Share a library or list (per-resource access)

Document folders and lists normally follow your role: anyone who can open the workspace can open the folder. Per-resource sharing lets you lock a single library or list down to specific people and teams instead, and the same control works the same way in two places:

• inside any project’s Workspace (the Workspace tab on a project), and
• inside the organization Workspace at /workspace.

It applies to both document libraries and lists (tables).

Note

Available on every plan. Nothing changes until someone restricts a resource, unrestricted libraries and lists keep following your project or organization roles as before.

Restrict a library or list

1. Open the library or list and select Manage access from the … (more actions) menu in its header. You will see it if you are the resource’s creator, an organization Owner / Admin / Portfolio Manager, or (for a project resource) the project’s Owner or Manager.

2. Turn on Restrict access. The resource now follows explicit grants only. A small Restricted badge appears next to its name so everyone can see at a glance that access is limited.

3. Under Share with, choose a Person or a Team, pick an access level, and select Add.

4. Change a grantee’s level inline at any time, or remove them.

Access levels

Level	What it allows
Can view	Open the library or list and read its contents. A view grantee cannot edit, upload, create, share externally, or open the Office editor in edit mode.
Can contribute	View, plus add and edit documents, rows, and metadata, create files, and share documents externally.
Can manage	Contribute, plus manage sharing (restrict, add and remove grants) for this resource.

Sharing with someone outside the project

A restricted project resource can only be shared with members of that project. To share with someone who is not on the project yet:

1. Add them to the project first, an outside collaborator can be added as a guest (the project-only Guest role).

2. Then grant them access to the library or list from Manage access.

This keeps project content inside the project’s membership. Organization Workspace resources have no project boundary, so you can share them with any person or team in the organization.

Who can always get in

Restricting a resource never locks out the people responsible for it. Organization Owners and Admins, and the resource’s creator, always keep full access. On a project resource, the project’s Owner and Manager keep access too. If you restrict a resource you would otherwise lose manage rights to, Onplana automatically grants you Can manage so you do not lock yourself out.

External share links honor restrictions

If you share a document externally with an email-gated link, that link respects per-resource sharing:

• You need Can contribute (or higher) on the library to create a share link.
• Restricting a library, or removing the link creator’s access, revokes the library’s active external links so they stop working.

Caution

Restricting a resource is enforced everywhere, not just in the UI. A person who is not a grantee cannot open, read, or change a restricted library or list through the app or the API, and the Office editor opens read-only for a view grantee.

FAQs

Can a view-only grantee re-share the library with someone else? No. Generating an external email-gated link requires contribute access or higher; viewers cannot create share links. This stops a single view grant from leaking the library outside your organization.

Who can rename or delete a restricted library? Manage access. The library’s creator, anyone with a manage grant, and organization-level admins (org.project.view.all) can rename, move, or delete a restricted library. Project members with only contribute or view access can read and edit content but cannot manage the library itself.

What happens to the grants if the library is moved to the Recycle Bin? Grants are snapshotted into the recycle bin entry. Restoring the library re-creates them under the new id automatically; you do not have to re-share with everyone after a restore.

Can I share a project library with an organization member who is not on the project? Add them to the project first as a guest (the project-only role), then grant them the library access level you want. The members-only boundary applies: a person who is not on the project cannot receive a grant on its libraries, even at the organization-admin tier.

What happens to live external share links when I restrict a library? The restriction event automatically revokes any active external share links the library had. New share links can only be created by users with contribute access or higher under the new restriction policy.

Best practices

1. Restrict only what genuinely needs it. Default-shared libraries support collaboration; restricted libraries support confidentiality. Use restriction for HR, contracts, legal, not every project file.
2. Use Teams instead of individual user grants when possible. Team grants auto-update as people join/leave teams. Per-user grants become stale.
3. Default to “Can view”. Most grantees don’t need to edit. Start view-only; upgrade to contribute when a specific need arises.
4. Always keep one “Can manage” grantee besides yourself. A single manage grantee = single point of failure. If you leave, the resource is harder to manage. Add a co-manager.
5. Explain the boundary the way it works. Cross-project sharing happens via the Guest role on the receiving project, that’s the design, not a limitation.

Troubleshooting / common pitfalls

• Manage access option missing. You’re not in the manager list for this resource. Need creator, project Owner/Manager, or org Owner/Admin to see it.
• Can’t add a grantee. Two causes: (a) for project resources, grantee isn’t on the project, add as Guest first; (b) for org resources, grantee isn’t an org member.
• Restricted library still visible to someone. They may have org-admin bypass (Owner/Admin), or they’re the creator. These always retain access.
• External share link stopped working unexpectedly. Library was restricted or a grant was removed. Recreate with contribute-access user.
• Manage access missing from the menu. Manage access lives in the row’s overflow menu. If it’s missing, check your role and membership.

How this combines with other features

• Sharing + Document libraries. Restrict + grant on libraries; same mechanism for lists. See Organize document libraries.
• Sharing + Office editor. OnlyOffice edit mode respects sharing, view grantees get read-only. See Edit Office documents in browser.
• Sharing + External share links. Restrict revokes active external links. Contribute+ to create new ones. See Share reports and documents externally.
• Sharing + Recycle bin. Grants snapshot into recycle entries; restore re-creates them. See Restore from the recycle bin.

Coming from another tool

Tool	Mapping
SharePoint permissions	Direct concept; folder-level restrict + grant
Google Drive sharing	Direct
OneDrive item permissions	Direct
Confluence space permissions	Direct
Custom RBAC	Onplana uses standard grant model

Related

• Organize document libraries, what gets shared
• Edit Office documents in browser, respects view/contribute
• Share reports and documents externally, external link creation