workspace.

Team Members

The individuals who are designated as team members in a given place.

For information about how to add team members, see Adding Additional Team Members to Your Workspace in the Novell Vibe 3.2 User Guide.

All Users

Every person registered within the Vibe site.

Site Administrator

The person who has rights to perform any task in any workspace or folder. Available only to Vibe administrators.