Restrict SharePoint folders from certain Users

Owned by Dan Jakubiak
Last updated: Jul 02, 2024
3 min read

Faculty, staff, and students can alter the viewing / editing permissions on a per folder basis in a SharePoint site. Permissions are self-service by site owners, but ITS is available to help.

There are multiple methods are restricting permissions; please read the list below and choose the method that makes the most sense for your group in terms of upkeep and comfort level.

Methods of restricting permissions on certain folders

  1. Create discrete sites

  2. Add users as Visitors

  3. Create and manage user groups

  4. Create separate document libraries

Follow these instructions when you need to hide, or otherwise restrict access to certain folders on your SharePoint site.

Create discrete sites

The easiest way to manage viewership of certain folders is to create more than one SharePoint site. This method is the easiest to set up and likely the easiest to maintain.

This method of separating data gives you the full 500GB allocation per data location (site).

If you have data that you consider to be Archival, that is you don’t need to access it every day, you should consider putting this data on a separate site. Learn more:

  1. Create a site and add all the members that should be able to view / edit all the files on the site.

  2. Create a second site with fewer people. This site will hold the files that only some people should have access to.

  3. Have everyone follow this guide with every site they have access to: .

  4. By following the guide above, all discrete sites will appear as folders in OneDrive. Therefore, this doesn’t necessarily add confusion to file access.

Add Users as Visitors

This method involves adding all users as Visitors with read-only access to the site. Site owners will then manage permissions as top-level folders are created.

If you have two desired access levels (user groups) this is the method for you.

Create and Manage User Groups

This method requires diligent upkeep but is manageable for site owners who are comfortable in SharePoint. This method is very similar to how Q Drive permissions functioned.

If you have more than two desired access levels (user groups), this is the method for you. This method will allow you to create as many access (user) groups as you need.

Create Additional Document Libraries

The method requires the use of User Groups, as described in the above section. Create separate document libraries in your SharePoint site to separate your data and restrict access.

Alternate: Share only the folder

The previous methods listed on this page hide certain folders from certain users. If, on the other hand, you have users that only need access to a folder or two, you may simply share that folder(s) with them. If they do not need to interact with any other folders on the site, they do not need to be members of the site.