Custom content roles let you define exactly which content management permissions a user has in the knowledge base portal. Use them when the default roles — Editor, Draft writer, Reviewer, and None — do not match your team's requirements.
When to create a custom content role
- You want a user to view articles but not edit or publish them.
- You want a user to edit articles but not delete them.
- You need to grant access to specific features like Analytics or Drive without giving full Editor access.
- Your organization has a specific workflow that requires a unique combination of permissions.
Before you begin
You must have the Owner or Admin portal role.
How to create a custom content role
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Navigate to Settings () > Users and security in the left navigation bar in the knowledge base portal.
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In the left navigation pane, navigate to Roles and permissions.
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Select the Content role tab and click New content role.
The Create content role panel opens.
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Enter a name for the new role and add a description.
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From the list of features, select the View, Update, Delete, and Publish checkboxes for the desired features based on your requirements.
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Click Create role.
Content role permissions reference
Each feature has up to four permission levels: View, Update, Delete, and Publish.
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Category | Organise the knowledge base by creating, updating, moving, reordering, hiding/unhiding, and deleting categories |
| Articles | Create, update, publish, hide/unhide, move, reorder, and delete articles |
| Custom pages | Create, update, publish, hide/unhide, move, reorder, and delete custom pages |
| Article settings | Modify specific settings for individual articles, such as metadata and status indicators |
| Workflow assignments | Assign and update workflow assignments for articles |
| Resolve comments | Resolve comments added by others |
| Customize site | Design and configure the knowledge base site, including homepage, site design, and navigation |
| SEO description | Manage SEO descriptions for improved search engine visibility |
| AI features | Access and manage content using AI technology in the project |
| Content reuse | Manage reusable content elements like templates, snippets, variables, and glossary terms |
| Article review reminders | Set and manage reminders for reviewing and updating articles |
| Drive | Access and manage files and folders in the document storage drive |
| Analytics | Access and analyse usage data and metrics |
| Recycle bin | Manage the recycle bin — recover or permanently delete deleted documentation |
| Find & replace | Find and replace text across multiple articles |
| Workflow designer | Access and manage workflow designer for the project |
| Tags & groups | Access and manage tags and groups for the project |
| Feedback manager | Access and manage feedback manager for the project |
| Project import & export | Access and manage import and export of project contents |
| Export as PDF | Access, create PDF templates and manage PDF exports |
| Migrate content | Manage migration of content from other knowledge base systems |
| Workspace | Access and manage workspaces and associated languages |
| Article redirection rules | Set up and manage redirection rules for articles |
| Site article settings & SEO | Modify site-wide article settings and SEO configurations |
| Translate with Eddy AI | Access Translate with Eddy AI features for content translation |
Example: Providing view-only access to specific categories
This example shows how to give a user view-only access to specific categories in the portal without giving them editing or publishing permissions.
Create a custom content role with view-only category access
- Navigate to Settings () > Users and security in the left navigation bar in the knowledge base portal.
- In the left navigation pane, navigate to Roles and permissions.
- Go to the Content role tab and click New content role.
- Enter a name and description for the custom content role.
- Check the View option for Categories only. Leave all other permissions unchecked.
- Click Create role.
Assign the custom content role to the user
- Navigate to Settings () > Users and security in the left navigation bar in the knowledge base portal.
- In the left navigation pane, navigate to Users and groups.
- Click Add > User. The New user dialog opens.
- Enter the user's email and select a portal role.
- In the Content role & access section, select the custom content role you created.
- In Content access, select Category and choose the specific categories you want to grant view-only access to.
- Click Create user.
Best practices
- Give custom content roles descriptive names that reflect what they are for — for example, "View-only Category Access" or "Analytics Viewer".
- Grant the minimum set of permissions needed. Start restrictive and add more as required.
- When creating a role for contractors or external contributors, limit Delete and Publish permissions to prevent accidental or unauthorised changes to live content.
- Review custom content roles periodically to ensure they still reflect your team's workflow.