Understand access permissions

Access in FeatPaper is granted per folder, not per document, and comes in three levels: Viewer, Editor, and Admin. You grant Viewer and Editor in the folder invitation dialog, where they appear as can view and can edit. Admin is a space role, set once for everyone.

What you can do here

• Sort people into three levels — separate read-only access, editing access, and space administration.
• Manage scope with one folder — grant permission on a folder and it applies to every document inside it.
• Keep internal and external access apart — folder permissions cover the dashboard, and per-link share settings cover people who open a link.
• Move documents predictably — know in advance how permissions change when a document lands in a new folder.

Choose between Viewer, Editor, and Admin

There are three levels. You grant Viewer and Editor folder by folder, and Admin once for the whole space.

Level	Where you set it	What the screen says	Scope
Viewer	Folder invitation dialog	can view (Can share links)	That one folder
Editor	Folder invitation dialog	can edit (Can upload and edit documents)	That one folder
Admin	Settings > Member Management (Role)	Admin	The whole space

• The owner who created a folder holds exactly the same permissions as an Editor. No higher tier separates the two.
• The other space role is Member. A member uploads and shares documents but cannot invite people, change billing, set branding, or configure a domain.
• The plan comparison table lists this as Role permissions (Viewer / Editor / Admin) and marks it available on Business and Enterprise. See Invite your team.

Pick can edit (Editor) or can view (Viewer) in the folder invitation dialog

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Compare what a Viewer and an Editor can do

In one line: someone with can view opens documents and copies links. Someone with can edit changes documents and link settings.

Action	Viewer (can view)	Editor (can edit)
Open documents in the folder	Yes	Yes
Copy the General share link	Yes	Yes
Copy the Info-required link	Yes	Yes
Create a new Per-recipient link	No	Yes
See and copy the AI-public link	No	Yes
Change per-link share settings	No	Yes
Upload a new version	No	Yes
Edit, move, or delete a document	No	Yes
Rename, move, or delete the folder	No	Yes
Invite people to the folder	No	Yes

Someone with can view never sees the Share settings button on a link row and never sees the AI-public link row. No create button appears under Per-recipient links either. Per-recipient links that already exist stay visible in the list.

In the folder list, the Invite (person icon) button and every item in the folder’s ⋮ more menu — Invite, Edit, Move, Delete — are disabled for anyone with can view. Clicking one shows a “No permission.” message. Invite sits in both places: the row icon and the ⋮ menu.

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How folder permissions are inherited

Documents have no permissions of their own. A document always follows the folder it sits in.

Structure	How it behaves
Folder permissions	Everyone invited to the folder can open every document inside it.
Subfolders	A subfolder inherits from its parent. Invite someone to the subfolder alone and they gain extra access to that subfolder only.
Moving a document	After the move, the destination folder’s permissions apply.
Unsharing a folder	Access to that folder and everything beneath it is revoked at once.

Move a document or a folder and it loses the access it had from the original folder. The destination folder’s permissions take over instead. Check who loses access before you move anything.

Move a document to another folder and the destination folder's permissions apply

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Folder permissions and per-link share settings are two different axes

Folder permissions govern the dashboard. Per-link share settings govern whoever opens a link. Neither one inherits from the other.

• Folder permissions decide whether a space member can find, open, edit, and manage that document in the dashboard.
• Per-link share settings decide what the person holding that link sees. Click Share settings on the right of a link row — a slider icon with a text label — to open the “{link name} share settings” dialog, which slides in from the right of the screen.

You control these per link: Viewer Type, PDF Download, View Notification, and Viewing Period Settings (expiry). The same dialog holds the communication channels, the access restrictions (Email allow list and Password), and Disable this link now.

Access restrictions do not inherit. The Email allow list and Password apply to that one link. Tighten folder permissions and the links you already sent still open. Put a password on one link and the same document’s other links still open without it. To narrow who can open a document from outside, set the restriction on each link, not on the folder.

To close a whole document at once, use Disable this document’s link now at the bottom of the share settings dialog. Every share link on that document is blocked immediately, whatever the expiry date says. Link types and their settings are covered in Share with a link.

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Ways to use this

Permissions land where you want them once you pair them with your folder structure and with per-link share settings. Three combinations people reach for most.

Let a new hire send material without letting them change it

• Situation — someone who joined this week has to start sending documents to customers today, and you would rather the originals and the link settings stayed as they are.
• Setup — invite them to that folder with can view (Invite people to a folder).
• What you get — they open documents and copy the General share link and the Info-required link to send on. The Share settings button, the AI-public link row, and the create button for Per-recipient links never appear on their screen, so there is nothing for them to break.

Narrow access to one document inside a shared folder

• Situation — the team folder holds one file, a rate card say, that only part of the team should see.
• Setup — there are no per-document permissions, so move that document into its own folder and invite only the people who need it. On the links that go outside, add Access restriction > Password or an Email allow list.
• What you get — you narrow who can find the document in the dashboard and who can open the link, independently. The move keeps every address you already sent and the accumulated view count intact.

Clean up both sides when someone leaves the project

• Situation — the person who owned the account has moved on, and the links they sent are still out there.
• Setup — remove them from the folder’s invited-users list with X to cut dashboard access. Then close what they already sent with Share settings > Disable this link now on each link, or Disable this document’s link now at the bottom to close the document outright.
• What you get — the folder removal reaches every subfolder immediately, the link block is reversible, and the analytics collected so far stay. You need both actions: one covers the inside, the other covers the outside.

Tighten folder permissions alone and the links you already sent keep opening; lock the links alone and dashboard access stays. FeatPaper keeps these deliberately on separate axes, so you can adjust internal reach and external reading conditions without one disturbing the other.

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Frequently asked questions — folder permissions

Can I give one document a different permission?

No. There are no per-document permissions. A document always follows its folder, so move it into a separate folder and invite only the people you want to that folder.

What is the difference between can edit and can view?

can edit (the Editor level) covers uploading and editing documents, uploading new versions, creating per-recipient links, changing per-link share settings, deleting the folder, and inviting people. can view (the Viewer level) covers opening documents in the folder and copying the General share link and the Info-required link. Someone with can view cannot change share settings, upload a version, or edit a document.

Can a Viewer create share links and send them out?

Someone with can view can copy the General share link and the Info-required link that already exist. The create button for Per-recipient links and the AI-public link row do not appear at that level. Ask an Editor or the folder owner when you need one of those.

What is the difference between a folder owner and an Editor?

Nothing functional. The owner who created the folder and anyone invited with can edit both manage documents and links, invite people, and delete the folder.

Can I set a different permission on a subfolder?

Yes. A subfolder inherits from its parent by default, but inviting someone to the subfolder grants extra access to that subfolder only.

If I remove someone from the parent folder, do they lose subfolder access too?

Yes. Unsharing a folder revokes access to everything beneath it right away. To keep one subfolder open for that person, invite them to the subfolder before you remove them from the parent.

What happens to invited teammates when I move a document to another folder?

The document follows the destination folder. Anyone whose access came only from the original folder loses it, and only people with access to the destination folder can see it.

If I downgrade someone to Viewer, does their screen update right away?

No. A permission change or a removal does not reach a screen the other person already has open. They have to refresh or reopen the folder before the new permission applies.

Nobody was invited to the folder my space created automatically, so why can the whole team see it?

The # Shared drive folder created with your space is not invited person by person. It is open to every space member. An empty invited-users list is normal there, and the list shows Space Members instead of avatars. You cannot exclude one person from it, so move the document to another folder when you need to narrow access.

What happens to the documents and links inside a folder I delete?

Deleting a folder deletes its subfolders and every document inside, permanently. Access granted through that folder disappears with the documents. Share links you already sent no longer point at anything and stop opening. There is no undo, so delete carefully. Moving a document between folders keeps its links and its accumulated view count intact.

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Frequently asked questions — links and share settings

I set different share settings on each link — how does that relate to folder permissions?

They are two different axes. Folder permissions decide whether a space member can find and manage that document in the dashboard (open or edit). Per-link share settings decide what happens to whoever opens that one link: Viewer Type, PDF Download, viewing period, View Notification, and access restriction (Email allow list, Password). Each link carries its own copy of those settings. To change them you need owner or can edit permission on the folder holding the document. Someone with can view can copy a link but cannot open its share settings.

Do the Email allow list and Password apply to folder permissions too?

No. Both are access restrictions on that one link, and neither inherits to the folder or to other links. If a document has several links, set the restriction on each one. The Email allow list also accepts a whole domain in the @example.com form.

Can a Viewer open a document that was shared through a link?

Yes. Opening a share link has nothing to do with folder permissions. Anyone holding the link can open the document whether or not they are a space member. Folder permissions only govern finding and managing documents in the dashboard.

If I move a document that already has share links out there, do the links break?

No. Link addresses stay the same through a folder move, and the accumulated view count is not reset. All that changes is which teammates can reach the document in the dashboard.

If I remove a Viewer from a folder invitation, do the per-recipient links they sent stop working?

No. Per-recipient links belong to the document, not to the folder invitation. Removing someone from the invited-users list only cuts their tie to the folder, and links they already sent keep working. The view counts, viewer records, and contact data collected through those links stay on the document, so the owner and the remaining Editors still see them per link in the Insights tab. Removing someone from the space itself is a separate action.

I can't find the Performance tab on the document detail page.

It was renamed Insights. The document detail page now has Content, Share, Insights, and Viewers tabs, plus a Guide tab at the right end of the bar that disappears once you close it with ✕. Everything from the old Performance tab — view counts, completion, viewer records — lives in Insights. For per-link results, press Analytics on a link row in the Share tab. The general share link and the AI-public link open Insights. The info-required link and the external form integration open Viewers > Contacts, and per-recipient links open Viewers > Dedicated link visitors.

Why does it say Admin-only page?

Because your space role is Member. Admin-only screens such as Billing & Plans, Usage, Custom Domain, and Logo Settings show an Admin-only page card instead. The text reads “This page is only accessible to space admins. Please contact an admin if you need access.” and a Go to home button appears with it. Ask a space admin to change your role.

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Key points

• Permissions come in three levels: Viewer, Editor, and Admin. Viewer and Editor come from folder invitations, and Admin is a space role.
• Documents have no permissions of their own. A document follows its folder, and a move hands it to the destination folder’s permissions.
• Someone with can view opens documents and copies the General share link and the Info-required link. Someone with can edit changes share settings, uploads versions, and creates per-recipient links.
• Folder permissions and per-link share settings are separate axes. The Email allow list and Password never inherit — they bind to one link.
• Role permissions are a Business and above feature in the plan comparison table.

Learn more

Invite people to a folder

Give people can view or can edit on a folder, and change their level later.

Invite your team

Manage space roles (Admin, Member) and the seats they use.

Share with a link

Link types and per-link share settings in detail.