In Document360, user management controls who can access your knowledge base portal, what they can do there, and which content they can view or edit. Understanding the different account types, roles, and access models helps you set up your team correctly from the start.
Users vs. readers
Document360 distinguishes between two types of accounts:
Account type | Who they are | Where they access Document360 |
|---|---|---|
User | Team members who create, edit, review, and manage content. Previously referred to as Team accounts. | The Knowledge base portal (the authoring and admin interface) |
Reader | End users or customers who consume the published knowledge base. They do not author content. | The published knowledge base site |
Users are managed under Settings > Users & permissions > Users & groups. Readers are managed separately under Settings > Users & permissions > Readers.
How portal roles and content roles work together
Every user is assigned two independent role dimensions that together define what they can do:
Portal role — Controls which administrative areas of the Knowledge base portal a user can access, such as settings, billing, integrations, and user management.
Content role — Controls what content-related actions a user can perform, such as creating, editing, reviewing, or publishing articles.
These two dimensions are assigned separately. A user can have broad administrative access but limited content permissions, or vice versa. For a full breakdown of what each role permits, see Roles and permissions.
Default portal roles and content roles
Portal roles
Role | Description |
|---|---|
Owner | Full access to all features, including billing. Only one Owner can be assigned per project at a time. |
Admin | Access to all features except billing. Can manage users, projects, and configurations. |
Contributor | Can create, edit, and publish draft articles and category pages. Has limited access to administrative settings. |
Reviewer | Can log in to the portal and access articles assigned to them for review. |
Custom role | A tailored set of portal permissions defined for your organization. Created and managed in Roles and permissions. |
Content roles
Role | Description |
|---|---|
Draft writer | Can create and edit articles and category pages, but cannot publish them. |
Editor | Can manage articles, categories, drives, workflows, and content reuse. |
Reviewer | Can add comments, update workflow statuses, and set due dates — but cannot edit or publish articles. |
None | No content permissions assigned. Useful for users whose access is limited to administrative tasks only. |
When to use groups
Groups let you organize users and manage their content access collectively. Instead of assigning content access to each user individually, you assign access at the group level and add users to the group.
Use groups when:
Multiple users share the same content access requirements.
You want to update access for a team without editing each user individually.
You are managing access at scale across large teams or departments.
NOTE
For users, access is inherited — they can view both categories and subcategories unless access is explicitly restricted. Group membership does not override individually assigned content access restrictions.
What you can do in this section
The articles in this section cover the full lifecycle of user management in Document360:
Add new user — Invite team members and assign their portal role, content role, and access level.
Edit user — Update an existing user's portal role or content access permissions.
Overview of Users & groups page
You can efficiently manage users to ensure seamless collaboration. You can create new users, edit existing ones to update roles or permissions, and delete accounts that are no longer needed. Additionally, you can convert users to SSO or readers, allowing flexibility in adapting to your team’s evolving needs.
NOTE
Any existing users with the relevant permissions can add or manage users and assign content or portal access.
To access the Users & groups page:
Navigate to () Users & permissions in the left navigation bar in the Knowledge base portal.
In the left navigation pane, navigate to Users & groups > Users.
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Key elements of the Users tab:
Search by name or email: Search for a user by name or email.
User list: Displays the name and email ID of all users in the project.
Status: Shows whether the account is active or inactive. An inactive status indicates the account has been deactivated.
Role: Displays the portal role, such as Owner, Admin, Contributor, or a custom role.
Content role & access: Shows the content role and content access assigned to the account.
Group name: If the account belongs to a group, the group name will be displayed.
Last seen: Displays when the user was last active. For inactive users, an option to send an activation email will be displayed.
Select the desired user, and the following options will appear:
Convert to SSO account: Convert the User to an SSO account.
Convert to reader account: Convert the User to a reader account.
Deactivate/Activate: Deactivate/activate the user. Furthermore, you can also choose to convert the user to a reader or delete the user.
Hover over a User to access:
Email notifications (): View the email activity history for the past 30 days.
Edit (): Edit the configuration of the user.
Other elements:
Account utilization overview: Shows how many users are allowed under your plan and how many have been created.
Export CSV: Export the list of Users as a CSV file.
Filter: Use filters to narrow results by portal type, account types, or status.
Add: Add a new User.
FAQ
How do I create a user who can only manage content reuse?
Create a custom content role to grant a user permission to manage content reuse, such as variables, snippets, glossaries, and templates, exclusively.
Creating a custom content role
Navigate to () > Users & permissions in the left navigation bar in the Knowledge base portal.
In the left navigation pane, navigate to Roles & permissions.
In the Content role tab, click New content role.
The Create content role panel will appear.
Enter the desired role name and description.
In the Features section, scroll down to Content reuse and select the checkboxes for View, Update, Delete, and Publish.
Click Create role.
NOTE
For more information, read the article on Roles and permission.
Creating a user to manage content reuse only
Navigate to () > Users & permissions in the left navigation bar in the Knowledge base portal.
In the left navigation pane, navigate to Users & groups.
In the User tab, click Add and select User.
The New user dialog will appear.
Enter the email address for the user. Enter the email IDs separated by a comma. You can add up to 5 email addresses at once.
Select the SSO user checkbox to add the user as an SSO user.
Set the Project role to Contributor.
In the Content role field, select the custom content role you just created.
If needed, restrict Content access by selecting None, or select All for full access to content reuse.
Click New user.
This will create a user who can view, update, and delete content reuse elements only.
How do I create a user that can only manage users & security settings?
You can create a custom portal role to grant a user permission to manage Users & Security exclusively.
Creating a custom portal role
Navigate to () > Users & permissions > Roles & permissions in the Knowledge base portal.
In the Portal role tab, click New portal role.
The Create portal role panel will appear.
Enter the desired role name and description.
In the Features section, scroll down to Roles, Accounts & groups and Site visibility, select the View and Update checkboxes.
Then, the View option in Project settings will be selected by default.
Click Create role.
NOTE
For more information, read the article on Roles and permission.
Creating a user to manage users & security only
Navigate to () > Users & permissions > Users & groups in the Knowledge base portal.
In the Users tab, click Add and select User.
The New user dialog will appear.
Enter the email address for the user.
In the Project role section, select the custom portal role you just created.
Select your desired Content role.
Click New user.
This will create a user who can only view and update the Users & permissions section.
Updating an existing user to manage users & security only
After creating the custom portal role for managing Users & Security section:
Navigate to the () > Users & permissions > Users & groups in the Knowledge base portal.
Hover over the desired User and click the Edit () icon.
In the Project role section, click Manage project role.
Select the previously created custom portal role in the Portal role tab.
Click Update.
This updates the user, restricting its permissions to view and update the Users & permissions section only.