Overview
Global access filter in the Document module help administrators restrict access to specific main and subcategories based on user workspaces. The goal is to simplify and clarify access management, especially when external parties such as vendors or partners should have limited access. This feature ensures that only users from the designated workspaces can access documents, automatically excluding users from other workspaces—creating a clear, controlled structure without the need for complex access settings.
Enabling the feature
To use the global access filter for any main category, it must first be activated. An administrator can do this by navigating to Document » Settings » Advanced Settings » Global Access Filter.
When you enable the global access filter, your existing access settings remain unchanged—previous configurations are still active, but you will now see the global access filter setting available for all your main categories.
If you choose to disable the global access filter in advanced settings, only the standard category-level access settings will apply. Any previous global access filter configurations are saved but deactivated; if you reactivate the feature, those saved settings will be restored automatically.
Restricting access at the main category level
To limit access for one or more workspaces to all documents in a main category, including its subcategories, start by navigating to the main category via Document » Navigate.
Edit the category settings by clicking the pencil icon to the right of the category name, then select Global Access Filter. A list of all your workspaces will appear. Choose the workspaces that should have access to the documents in that main category. Any workspaces not selected will not have access to documents in that main category or its subcategories.
⚠️ If no selections are made in the Global Access Filter for a main category, the system will use any existing category-level access settings.
Once the global access filter is set for a main category, you can further refine access using the available category-level access settings. A key advantage of applying the global access filter to a main category is that only users assigned to the permitted workspaces can be selected in additional access settings—regardless of which groups or departments are added.
Please note:
- Users with overriding access will always have access, regardless of the access settings applied in the category tree. This means that even if a global access filter or category-level access restrictions are in place, these users retain access to documents.
- The global access filter only limits access to documents. It does not prevent selecting users from excluded workspace from being selected to approve, publish, or revise documents.
- Users who are document creators, have approved a document, or are responsible for revising a document always retain access to those specific documents, regardless of global access filter or category-level settings.
- When you create new main categories, the global access filter is not automatically applied. You must manually configure the filter for each new main category.
- When new workspaces are created, they are not automatically granted access to main categories restricted by the global access filter. If you want a new workspace to have access, you must add it to the corresponding main category’s filter settings.
Tips
💬 If you want to prevent external users, such as suppliers, from viewing other users in AM System, consider disabling the profile settings for Send notification from published documents, Query Builder, and the ability to Create new documents for those users. When these settings are disabled, external users will no longer see lists of other users, for example, when configuring notifications or sharing documents.
💬 To further minimize the risk of external users unintentionally accessing internal documents, avoid granting them the profile settings for Send Documents to the Organization and Revise documents/templates. Without these permissions, they cannot be selected as reviewers and thereby gain access to internal documents.