Permissions Import
Learn how to create a permissions import file.
Written by Andrea Harvey
Updated at June 23rd, 2025
Table of Contents
Overview
The permissions import feature allows a user to establish permissions from platforms that wouldn't otherwise support reading permissions, and it does so based on the contents of a delimited text file or a database table. This can be useful when importing data that is produced during an export routine such as exporting content from a platform that is not yet supported by the application. Permissions import runs after all content has been processed. It will iterate over each row from the import source and attempt to determine the impacted file along with the desired permissions. If the file can be determined, it will map the users and groups and then apply the permissions.
If you receive an error when importing a CSV file, the file does not meet the expected format. Compare your file to the sample files provided, and edit the file before attempting to import it again.
The destination connection must be made with an account that has administrative privileges.
File Format
The import source can be any delimited file or a database table. The import source needs to contain 2 types of information for each row in the file: the file path and the associated permissions.
File Path
The first column(s) in the import source must be the file path. This can be specified using the column name(s). The file path can either be relative to the job source or an absolute path within the source platform. For example, if the job source is /C/files/users/ and the file in question is /C/files/users/jdoe/locations.xls, then the file path in the import source could be /jdoe/locations.xls or /C/files/users/jdoe/locations.xls.
The path can be sent in one column or two columns.
- If using one column for the path, the first column should contain the full path. Valid column names when using one column are FilePath, Path, FullPath, File_Path, and Full_Path.
- If using two columns for the path,
- The first column should be used for the directory name. Valid directory column names are FolderName, Folder_Name, and Folder_Structure.
- The second column should then be used for the file name. Valid file column names are FileName, File_Name.
Permissions
The remaining columns identify the associated permissions.
| Permission | Description | Valid Values | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| access | This column identifies the access rights. Multiple values can be included by adding + between the values. For example, you can set the access value to read+write. | read, write, append, delete, read_permissions, write_permissions, read_write, full | Required |
| allow | This column identifies if access should be granted or denied. |
0, 1, true, false, allow, deny (Allow is the default value. ) |
Optional |
| disinherit | This column identifies whether permissions should be inherited from the parent or not. |
0, 1, true, false (0 is the default value.) |
Optional |
| user[*] | Any column that starts with "user" will be parsed as a user account. Multiple values can be included as long as they are separated by a semicolon. | Optional | |
| group[*] | Any column that starts with "group" will be parsed as a group. Multiple values can be included as long as they are separated by a semicolon. | Optional |
If the import file contains a column named "SHA1" or "Hash", the system will validate that the hash in the import file matches the hash of the file on the destination platform. If the hash does not match, a warning message will be logged.
Example File Import
Below is an example CSV file. Notice that any empty fields in the CSV file are empty quotes. Currently, the CSV parser does not allow empty fields to be unquoted.
↓ Download Permissions Import Sample CSV
path,access,allow,user1,user2,group
/C/files/users/jdoe/locations1.xls,read+write,allow,jdoe@company.com,jane@company.com,Users;Developers
/C/files/users/jdoe/locations2.xls,full,allow,jdoe@company.com,"",""
If you receive an error when importing a CSV file, the file does not meet the expected format. Compare your file to the sample files provided, and edit the file before attempting to import it again.
Using the Permissions Level Transfer Export to Import Permissions
You can export the full Permissions Report from the Sharing Insights tab for an individual job or a report group. You can then edit the file to include the applicable permissions and use the file as your permissions import.
Download an example of the full permissions export below. It includes a definition for each column in the export and sample values. The import only reads the five columns identified in the table below. Just edit the information for these columns as needed. All other columns are skipped regardless of the information in the columns.
↓ Download Full Permission Export Sample
| Column | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| source_name | This column identifies the user or group to whom permissions are being applied. | |
| rights | This column identifies the access rights for a given item. | Valid values are read, write, append, delete, read_permissions, write_permissions, read_write, and full. |
| access_control | This column indicates if access should be granted or denied. |
Valid “allow” values are 1, true, and allow. (Allow is the default value.) Valid deny values are 0, false, and deny. |
| audit_trail | This column is used to determine if the record should be skipped when applying permissions of if it should be included. |
If there is a value in this field, the record will be skipped when applying permissions, and no permissions will be applied. If this column is empty, the indicated permissions will be applied. It is important that this column be empty for all records that need to have permissions applied. |
| platform_path | This column identifies the transfer item’s source path defined in the job. |