# Plan doc access

Before you share docs broadly, decide who needs access and where that access should be managed.

Folders help you manage access at scale. When a folder uses custom permissions, docs and folders inside it can inherit those settings automatically.

## Permission levels

Falconer uses the same access levels for docs, folders, people, groups, and your organization.

| Level | What it allows |
| --- | --- |
| **No access** | Cannot open the doc or folder |
| **Can view** | Can read the doc or browse the folder |
| **Can comment** | Can read and leave comments |
| **Can edit** | Can edit, move, and share |

Docs can also have authors. Authors help Falconer know who is responsible for a doc, including review and update notifications. Author status is separate from the access level shown in **People with access**.

## Decide where access should come from

A doc or folder can get access from several places:

- **People** -- specific teammates or external users
- **Groups** -- connected groups from your organization
- **Your organization** -- everyone in your Falconer organization
- **Anyone with the link** -- link access for docs
- **A parent folder or section** -- inherited permissions

Falconer uses the highest access level someone receives from any source. For example, if your organization has **Can view** and a teammate is added directly with **Can edit**, that teammate can edit.

## Use folders for repeated access

Inherited permissions let a doc or folder follow the access settings from the nearest parent folder or section.

<img
  src="/docs/images/plan-doc-access-inherited-permissions.png"
  alt=""
  width="520"
  style="margin-inline: auto;"
/>

This is the default for new docs and folders. It keeps a folder tree easy to manage because changing a parent folder can update access for everything inside it that still inherits from that folder.

When a doc or folder inherits permissions, its share dialog shows where those permissions come from. The individual access controls are read-only until you switch to custom permissions.

## Use custom permissions for exceptions

Custom permissions let a doc or folder keep its own access settings.

Use custom permissions when one doc needs a different audience than the folder around it, or when a subfolder should manage a smaller group of docs separately.

When you turn off inherited permissions, Falconer copies the current effective access into the doc or folder. You can then edit the copied settings without changing the parent.

## Remember that folder permissions affect docs

Folder permissions are ultimately for managing access to docs. If a folder has custom permissions, descendants that inherit from it use that folder's settings.

Descendants with custom permissions keep their own settings. Changing a parent folder does not overwrite them.

## Check search and agent access

Falconer search, Q&A, and agent answers only use docs the requesting user can access. If someone cannot open a doc, Falconer does not surface that doc in answers or search results for them.