SharePoint Online - document and folder permissions inheritance

[Paul Trower-mm]

Hi,

I am wondering if there is an easy way to manipulate permissions in SharePoint Online.

First I'm going to lay out my assumptions (so they can be challenged) and then some questions.

• If a document is created in a folder it will inherit the permissions as per that folder
• If that document is then moved to another folder it will retain its permissions and not inherit the permissions from it's new folder
  note: this is different to how things worked in the 'old world' of file servers where moving the document from one folder to another meant that the file then had the 'protection' of the folders permissions.

1. how do I then easily apply the new folder's permissions to the moved document, or perhaps multiple documents?

Has anyone seen a really clear 'user guide' that will explain the more subtle ways that documents permissions are handled in SharePoint Online that I can pass on to my users?

Thanks,

Paul

[#2]

Your second assumption is not correct. Files inherit the permissions of their container, unless they have been explicity assigned file level perms (which is a VERY bad idea in almost every scenario).

You may find these helpful, https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Understanding-permission-levels-in-SharePoint-87ecbb0e-6550... and https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Edit-permissions-for-a-list-or-library-02d770f3-59eb-4910-a...

[#3 · Accepted solution]

First bullet is correct. Second bullet is not. The way the second bullet works in SharePoint is, as you said, like "how things worked in the 'old world' of file servers where moving the document from one folder to another meant that the file then had the 'protection' of the folder's permissions". That's also how it works in every version of SharePoint assuming the file does not have its own permissions.

That said, you can give a file its own permissions by breaking inheritance with the folder or library that it lives in, but this requires action. So if you don't take that action, the file inherits the permissions of its folder/library. Once you break inheritance, it has its own permissions and retains them no matter where you move the file.

Anyway, I put together a practical guide on permissions, mainly aimed at Site Owners. Check it out here: http://icansharepoint.com/practical-guide-to-sharepoint-site-permissions/

P.S. When you move a file from one folder to another you LOSE the version history of that file, so beware. Version history is one of the most powerful features of SharePoint and the only way to retain the version history if you need to move the file is to migrate the file using a third-party tool. (At least, that's the only way I know of.)

[#4]

Regarding the version history it is kept if you move. If you copy instead you keep only the latest version. At least in my experience that's the way it works. I have achieve so either programmatically through the file.move() method or doing drag n' drop using the open in windows explorer feature. 

[#5]

This is correct. My post dates back to before "Move" was an option in the modern ribbon. I was using the word "move" in the vernacular sense, not the defined action in SharePoint/OneDrive sense.

[#6]

Not a problem, I only left the comment for upcoming readers. No criticism intended :)