A Guide to User Roles and (Group) Privileges

Introduction

In Showell, you can provide Roles and Privileges to all your users. This will determine what content or shares they can view, or what sections of Showell they can manage.

Now how does it work in theory? In this article, we will explore the various Roles and Privileges and delve into their differences in more detail. So, keep reading!

We'll approach this in the following steps:

Understanding and applying the following Roles and Terms:

• Role: Admin
• Role: User
• Owner
• (Legacy Role: User with Restricted Access to Showell Admin)

Add Users to specific Groups: 

• Organize your users into different groups based on your company's structure.

Provide content with User or Group Privileges:

• For each folder, sub-folder, or file, you have the option to assign User or Group Privileges. This feature enables you to control which users or groups have access to these folders. 

 

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Admins (administrators)

Who are they?

Admins of a Showell Workspace have extensive capabilities.

• They have full access to all content in the Showell App (and Showell Admin).
• They can view, edit, upload, and remove content.
• They can view, edit, and remove shares from any user.
• They can manage and set roles and privileges for users and groups.
• They have access to detailed analytics and can send out notifications.
• Admins also have the ability to customize/brand the Showell App, manage integrations and additional features.

Typically, Marketeers and/or head of sales have full Admin rights.

Options

• Using the Showell App for Web: it does not really matter what group they are in, or if privileges are set to folders, since they are able to access and manage the entire Workspace.
• Using the Showell Native Apps (Windows, Android and iOS): it is recommended to be part of the right groups to see and share the relevant contents. If you'd like to view all contents, you can for example set up an 'Admin'-Group, and provide that group with privileges in all folders.

Learn more

• Introduction for Showell Admins
• Manage User Roles
• Workspace Settings

 

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Users

Who are they?

A Showell user is simply everyone who is part of the Showell Workspace.

• By default, the users role is limited to viewing the contents within the Showell App. From here, they can find, present and share contents.
• However, if the group they belong to has 'edit' privileges to a certain folder, they will also be able to upload and manage content in that folder utilizing the Showell App for Web.
• Users can upload their own materials to their personal My Files area.
• Users have the ability to create Shares and invite collaborators to participate in them. Additionally, they can manage or view Shares where they have been designated as a collaborator.

Typically, most users are sales representatives, part of the service team or dealers.

Options

• Users can be invited to the Showell Workspace individually or part of a batch
• Users settings can be managed individually
• Users can be divided into groups, and those groups can be provided with Privileges
• With Group Privileges, you can choose what contents a user is able to view, or not view at all, within the Showell App
  • You can also choose what contents a User Group can manage
  • Read further: Groups and their Privileges

Learn more

• Introduction for Showell Users
• Personal User Settings & Preferences
• Manage User Roles
• Invite users
• Manage your Workspace Users

 

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Owner

Who are they?

'Owner' is not per se a role, but a term used to determine ownership of items or Shares in Showell.

When content is uploaded, folders are created or presentations are made, the person responsible for these actions will automatically be assigned as the owner of that item.

As the creator of a Share link (Digital Sales Room), you're automatically assigned as the Owner. With the Collaboration feature, you can assign ownership to others or grant access to files in your My Files, so collaborators can view them directly in the Share.

Options

Ownership is becoming increasingly important within the Showell App. Users have the ability to share ownership of shares or specific content with others.

Learn more

• Manage Share Ownership

 

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Users with restricted access to Showell Admin (Legacy feature)

Who are they?

Users with restricted access to Showell Admin is a legacy role that allowed regular users to access the 'Showell Admin' platform. While you are still able to provide users with this role, we recommend to follow this article's steps where this role is obsolete.

In a nutshell: They basically have the same description as a 'User'. But beside that, they also have restricted access to Showell Admin.

The following features are not available for them within Showell Admin: Analytics, User management, Integrations, Notifications, Main page (branding), Application resources, Trash and Workspace settings.

Options

'Users with restricted access to Showell Admin' can be managed by applying Group privileges. This means you can choose what contents they are able to view, or not view at all, within the Showell App.

When a folder has Group privileges set to 'edit', this means that the 'users with restricted access to Showell Admin' can also manage that folder by adding, removing or editing contents from the Showell Admin platform.

 

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Users, Groups and their Privileges

Organize Users into specific Groups

Now that you have a solid grasp of Roles and Ownership, you can organize Users into specific Groups. This can be done based on their roles, such as internal sales representatives or external dealers, their department, country, specific content needs, or any other criteria that aligns with your company's structure.

Assign User or Group Privileges to your content

Once the User and Group organization is complete, you can assign User or Group Privileges to your content. For each folder, sub-folder, or file, you have the flexibility to determine which Users or groups have access to them. You can also specify whether each user/group can simply view the content or have permission to edit it as well.

• Note: As an extra layer of security, the file edit mode first has to be enabled from the Workspace Settings.

Learn more

• Create and Manage Groups
• Set User/Group Privileges to your Content

 

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Example

We'll now provide an example of how you could organize your Workspace Users.

Step 1: Dividing Roles & Groups

In the Company "Acme Energy", we have the following users:

  Enzo Enerzi - Head of Marketing

• ROLE: Enzo Will be provided with Full Admin rights, as he is the main person in charge of the Showell Workspace. He also ensures the right users get invited to the Workspace.
• GROUP: Because Enzo is an Admin, he does not necessarily needs to be added to any Group, as he will have access to all contents. However for the sake of clarity, Enzo is added to the 'Admin'-Group

  Olivia Davis - Marketeer

• ROLE: Olivia is a Marketeer in Enzo's team that provides relevant content for the entire Sales Team and Dealers. On top of this, she also helps to take care of the Company branding. She's a trusted value in the company and therefore also provided with full Admin rights to the "Acme Energy" Workspace.
• GROUP: Same as Enzo, Olivia is added to the 'Admin'-Group

  Benjamin Parker - Head of sales

• ROLE: Benjamin's role includes uploading and managing sales material his team needs to utilize. As he has no need to manage users or branding, he is provided with the User role.
• GROUP: As the Head of sales, Benjamin is placed in the 'Sales'-Group. However, as he will also need to manage and upload contents for this team, he is added in a 2nd group 'Management'-Group

  Audrey Adams - Sales Rep.

• ROLE: Audrey will only access Showell to find, view, present and share contents. She is provided with the User role.
• GROUP: Audrey is part of Benjamin's Team, and will therefore be added to the 'Sales'-Group.

  Carlos Ortiz - External Dealer

• ROLE: Carlos sells items from multiple companies. He will only need access to the most relevant materials, and therefore will have some restrictions. He gets the User role.
• GROUP: Carlos's field of expertise is everything about wind energy. A special group is set up for him, as he should not be able to access all contents in the Showell Workspace. He's added to the 'Wind Energy Dealers'-Group

Step 2: Adding Group Privileges to content

Now that all Users have been provided with the right Roles and Groups, It's time to ensure they have access to right contents.

Therefore, we will go down the content structure and assign the right Group and Privilege:

• 🏡 Home Page: As this needs to be accessible for the whole company, we ensure that Everyone at Acme Energy has 'View' Privileges
  
  • 📂 Solutions: Everyone at Acme Energy has 'View' Privileges. However, Benjamin also needs to be able manage this folder. Therefore we add his 'Management'-Group with 'Edit' Privileges
    • 📁 Wind Energy: This folder Should be seen by the whole Sales Team, by Carlos, but not by the rest of the company. Therefore:
      • Everyone at Acme Energy has 'No Access' Privileges
      • 'Management'-Group with 'Edit' Privileges
      • 'Sales'-Group with 'View' Privileges
      • 'Wind Energy Dealers'-Group with 'View' Privileges
      • 'Admin'-Group with 'Edit' Privileges (optional)
    • 📁 Solar Energy: This folder Should be seen by the whole Sales Team, but not by Carlos and the rest of the company. Therefore:
      • Everyone at Acme Energy has 'No Access' Privileges
      • 'Management'-Group with 'Edit' Privileges
      • 'Sales'-Group with 'View' Privileges
      • 'Admin'-Group with 'Edit' Privileges (optional)

• • 📁 Customers: This folder contains some sensitive materials, therefore Everyone at Acme Energy has 'No Access' Privileges
  • 📁 Company: Everyone at Acme Energy has 'View' Privileges

Final note:

This method of organizing Groups and privileges ensures that Benjamin and his Sales Team can access all contents. However, only Benjamin can edit the Solutions folder and its sub-folders. Additionally, Carlos is limited to viewing the 'Wind Energy' section in the Solutions Folder. The 'Customers' folder remains hidden from everyone except the Administrators, maintaining security and control over sensitive materials.

For more information on setting up your Workspace: Plan your Content Structure