--- title: "Block inheritance" slug: "block-inheritance" description: "Restrict the team accounts irrespective of the content level inheritance. When inheritance is removed for a version/language, the Inheritance disabled tag appears next to the respective version/language on the content access page." tags: ["Block inheritance"] updated: 2026-05-30T09:30:01Z published: 2026-05-30T09:30:01Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.document360.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Block inheritance When you give someone access to a workspace, they automatically get access to everything inside it; such as languages, categories, and articles. This automatic flow of permissions is called inheritance, and it helps you avoid assigning access manually at every level. However, if you want to restrict access to a specific section, you can use Block inheritance. Once enabled, the automatic access from the parent level stops at that point, and only the users you manually add will be able to view that content. This works like locking a room inside a building; even if someone can enter the building, they still need a separate key to access that particular room. --- ## When should you use Block inheritance Use Block inheritance when a specific section of your content needs tighter or different access than the rest. #### Common situations: - An internal category (like "Security Runbooks") lives inside a workspace the whole team can access, but only the security team should see it. - A section visible to readers is confidential to one customer group, even though the parent category is open to all readers. - You want to clean up accumulated permissions and start fresh with a specific list. If none of these apply, leave inheritance on. Blocking it adds complexity and makes permissions harder to manage over time. --- ## How Block inheritance works Blocking inheritance works top-down. When you block at a higher level, everything below it is blocked too. The full chain in Document360 is: - **Project → Workspace (version) → Language → Category → Subcategory / Article** A block placed at any level cascades to every level below it. | If you block at... | This also gets blocked | | --- | --- | | Workspace | All languages, categories, and articles inside it | | Language | All categories and articles inside that language | | Category | All subcategories and articles inside it | | Article | Only that article | **Example:** If you block inheritance at the Workspace level, no inherited user or reader can access any language, category, or article inside that workspace unless you explicitly add them back. This is important to understand before you turn on the toggle, because the effect is immediate and broad. --- ### Block inheritance works separately for Users and Readers Blocking inheritance for your users has no effect on your readers. Blocking it for your readers has no effect on your users. They are fully independent, changing one never changes the other. #### Blocking inheritance for your Users (Portal access) This controls who on your team can access and manage content in the portal, including Owners, Admins, Editors, Draft Writers, and custom roles. When you block inheritance at any level, only the users you manually add will be able to access that content. All other users will lose access, even if they previously inherited it from a parent level. To learn how to block inheritance for your team, see [Block inheritance for Users and User group](/help/docs/block-inheritance#block-inheritance-for-users-and-users-group)s. #### Blocking inheritance for your Readers (Knowledge base site) This controls who can read your published knowledge base. Your readers are individual reader accounts or reader groups (for example, customers or partners). When you block inheritance for readers at any content level, only the readers or reader groups you explicitly add will be able to see that content on the site. To learn how to block inheritance for your readers, see [Block inheritance for Readers and Reader groups](/help/docs/block-inheritance#block-inheritance-for-readers-and-reader-groups). --- ## Block inheritance for Users and User groups ### Block content access at Workspace or Language level For example, you have six inherited users in Workspace 1 and want to provide access only to one user and yourself. 1. Navigate to **Settings** (**) > ****Users & permissions****in the left navigation bar****in the Knowledge base portal. 2. In the left navigation pane, navigate to **Content access**. 3. Select the required workspace & language. 4. Turn on the **Block inherited account** toggle in the **Manage content access**tab. All inherited team members lose access. Only you (the person who blocked) retain access. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/inheritance%20for%20Users%20and%20User%20groups.png) After blocking, only users with explicit access to this workspace are displayed. 5. To grant access to specific users after blocking, click **Assign workspace access**and select the required users or user groups**.**To learn more, refer [Content access](/help/docs/content-role-and-access#managing-content-role-access). 6. To restore inherited access, turn off the **Block inherited account** toggle. ### Block content access at category or article level To block access to users or user groups for a category or article, 1. Navigate to **Documentation** (**) and hover the mouse pointer over the desired category/article in the Categories & Articles pane. 2. Click the **More** (**) icon that appears next to the category/article name. 3. Click **Security**, then choose **Knowledge base portal Access control**to manage content access for users and user groups. ![Menu options for creating a new article in Document360, highlighting security settings.](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/Portal%20access%20control.png) 4. The **Assign control access: Knowledge base portal** panel appears with the list of users and user groups that have access to the selected content level. 5. Turn on the**Block inherited account**toggle. This filters out all inherited accounts, so only users and user groups with explicit access at this level are displayed. By default, the user performing this action would be selected and cannot be removed. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/block.png) 1. To restore inherited access, turn off the **Block inherited account** toggle and click **Yes** in the **Allow inheritance** confirmation prompt. --- ## Block inheritance for Readers and Reader groups After migrating to inherited permissions, readers and reader groups automatically gain inherited access to all content below the level they were granted access to. Use block inheritance to stop this at a specific workspace/language/category/article level. ### Block content access at Workspace or Language level To block access to readers or readers group 1. Navigate to **Settings** (**) > ****Users & permissions**** in the left navigation bar in the Knowledge base portal. 2. In the left navigation pane, navigate to **Reader access**. 3. Select the required workspace & language. 4. Turn on the **Block inherited access** toggle in the **Manage content access** tab. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/reader%20access%20block.png) Now, inherited and future readers will not have access to this workspace or language. You can add readers or reader groups explicitly to grant access. To learn more, refer [Site access](/help/docs/site-access). 1. To restore inherited access, turn off the **Block inherited access**toggle. ### Block content access at category or article level 1. Navigate to **Documentation** (**) and hover the mouse pointer over the desired category/article in the Categories & Articles pane. 2. Click the **More** (**) icon that appears next to the category/article name. 3. Click **Security**, then choose **Knowledge base site Access control**to manage content access for readers and reader groups. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/access%20control%20site.png) 4. The **Assign control access: Knowledge base site**panel appears with the list of readers and reader groups that have access to the selected content level. 5. Turn on the**Block inherited****a****ccess**toggle, then click **Save**. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/860f9f88-412e-4570-8222-d5bf2f4b7dd1/Images/Documentation/assign%20cateogry.png) This filters out all inherited accounts, so only readers and reader groups with explicit access at this level are displayed. By default, the user performing this action would be selected and cannot be removed. 1. To restore inherited access, turn off the **Block inherited account** toggle and click **Yes** in the **Allow inheritance** confirmation prompt. --- ### FAQ #### What happens to inherited users when I block? All users who previously had inherited access will immediately lose access to that content and everything under it. They will no longer see it in the portal or on the site unless you add them explicitly. If you later add new users at the parent level, they also will not automatically get access to the blocked section. You must add them explicitly. #### Is the user performing the action automatically selected when blocking inheritance? Yes, the user performing the action will be automatically selected and cannot be removed. #### Can I still add new users after blocking inheritance? Yes. Blocking inheritance only removes inherited access. You can manually add any user, user group, reader, or reader group at any time after blocking. #### Does blocking at one level affect content above it? No. Blocking only affects the selected level and everything below it. Content at the same level or above is not affected. #### Why are some users not visible when assigning workflow status after enabling Block inherited account? When Block inherited account is enabled for a category, or article, only users and user groups explicitly granted access at that level can access the content. As a result, when updating the workflow status, the Assignee dropdown will display only those users who have effective access to the selected content. Inherited users and future users who no longer have access will not appear in the list. To assign additional users, first grant them content access, and then update the workflow status. A Project in Document360 is a centralized container for your documentation, housing multiple workspaces, articles, categories, team accounts, readers, and custom settings. It ensures seamless organization, accessibility, and scalability for your knowledge base. A container in Document360 used to group related articles under a shared topic or theme. Categories appear as navigation items on your knowledge base site, helping readers browse and locate content. Document360 supports three category types, Folder, Index, and Page, and allows nesting up to six levels deep through subcategories. A category nested inside a parent category in Document360, used to create a multi-level navigation hierarchy in your knowledge base. Subcategories can themselves contain articles and further nested subcategories, up to six levels deep. Subcategories follow the same type rules as top-level categories — they can be Folders, Index pages, or Page types. The primary content unit in a Document360 knowledge base. Each article covers a specific topic, is assigned to a category, and can include text, images, attachments, variables, and snippets. Articles have their own URL slug, SEO settings, workflow status, and revision history, making them independently manageable within your documentation structure. The public-facing website where end-users can access articles and find answers to their questions. The left-side navigation panel in the Document360 portal editor that displays the full hierarchical structure of your project's categories and articles. Use it to create new categories and articles, drag-and-drop content into order, set category types, and navigate directly to any article for editing. The structure shown here is the same hierarchy readers see on the knowledge base site navigation.