How to check SharePoint site access permissions to users and groups

Read time 5 minutes

Within the domain of SharePoint Online administration, administrators have the authority to grant or restrict user access to sites based on requirements and responsibilities. In addition, users are able to determine the level of access and specific actions they are allowed to perform. In SharePoint’s permission structure, each level provides a tailored approach to granting access to users and groups.

These permission levels range from read-only access for guests to the extensive capabilities granted to administrators. Understanding this framework is pivotal for administrators. This blog will be your technical guide helping you out with the complexities of SharePoint site access permissions. We will discuss how to configure and optimize user and group permissions for a secure SharePoint environment.

SharePoint Online Permission Levels

Some of the important SharePoint Permission levels are:

• Full Control – All SharePoint permissions (by default, Owners Group has this permission).
• Edit – Add, edit/update, delete sites, list items, or documents (by default, Members Group has this permission).
• Contribute – View, add, Checking SharePoint Online User/Group Permission
  update, and delete documents/list items
• Read – View and download items/pages in lists/document libraries
• View Only – View pages/items/documents, but without downloading

Using the SharePoint Online admin center, it is quite easy to check the assigned permissions the users and groups have on SharePoint Online sites.

Note: This applies to the SharePoint Server 2013 and later versions.

You just need to follow the provided steps for performing this task.

1. Go to https://www.office.com/?auth=2 and select the SharePoint tile. Then, log in with the administrator credentials.
2. Then go to Active Sites and click on the URL of the desired active site.
3. Click the Site Contents option from the left panel on the opened SharePoint site.
4. Next, click on Site Settings on the top of the page.
   
5. Now, under the Users and Permissions section, click Site permissions.
   
6. The SharePoint Permissions page will get opened. Here, you can perform multiple actions like editing the user permissions.
   • Grant Permissions: To grant permissions to a user or group.
   • Create Group: To create a SharePoint group, add members to it, and assign desired permissions.
   • Remove User Permissions: To remove the permissions assigned to the selected SharePoint user or group.
   • Edit User Permissions: To modify the permissions assigned to the added SharePoint Online group.

   

7. Just select the desired permission and click OK.
   

• Benefits
  You can still view a user’s access/permissions regardless of whether they were added directly to the site, are a member of SharePoint, or are a member of an Active Directory Group.
• Drawbacks
  This method’s primary drawback is that it only displays access to one site at a time. Therefore, you must repeat the process for more sites if you wish to check user access on a few.

Read Also: How to Add User to Microsoft SharePoint Site 2019/2016?

To check what all permissions are assigned on the SharePoint site, click on the Check Permissions on the top of the SharePoint Permissions page. It will open the Check Permissions dialogue box.

You first need to search and add the desired users or groups in the selected SharePoint site whose permission you want to check.

After adding the desired user/group, click on Check Now option to provide the permissions to that added user/groups.

Here, you would find the permission level and other details associated to the SharePoint user or group.

Note: While checking access permissions for users, it displays permissions for one site at a time for the selected user and while checking for groups, it displays permissions for all sites in the selected group under one site collection at a time.

So, this is how you can get information about the permissions assigned to the user or group.

• Benefits
  The method gives you a complete list of the websites that are accessible to the given SharePoint group. So, the process does not need to be repeated on each site independently.
• Drawbacks

  User members of the SharePoint Security group are the only ones who may use it. If you choose to forego recommended practices and directly add users to the site, this is less of a limitation and more of a reality.

  The method displays only the sites that belong to a specific site collection. Repeat the procedure for every distinct site collection.

During migrations, organizations prefer to migrate the assigned permissions along with the data to avoid complexities. Our tool, the Kernel Migrator for SharePoint performs this for you. It efficiently migrates SharePoint sites, lists, libraries, etc. to SharePoint Online along with all the permissions assigned to site users or groups. SharePoint Migration tool also supports File system to SharePoint, Google Drive to Google Drive, One Drive to One Drive migrations as well in minimum time with full accuracy. Thus, you got the best solution to migrate SharePoint permissions easily.

Summing up

As we wrap up, this article discussed all about SharePoint site access permissions for users and groups. You have gained insights into different permission types and their allocation strategies. Moreover, consider the Kernel Migrator for SharePoint—an invaluable tool for easy SharePoint Online migrations. It not only facilitates data migration but also ensures an effortless transition of permissions.

As you go through the domain of access management, use this tool to preserve the integrity of permissions during migration. Use the trial version today for a robust approach to managing site access and optimizing your SharePoint experience.