Manage reader content access

The Manage content access section on the Site access page lets you control which readers and reader groups can access specific content in your knowledge base site. You can assign, deny, remove, and restore reader access at the workspace, language, category, or article level.

This section is visible only if your project is set to Private or Mixed access.

Before you begin

• You must have the Owner or Admin portal role.
• Your project must be set to Private or Mixed access.

Accessing the Manage content access section

1. Navigate to Settings () > Users and security in the left navigation bar in the knowledge base portal.
2. In the left navigation pane, navigate to Site access.
3. Scroll to the Manage content access section.

At the top, you will find two tabs:

• Readers: Lists all reader accounts.
• Reader groups: Lists all reader groups.

Managing individual readers

In the Readers tab, select a reader to access these actions:

NOTE
If your content access level is configured beyond project level (such as workspace or language), you can deny access to specific readers accordingly.

Your knowledge base can include both private and public articles, depending on the reader access configuration.

Filtering readers

You can filter the readers on this page based on their access level:

• Project
• Workspace
• Language

Assigning reader access

You can explicitly assign reader access at any level — workspace, language, category, or article — to control who can view specific content.

NOTE
This is especially important after using Block inheritance, as all previously inherited access is removed and readers must be added back explicitly at that level.

At workspace or language level

1. Go to Settings () > Users & permissions > Reader access.
2. Select the workspace and language where you want to assign access.
3. Click Assign access and select the readers or reader groups who need access.
4. Click Apply.

Only the readers you explicitly add at workspace or language level will be able to see that content on the knowledge base site.

At category or article level

1. Go to Documentation () and hover over the category or article.
2. Click More () > Security > Knowledge base site Access control.

3. In the panel, click Assign access.
4. Select the readers or reader groups and click Apply.

Only the readers you explicitly add at category or article level will be able to see that content on the knowledge base site.

Block inherited access

The Block inherited access toggle is available only when a specific workspace or language is selected in the tree view on the left.

When enabled, inherited and future readers or reader groups will no longer have access to the selected workspace or language. Readers or reader groups added directly at that level will continue to retain access.

For full details on how block inheritance works for readers, see Block reader and reader group access inheritance.

Restore access to a denied reader

To restore access to readers whose access was previously denied:

1. Navigate to Settings () > Users and security in the left navigation bar in the knowledge base portal.

2. In the left navigation pane, navigate to Site access.

3. In the Site access page, click Assign project access.

   The Assign project access: Complete project dialog appears.

4. Use the Search bar to find the desired readers.

5. Select the readers or reader groups.

6. Click Apply.

Once assigned, these readers will gain access to the entire knowledge base.

Understanding permission precedence for readers

Reader permissions follow the same hierarchy as user permissions:

Project → Workspace → Language → Category → Article

• When a reader is given access at a higher level, that access automatically applies to everything below it. This is called inherited access.
• If you later give the same reader access directly at a lower level, that direct permission takes priority over the inherited one. This is called explicit access.

For the full explanation with examples, see Understanding permission precedence.

Best practices

• Use Deny when you want to actively block a reader from a specific piece of content regardless of inherited access. Use Remove only when you want to clear explicit access while allowing inherited access to remain.
• After blocking inheritance, explicitly assign readers before the change takes effect to avoid interrupting their access unexpectedly.
• Use the filter by Project, Workspace, or Language to scope your view before making changes — this prevents accidental edits at the wrong level.