Product library permissions

There are two different levels of interaction with the product library in a Spatial Database Engine (SDE) implementation of the product library: administrators and users. These levels of access are controlled through ArcCatalog database connections. The administrators manage the overall product library including the structure, components, and user permissions. Permissions for specific users are granted at the series level of the product library.

Users can have varying degrees of access to parts of the product library based on whether they have edit, read/write, or read-only permissions based on their Windows login.

Using the administrator's database connection, user accounts are created for anyone who is going to have access to the product library. To create a new user, the person must first be added as a product library user, then permissions can be assigned. This allows anyone who has a user account to access the product library to the degree their permissions allow. For example, if you assign read-only permissions to a user, that person would not have the same level of access as someone who has read/write permissions.

Initially, the user must be added to the geodatabase by the administrator. Each user is added using the first name, last name, and Windows user name.

Once the user is added, the permissions can be granted at the series level of the product library. Permissions are passed down to all products within a given series. Permissions are also passed up from the series to the class and the solution. For example, if a user is given permission to one or more series below a particular class or solution, the user has access to those entries. By default, the permissions for a user are set to Not Available, but there are a total of four different levels:

• Not Available—The series and all components beneath it are hidden from the user.
• Read Only—Properties can be viewed for all levels of the product library.
• Check In/Check Out—Files can be checked in and out.
• Edit—Product library levels can be added, modified, and removed, and files can be checked in and out.

Access to levels of the product library can be managed based on the Visible property at the solution, product class, series, product, and area of interest (AOI) levels. This property allows the product library administrator to hide or show any part of the tree view for all users at once who may already have permission to that specific location.

The Visible property and permissions

Although permissions can be assigned using the Permissions dialog box, you can also determine permissions at each level in the product library tree. The Visible property allows you to override the permissions assigned to a user on the Permissions dialog box, depending on the combination of values you assign and the level in the tree.

The Visible property in each part of the product library indicates whether a solution, class, series, product, or instance can be viewed and opened by a user. At minimum, this property must be set to True for users to see any component in the product library.

Tips for configuring the Visible property

• If the user permissions are set to Not Available for a series, the product class is not visible to the user.
• If the user permissions are set to Not Available for all series within a product class, the solution is not visible to the user.
• If a solution does not contain any product classes, and Visible is set to True, it is not visible to the user.
• If a product class does not contain any series, it is not visible to the user if Visible is set to True.
• If a lower level in the product library tree has Visible set to True and a higher level has it set to False, the user is only going to see the product library tree up to the highest level that is set to True. For example, if Visible is set to True for an area of interest and False for a product, the user is only going to see the solution, product class, and series.

Tasks and product library permissions

The table below illustrates the tasks that can be performed for the product library based on the permission level.

Task	Access level	Administrator	User: Edit permissions	User: Check Out/Check In permissions	User: Read Only permissions	User: Not Available permissions
Set permissions of user access to levels and files.	Series > Permissions	Yes	No	No	No	No
Add new solutions, product classes, or series.	Product Library > New Solution Solution > New Product Class Product Class > New Series	Yes	No	No	No	No
Delete existing products, instances, or AOIs.	Solution > Delete Product Class > Delete Product Library > Delete	Yes	No	No	No	No
Add new products, instances, or AOIs.	Series > New Product Product > New Instance Instances > New AOI	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Delete existing products, instances, or AOIs.	Series > Delete Products > Delete Instances > Delete	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Batch import new products to add products, instances, or AOIs.	Product Class > Batch Import New Products Series > Batch Import New Products	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Modify existing level properties.	All > Properties	Yes	Only for the series, product, instance, and area of interest levels	No	No	No
Access Advanced View of level's metadata.	Solution > Advanced View	Yes	No	No	No	No
Create and modify entry types.	Production Properties > Data Management > Tools > Set Tool Options > Entry Types Product Library > Properties > Tools > Set Tool Options > Entry Types Product Class > Entry Types	Yes	No	No	No	No
Manage data models.	Production Properties > Data Management > Tools > Set Tool Options > Data Models Product Library > Properties > Tools > Set Tool Options > Data Models	Yes	No	No	No	No
Add and delete product library users.	Production Properties > Data Management > Tools > Set Tool Options > Product Library Users Product Library > Properties > Tools > Set Tool Options > Product Library Users	Yes	No	No	No	No
Clean up unused files and spatial references.	Product Library > Cleanup	Yes	No	No	No	No
Check out/check in/undo checkout templates, products, or files.	Product Class > Check Out/In/Undo Check Out Class Template Series > Check Out/In/Undo Check Out Series Template Product > Check Out/In/Undo Check Out Product File Manager > Check Out/In/Undo Check Out Document	Yes	Yes	Yes Note: A user with Check Out/Check In permissions can only undo his/her checkout; only an administrator or a user with Edit permissions can undo a checkout by another user	No	No
Get local copies of templates, products, or files.	Product Class > Get Local Copy Class Template Series > Get Local Copy Series Template Product > Get Local Copy Product File Manager > Get Local Copy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Paste (add) new files.	File Manager > Paste	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Delete existing files.	File Manager > Delete	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Link files using Copy As Link.	File Manager > Copy As Link	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Restore previous versions of files.	File Manager > Properties > History > Version list > Restore	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Delete previous versions of files.	File Manager > Properties > History > Version list > Delete	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Publish and unpublish versions of a file.	File Manager > Properties > History > Version list > Publish File Manager > Properties > History > Version list > Unpublish	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

Product library permissions