How do I manage or edit user permissions?
As an admin, you can review and manage permissions for course-level and account-level user roles. Depending on the user role, you may want to edit default permissions and set custom permissions for a user role in your account. Permissions grant or deny access to specific features within an account and course.
You can learn details for all the available permission options by reviewing the Canvas Course Role Permissions resource document or the Canvas Account Role Permissions resource document.
Notes:
- Some permissions may not be available for sub-accounts. To learn more about sub-account permissions and limitations, view the Account vs. Sub-Account Comparisons resource document.
- When you remove permissions there is no delay; permissions are removed immediately.
- Child consortium accounts inherit roles and permissions from the parent account. Child accounts can edit any unlocked roles and permissions.
Troubleshooting Tips:
- When you change a permission, it can sometimes take 30 minutes or longer for the permission change to take effect. If the expected changes do not appear immediately, try again after some time has passed.
- After you've added a permission to a role, you can test the experience by acting as a user with that newly adjusted role.
- To prevent users from getting unintended permissions, you can make changes in the beta environment and confirm they match what you expect.
Open Account
In Global Navigation, click the Admin link [1], then click the name of the account [2].
Open Permissions
In Account Navigation, click the Permissions link.
View Permissions
By default, the permissions page displays course-level user role permissions [1].
To view account-level user role permissions, click the Account Roles tab [2].
Search and Filter Permissions
To search for a specific permission, type a permission name in the Search field [1]. The search field uses predictive filtering.
You can also filter permissions by role. By default, the Permissions page displays all user roles. To filter permissions for a specific user role, type or select the name of the user role from the Permission Role Filter menu [2].
You can use the search and filter options to search permissions for specific user roles.
View Individual Permission
To view information about a specific permission, click the permission name.
View Additional Permission Details
The permission sidebar displays the permission name [1].
View and collapse specific details about the permission by clicking the What it Does and Additional Considerations arrow icons [2]. Please note some permissions may not include these details.
The sidebar also displays the Assigned Roles section [3], which shows all enabled roles for the permission, and the Unassigned Roles section [4], which shows all disabled roles for the permission.
Manage Individual Permission
To manage user roles for the permission, click the icon next to the name of a user role [1]. In the permission menu [2], the existing permission is indicated by a check mark.
Choose the new permission status by clicking one of the permission options: Enable or Disable. After you enable or disable the permission, you can choose to lock the permission status. To lock the permission status, click the Lock option [3]. Locked options keep the setting from being changed by subaccount admins in a lower account. The new permission status is saved automatically.
Note: If a permission icon does not display as opaque, you cannot change the permission [4].
View Grouped Permissions
Some permissions may be grouped together to allow for greater granularity and control over permissions.
Grouped permissions list the grouped permissions below the grouped permission name [1].
To expand grouped permissions, click the Expand icon [2].
Manage Grouped Permissions
You can manage each granular permission within the group with the corresponding checkboxes. To enable or disable a granular permission, click the checkbox [1]. A checked box indicates the permission is enabled [2]. An unchecked box indicates the permission is disabled [3].
If all permissions are enabled for a user role, the permission group displays a checkmark icon [4].
If some permissions are enabled and some are disabled for a user role, the permission group displays a half-filled icon [5].
If all permissions are disabled for a user role, the permission group displays an X icon [6].
View and Manage Individual User Role Permissions
To view all permissions assigned to a specific role, click the role name [1]. You can manage permissions for account-level roles and manage permissions for course-level roles.
To add an account-level role or add a course-level role, view the tab for the appropriate role and click the Add Role button [2].
