Hi, I have a quesiton about custom list and permissions. I've created a custom list to track/work performance reviews. I need to give everyone read rights to the list so they can see what's being worked. However, each item will have permissions set directly to it limiting who can actually read the attachment(s). The intent is that anyone can go into the site, see what's being worked and when its due. However, only certain indivdiuals will need to open/view/udpate the document. The key here is privacy. During my beta testing, I've discovered that in order for individuals to see what's being worked, I need to give everyone "design" rights as a minimum. Those rights don't seem right. I should be able to give everyone read rights so they can view the list. Then I also discovered, If I give only certian individuals rights to the item itself, then the others cannot see it. What I need is I need to be able to set permissions to a read level to let everyone see what's being worked in the list. Then I need to be able to set permissions to the item directly and limit who can open/read/modify. Logically, it seems this is the way SharePoint should work. Read rights to everyone, and they can see everything. Then on the item itself, restrict permissions so only those who need to see/work the review can see what the employee is actually receiving. Does that make sense?

Hey Rick, The way to do this is as follows: Ensure that everyone is listed as members of your "Site Visitors" and "Site Members" groups. On the permissions of the list, set the Site Members to have contribute/edit rights. This will give everyone the ability to add new items. On each individual item, set the Site Visitors group to have read rights. This will give everyone the ability to see the item, but not update it. On the same item, set the specific users who should be able to update it, to have edit rights. Now if you wish to have the attachments be secure i.e. people can see there's an attachment, but can't actually open it, you will need to work around that. Instead of just attaching the document to the list: a) Create a document library. b) Upload the document to that library. c) Set permissions on the document so only the people who should have access, has access, similar to what we did on the above list. d) Add a "Document Link" field to the list above. e) Have users add a link to the document instead of the document itself. By doing this, users can see the item, but when they click on the link, that library security trumps them and they won't have access. I trust that answers your question... Thanks C http://www.cjvandyk.com/blog

C, What you are saying is exactly what I thought I needed to do. However, when beta testing, I found the opposite. If I gave a group "read" rights, then they couldn't see the list items. I have four test items in the list. In order for me to get them to see the four list items, I had to give them "contribute" rights which is counter intuitive. Not to mention, then everyone would have rights to the list and could add items at will, not what I want. Why is that? Why is SharePoint not working properly for "read" rights? Why do I have to give "contribute" rights for member to see the list items. Thanks for the help. Rick

Hi Rick, Please check Read permission (Site Actions > Modify All site Settings > Go to top site > Advanced permissions > Settings > Permission Levels > Click Read), ensure the View Items option is checked. Note: Don’t modify the Permission Level directly. Click Copy Permission Level to copy the permission then create a new permission level if needed. Then change the permission of the item to the new created permission level. Hope it helps.Best regards. Emir