--- title: Setting Global Permissions description: "Global permissions define the baseline access rules for all users across the entire Essal Office instance. They answer questions like: Can regular use..." --- [Skip to content](https://help.essal.cloud/en/article/1485-#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets?hsLang=en) [![logo](https://help.essal.cloud/hubfs/logo.svg)](https://help.essal.cloud/?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) - [Products](https://essal.cloud/products) - [Industries](https://essal.cloud/industries) - [About](https://essal.cloud/about) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) - English Show submenu for translations - [More support](https://help.essal.cloud/en/kb-tickets/new) - [Customer portal](https://clients.essal.cloud/tickets) - [Home](https://essal.cloud/) [Home](https://essal.cloud/) Essal Help Center - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://help.essal.cloud/en?hsLang=en) 2. [Essal Office](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en) 3. [Users groups and permissions](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#users-groups-and-permissions) # Setting Global Permissions Global permissions define the baseline access rules for all users across the entire Essal Office instance. They answer questions like: Can regular users create tags? Can all users see each other's documents? Who can use which features? --- ## Where to Find Global Permission Settings 1. Go to **Administration \> Settings** (or the system settings page) 2. Look for sections labelled **Permissions**, **Access**, or **User defaults** The exact layout depends on your version, but the key settings are in the administration settings area. --- ## Key Global Permission Settings ### Default Document Visibility Controls whether users can see documents they don't own by default. - **Setting**: \*\*Owner only\*\* - **Behaviour**: Users see only their own documents unless granted explicit permissions - **Setting**: \*\*All users\*\* - **Behaviour**: All authenticated users can see all documents in the system For organisations where document privacy between colleagues is important (HR, legal, executive documents), use Owner only and grant access explicitly. For small teams with no privacy concerns, All users simplifies access management. --- ### Feature Permissions for Regular Users Admins can restrict or grant specific features to regular (non-admin) users: - **Feature**: Create tags - **Who can do it by default**: Varies by setting — often admin-only - **Feature**: Create correspondents - **Who can do it by default**: Varies by setting - **Feature**: Create document types - **Who can do it by default**: Varies by setting - **Feature**: Create custom fields - **Who can do it by default**: Admins only - **Feature**: Create workflows - **Who can do it by default**: Admins only - **Feature**: Create saved views - **Who can do it by default**: All users - **Feature**: Manage user accounts - **Who can do it by default**: Admins only Granting regular users the ability to create tags and correspondents empowers them to self-manage within the archive. Restricting these to admins keeps the taxonomy controlled and consistent. --- ## Combining Global and Object-Level Permissions Global permissions set the default baseline. Object-level (per-document) permissions add exceptions: - **Scope**: Global - **Example**: All users can see all documents - **Scope**: Object override - **Example**: Document X is restricted to admin-only Or: - **Scope**: Global - **Example**: Users see only their own documents - **Scope**: Object override - **Example**: Document Y is shared with the Finance group This layered model gives flexibility — you set the system-wide default that fits most of your use case, then handle exceptions at the document level. --- ## Recommended Settings for Small Teams - Default visibility: **All users** (reduces permission management overhead) - Create tags: **Allow all users** (staff self-manage the taxonomy) - Create correspondents: **Allow all users** - Workflows and custom fields: **Admin only** ## Recommended Settings for Larger or Regulated Organisations - Default visibility: **Owner only** (strict by default) - Create tags / correspondents: **Admin only** (controlled taxonomy) - Use groups extensively to grant access by department - Use workflows to auto-grant group permissions on incoming documents - [Essal Office](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Getting started](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#getting-started) - [Searching and saved views](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#searching-and-saved-views) - [Correspondents and document types](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#correspondents-and-document-types) - [Email import](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#email-import) - [Users groups and permissions](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#users-groups-and-permissions) - [Sharing documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#sharing-documents) - [Working with documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#working-with-documents) - [Pdf tools](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#pdf-tools) - [Uploading documents](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#uploading-documents) - [Archive serial numbers](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#archive-serial-numbers) - [Workflows and automation](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#workflows-and-automation) - [Organizing with tags](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#organizing-with-tags) - [Troubleshooting and faq](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#troubleshooting-and-faq) - [Account and security](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#account-and-security) - [Custom fields](https://help.essal.cloud/en/essal-office?hsLang=en#custom-fields) - [Portal](https://admin.essal.cloud/) - [Newsroom](https://newsroom.essal.cloud/) - [Careers](https://careers.essal.cloud/) - [Help](https://support.essal.cloud/) - [Status](https://status.essal.cloud/) - [Contact](https://essal.cloud/contact) - [Terms](https://legal.essal.cloud/terms) [![logo](https://help.essal.cloud/hubfs/logo.svg "logo")](https://essal.cloud/) Essal LLC Copyright © 2026, Essal