Guide
Access templates are a reusable way to provide access to a set of linked Entities: for example, to a Product, its Epics, their Features, and so on.
When to use custom access templates
When sharing, for example, a Feature, you could always extend access to its Stories and Bugs: Share Entity. However, extending the default access (e.g. Editor) is often either too much (includes a sensitive relation) or not enough (doesn't go deep enough or ignores many-to-many). For example:
when sharing a Task, share Subtasks but not Time Logs;
when sharing a Product, share not only Features and Marketing Campaigns, but also Stories and Tasks one level deeper;
when sharing a Story, include Depends On and Blocks many-to-many relations.
Custom access templates make all of these use cases possible.
How access templates work
When sharing an Entity, you are choosing not only an access level (e.g. Viewer or Editor) but also how this access extends to linked Entities.
The options in the sharing dropdown are access templates: they are defined per Database and include which capabilities a user receiving access should get and how this capabilities should be propagated down (or up) the hierarchy.
Out of the box, there are four default access templates: Owner, Editor, Commenter, and Viewer with an option to extend access via all one-to-many relations. Check out Share Entity for details about the capabilities included.
When default access templates are not enough, Architects can create custom ones. The new templates appear in the dropdown next to the default ones.
Creating custom access template
Navigate to access template screen either from the sharing popover or from the Database configuration screen.
Click + New Template to create a custom access template.
Pick a name.
Provide a description to help those who share Entities to decide on the right access.
Selecting path & capabilities
Toggle capabilities by clicking on their icons
(hover to read the capability's name)
Click the special + icon to extend access via some relation.
Click x on the right to remove a relation.
Currently, extending access is limited to 5 levels deep with 25 paths wide. Please reach out if you need more.
To grant someone permission to create entities of a certain Database (e.g. Tasks or Features), Share Database using Submitter access level in addition to using an access template.
Relations to and from User Groups are excluded here. We recommend sharing entities with the Groups, not via the Groups.
Sharing Entity using custom access template
Once you've added a custom access template, it appears in the sharing dropdown to be selected. Using it does not differ from the usual Share Entity procedure.
To share an Entity using a custom access template, the sharer should have at least the same access themselves.
Reorder access templates
Reorder templates via drag'n'drop in the configuration screen to rearrange the list in the sharing dropdown.
Disabling & deleting access template
You can disable or delete the access template.
Disable an access template to hide it from the sharing dropdown. Users who received access using this access template will retain it, but it won't be possible to select the disabled template when sharing with new people.
Delete a custom access template to remove it completely and revoke access for all users who have received access using this template. There is no trash bin for access templates, so please be extra careful when deleting an access template that is being used.
Updating access template already in use
See which Entities are shared and with whom using a particular template in the Share section. It also includes Fields providing automatic access.
If you update a custom access template that is already in use, users' access will be updated. For example:
Admin creates a Product Manager custom access template for Feature DB with ability to see but not edit Features.
Someone shares Feature #32 with Sarah using this Product Manager template.
Sarah can now view but not update the Feature #32.
Admin updates Product Manager template to include edit capability.
Sarah can now both view and update the Feature #32.
Using outside of the Pro plan
Custom access templates are exclusive to Pro and Enterprise plans…
…however, it's a unique functionality that might be challenging to assess without laying hands on it. That's why we provide a free trial: you can create as many custom access templates as you want and try sharing Entities using them. At any moment, there can be up to 5 shares: e.g. one Entity shared with 5 people or 5 Entities shared with a single user.
If you use custom access templates for more than 5 shares while on Pro and then downgrade, the existing shares will continue to work so no one will lose access. However, you won't be able to share more Entities with more users using custom access templates.