Watch the video above to see document permissions in action across different teams.
The guide below explains how tab-level access control works so you can set it up on your own projects.
Controlling Document Permissions to Protect Sensitive Project Information
When you’re managing a project with multiple stakeholders – clients, consultants, contractors, internal teams – not everyone should see everything. A client doesn’t need access to your internal coordination notes. A subcontractor shouldn’t be browsing the commercial terms you’re drafting with the design team. But with traditional document workflows, controlling access usually means splitting content across different folders, shared drives, or platforms – and that creates its own problems.
Plannerly keeps all of your project documents in one place while giving you fine-grained control over who can see what. Each document lives on its own tab within the project, and each tab can have different access permissions. That means you can manage an entire project’s documentation from a single environment without exposing sensitive content to the wrong people.
Setting permissions is straightforward. You edit a document tab and choose which teams should have access. If a document is only for your internal management team, you select your team and save – other teams on the project simply won’t see that tab. When a client team member logs in, they’ll see only the documents they’ve been granted access to, with no indication that restricted documents even exist.
This works because Plannerly’s project structure is built around teams. Each project has teams set up on the dashboard – your internal team, the client team, consultant teams, contractor teams, and so on. When you assign permissions at the tab level, you’re choosing which of those teams can view and interact with each document. It’s the same team structure that drives viewer, editor, and manager roles, so everything stays consistent.
For projects following ISO 19650, information control isn’t optional – it’s a core part of how project information should be managed. The appointing party’s documents may need to be separate from the delivery team’s working documents. Pre-contract and post-contract information may require different access levels. Tab-level permissions give you a simple, practical way to enforce that separation without fragmenting your project across multiple tools.
The result is a project where everyone has access to exactly what they need – no more, no less – and all the documentation is still managed, versioned, and tracked in one connected environment.
How to control document permissions in Plannerly
- Set up your project teams – go to the project dashboard and make sure your teams are configured. Each team represents a group of users – your internal team, the client, consultants, contractors, etc.
- Add team members – invite team members and assign them to the appropriate team so they’re linked to the right group before you set permissions.
- Edit a document tab – click on the document tab you want to control and open its settings.
- Choose which teams have access – select the teams that should be able to see and work with this document. Deselect any teams that shouldn’t have access.
- Save the permissions – hit save. The changes take effect immediately – team members without access will no longer see that tab in their project view.
- Verify the experience – check what the project looks like from another team’s perspective. A client team member, for example, should only see the document tabs they’ve been granted access to.
What you’ll learn
- Tab-level permissions – how each document tab can have its own access settings, independent of other documents in the project
- Team-based access control – how permissions are managed through project teams rather than individual users, keeping administration simple
- Restricting sensitive documents – how to limit a document to specific teams so that unauthorised users don’t even see the tab
- Multi-team collaboration – how different teams see different content while all working inside the same project environment
- Centralised document management – how to keep all project documents in one place without compromising information security
Common questions
Can different document tabs have different team access?
Yes. Every document tab in a project can have its own permission settings. One tab might be visible to all teams, while another is restricted to just your internal management team. This lets you organise everything in one project without exposing the wrong content to the wrong people.
What do restricted team members see when they log in?
They see only the document tabs they’ve been given access to. Restricted tabs are completely hidden – there’s no indication they exist. This keeps the experience clean for every user and ensures sensitive information stays protected.
How do permissions relate to viewer, editor, and manager roles?
Tab-level permissions control which teams can see a document. The viewer, editor, and manager roles then control what those team members can do within the documents they have access to. The two systems work together – first you control visibility, then you control editing rights.
Is this important for ISO 19650 compliance?
Yes. ISO 19650 requires that project information is managed with appropriate access controls. Different parties in the appointment process need access to different information at different stages. Tab-level permissions give you a practical way to enforce that separation while keeping all documentation in one structured, accountable environment.
Can I change permissions after a document has been created?
Yes. You can update tab permissions at any time. If a project moves from pre-contract to post-contract and a new team needs access to certain documents, you simply edit the tab settings and add the team. The change takes effect immediately.
Explore further
- Controlling document tab access – the hands-on lesson covering tab permissions step by step
- Assign document responsibilities for accountability – learn how to assign section-level ownership alongside tab-level access
- ISO 19650 roles and responsibilities explained – understand how access control fits into the broader ISO 19650 framework
- BIM Boot Camp – the intensive programme covering end-to-end BIM and ISO 19650 workflows