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Page restrictions allow you to control who can view or edit individual pages in a space.
To add or remove restrictions to a page you will need to have permissions to edit the page and 'Restrict' or 'Admin' permission in the space.
About page restrictions and space permissions
Confluence permissions are hierarchical, so page restrictions will not override any space permissions for the user or group.
For example, if you restrict viewing or editing a page to a user who does not have 'view' permissions for the space, they will not be able to see the page, as the page level restrictions cannot override their space permissions.
Some page restrictions are inherited. If you restrict viewing a page to a user or group, all children of that page will also be restricted to the user or group. Edit page restrictions are not inherited.
Adding restrictions to a page
You can restrict viewing a page or editing a page to a specific user or group.
To restrict viewing or editing a page to a user or group:
- Go to the page and choose Tools > Restrictions.
- Choose Restrict viewing of this page or Restrict editing of this page.
- Enter part of user or group name, and then choose the appropriate user or group from the autocomplete drop down. You can add multiple users and groups.
The page restrictions have now been applied:
- Viewing the page is now restricted to the users and / or groups listed. All other users will not be able to view the page. Any children of this page will inherit the viewing restrictions.
- Editing the page is now restricted to the users and / or groups listed. All other users will be able to view, but not edit, the page.
Viewing the current page restrictions
Confluence displays a padlock icon on the byline when a page has current viewing or editing restrictions.
Screenshot: Byline showing page restrictions icon.
To view the restrictions:
- Go to the page and:
- choose Tools > Restrictions, or
- choose the padlock icon on the byline, or
- choose the Restricted button on the footer, if you are in the editor.
- The Page Restrictions dialog appears, listing the users and / or groups that have restrictions applied.
Screenshot: Page Restrictions dialog showing viewing restricted to the 'developers' group and editing restricted to two users.
Removing restrictions from a page
To remove restrictions from a page:
- Go to the page and:
- choose Tools > Restrictions, or
- choose the padlock icon on the byline, or
- choose the Restricted button on the footer, if you are in the editor.
- Choose Remove next to each restriction you would like to remove.
Request and grant access to view a restricted page
If you navigate to a page that you are not able to view because it has page restrictions applied (for example from a link or page URL) you may be able to request access to the page.
To request access to a restricted page:
- On the restricted page choose Request access.
- Wait for an email confirming that access has been granted.
If the request access message does not appear, you are not able to request access for that particular page. This usually is because the page has inherited restrictions from a parent page, or you may not have adequate space permissions.
Screenshot: Request access message on a restricted page.
To grant access to a restricted page:
- In the request access email, choose Grant access.
- You will be taken to the restricted page, a dialog will appear with the access request.
- Choose Grant access.
The user will receive an email confirming that access has been granted.
This process is the same as navigating to Tools > Restrictions and adding a 'View' restriction for the user.
Screenshot: Grant access to the page.
Who can grant access?
To grant access to a restricted page you will need to have permission to edit that page, and have the 'Restrict' or 'Admin' permission for the space.
Confluence will send an email to the a user who can grant permissions - this will be either the last user (with appropriate permissions) to edit the page, the page creator or a space admin.
Viewing all restricted pages in a space
You need 'Admin' permissions to view the list of restricted pages in a space.
To view restricted pages:
- Go to the space and choose Space tools > Permissions on the sidebar.
- Choose Restricted Pages.
If your space uses the Documentation theme:
- Choose Browse > Space Admin at the top of the screen.
Note: The 'Space Admin' option appears only if you are a space administrator for the space or you are a super user (a member of theconfluence-administrators
group). - Choose Restricted Pages in the space administration options.
A list of all restricted pages in the space displays.
Space Administrators can remove restrictions from a page
Screenshot: Restricted pages in a space
Notes
- Inherited restrictions
If a page has a 'View' restriction set, that restriction will be inherited by all its children (and their children, and so on). If a 'View' restriction is added to a child page that has already inherited page restrictions from its parent, users must satisfy both restrictions in order to see the page. - Space Admin and Confluence Administrator access to restricted pages
Users with 'Admin' permissions in a space, or members of the 'confluence-administrators' group can remove restrictions from pages, even if the page restriction prevents them from viewing the page. Go to Space Administration > Restricted Pages . - You cannot exclude yourself
As creator or editor of a page, you cannot use page restrictions to deny yourself access to the page. Confluence will automatically add your username into the list of users/groups allowed to view/edit the page. If you remove your username, Confluence will put it back again.