---
title: "User Groups and Group Restriction"
slug: "user-groups-and-group-restriction"
updated: 2025-07-31T15:08:54Z
published: 2025-07-31T15:08:54Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.encodify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# User Groups and Group Restriction

## Overview

---

**User Groups** in Encodify are defined at the **site-wide level** and are used to control access to module items. They allow administrators to manage visibility on a **per-item basis**, ensuring users only access items relevant to their group membership.

Access to an item is granted only if a user belongs to a User Group that has been assigned to that item. Groups can be assigned to users **manually** or **automatically**, depending on how your organisation configures access control.

## Creating and Managing User Groups

---

### Understanding Group Hierarchy

User Groups support **hierarchical access control**, allowing you to define parent-child relationships.

- **Parent group members** can access all items in their subgroups
- **Subgroup members** can only access items specifically assigned to their subgroup

Example hierarchy:

```nginx
group1

├── group2

├── group3

└── group4
```

**Access matrix:**

The derived decision table shows whether the user has access to the item or not:

| **User** | **Assigned Group** | **Item: group1** | group2 | group3 | group4 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| user1 | group1 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| user2 | group2 | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| user3 | group3 | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| user4 | group4 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |

> [!WARNING]
> **Note:**If “Grant group access from parent groups” is enabled, users inherit access from parent groups.

### To create a User Group:

To create a new User Group in Encodify, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to **Site Configuration** → **User Settings** → **Groups**.
2. Click **New User Group**.
3. Enter a name for the group.
4. *(Optional)* Select a parent group if you wish to organise groups in a hierarchical structure.
5. Click **OK** to save the new group.

*![image092.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001230643.png)*

  
![image091.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001228326.png)

![Screenshot_2020-07-13_at_14.47.31.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360061870131.png)

### Renaming and Deleting Groups

To **rename** an existing group:

1. Click the **Edit** icon next to the group
2. Update the group name as needed
3. Click **OK** to save your changes

To **delete** a group:

1. Click the **Edit** icon next to the group
2. Click **Delete**
3. Confirm the deletion when prompted

> [!WARNING]
> ⚠️ **Important:** Deleting a **parent group** will also delete all its **subgroups**. Any items previously restricted to those groups will become accessible to all users.

### Importing User Groups

To streamline setup, you can import multiple groups while preserving their hierarchy.

Import format (via copy-paste):

- Parent groups should be listed on separate lines
- Subgroups must be **indented with a tab character**

Having the list of groups in Excel as follows:

![image094.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001228446.png)

*![image096.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001230763.png)*

This will create the next group tree:

![image098.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001230783.png)

> [!WARNING]
> **Note!**
> 
> - Avoid commas in groups names if used together with **Assign by User Group** actions.
> - First row with new entries takes precedence on insert; duplicate entries or conflicting entries are ignored.

## Configuring Group Assignment Logic

---

### Group Restriction Types

To enable and configure group restriction for a module:

1. Go to **Site Configuration → {Module} → Settings**
2. Click **Edit Settings**
3. Select a value from the **Group Restriction** dropdown

**Restriction types:**

| **Type** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| **None** | No restriction; all users can access all items |
| **Automatically** | Only users in the same group as the item's creator can access it |
| **Manual** | Groups are manually selected per item |
| **Show and Pre-select** | Items are auto-restricted to pre-selected groups, editable on creation |
| **Assigned by Action** | Groups are assigned using automation; items without a group are visible only to the creator |

**Additional configuration options:**

- **Inactivate group restriction on search results** – Items will appear in search even if restricted
- **Require Group Access** – Users must assign a group on item creation (Manual / Pre-select)
- **Allow Parent Groups** – Users inherit access from parent groups

> [!WARNING]
> **Important:** Items are only visible to admins when the system property flag **'itemVisibleToAdminOnlyIfNoGroupsAssigned'** is enabled.

> [!WARNING]
> **Note:** Admins can make items globally visible by enabling **"Everybody can access this item"**

### Group Selection Modes

From version **9.97** onwards, the **Group Selection Mode** can be configured to determine how users are assigned to groups:

- **Manual** – User groups are assigned directly to users via the interface.
- **Assigned by Action** – Groups are assigned to users automatically using "Assign/Create User Groups" actions configured in the **User Management** module.

> [!WARNING]
> If "Assigned by Action" is selected, user groups cannot be manually assigned, and the User Groups list will be read-only in the user settings window.

> [!WARNING]
> **Note:** The User Groups interface was updated in version 9.97. Earlier versions display a different layout for the Groups configuration page.

![Screenshot_2020-07-13_at_14.50.06.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360061729072.png)

![Screenshot_2020-07-13_at_14.45.49.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360061728892.png)

### Assign by Action

The **Assign/Create User Groups** action automates group assignment on item creation/update.

**Parameters:**

| **Parameter** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| `sourceFields` | Ignores hierarchy. Comma-separated list of field IDs. |
| `level1`...`levelN` | Respects hierarchy. Each level must be specified. |
| `assignGroupsToItem` | Set to `true` to assign groups to items. |
| `assignGroupsToUser` | For user assignment. Requires “Assigned by Action” mode. |
| `createGroups` | Creates missing groups based on mapped values. |

Key changes in version 9.97:

- Group ID no longer supported; only names are accepted.
- `resetExisting` is deprecated—groups are always overwritten.
- Assignment of user groups by actions will only be done in case the group restriction type of the module is set to "Assigned by action"

Important notes:

Assignment of group restriction by the configured actions in regular modules works only when group restriction type in module Settings is set to "Assigned by action". Please note that assignment of user groups to users by actions, are not controlled by group restriction type of the user management module, only by the “**Group Selection Mode**” setting in User group - Settings.

- Actions assigning user groups to users must have assignGroupsToItem set to "false".
- "Overwrite existing" action setting has been removed and is now always true
- Assignment works only by group name; assignment by group ID is no longer supported.
- Previously existing "Assign user group actions" are converted to "Assign/Create User Groups" actions that support group hierarchy. Existing configurations prior to version 9.97 will not be changed.
- Group hierarchy must be complete (no missing parents).
- Duplicates or incorrectly placed subgroups will cause failure.
- User groups must specify the correct level, or assignment/creation will fail.
- Assignment using group hierarchy requires all levels from root (level 1) to be specified. Invalid configurations will fail:

`level2=id` `level3=id `
- Modified field values mapped for user groups will not modify previously created user groups; new groups will be created instead.
- Field values for automatic group assignment during bulk user import must be passed in the request. User groups should not be present in API requests for bulk user creation.
- Cannot mix action-based and IDP-based group assignments.

## Assigning Users to Groups

---

- Navigate to **Site Configuration > Users > Active Users** (or **Inactive Users**, in which case you should select *Inactive Users* and then follow the same steps as given below).
- Search or browse to find the user.
- Click the **Edit** icon and go to the **Site Information** tab.
- In the **User Groups** section, tick checkboxes under:
- **Access** – Grants access to group-restricted items.
- **Pre-Select** – Used with the “Show and Pre-select” restriction type.

![image100.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/360001230883.png)

Adding a user to a User Group

###