Understanding Access Levels

Access to the information inside a Lotus Notes database is not simply a matter of "yes you can", or "no you can't". There is a very robust security model in place which controls which documents people can and can not see, edit, and delete. In this tip I'll provide a basic introduction to the various degrees of access, which are referred to in Lotus Notes as Access Control Levels.

No Access: You can not open the Notes database at all. When you try, you will receive the following message:



Depositor: You can create a new document (fill in a form), but once you have saved and closed it, you can no longer update it, nor even see it again. Actually depositors can't see any documents in the database at all. Not those they have created themselves, nor those others have created. A good analogy is filling out a suggestion form in a restaurant or hotel and dropping it off in a little sealed box. Once you've "deposited" it into the box, you can no longer see it, update it, or see the other forms people have deposited. Other examples include voting applications, or raffle/ballot box type contests. You get to create a new ballot, but once you deposit it, you no longer have any access, and you can't see what others have done either.

Reader: You can open a database, and read the documents which you are authorized to see. You can not create new documents, update any existing documents, nor delete any documents. A good example might be a Policies and Procedures database. Information you need to read, but not necessarily update yourself.

Author: You can create new documents. You can also edit (update) the documents you created. Additionally, you may have access to delete the documents you created, but this is not always the case. It is up to the owner or Manager, of the database. This is good for a Discussion type database, where you need to share information and respond to others, but you should not be allowed to change what anyone else writes.

Editor: Similar to Author, but extends the abilities to documents created by anyone, not just the documents you created. A typical scenario for editor access is when you are working with a team of people, and you are sharing work that anyone can update at any time.

These five levels represent the "basics" of access to Lotus Notes data.