Understanding Cognidox security concepts
Learn how to use Limited Access Groups and Private Workspaces in Cognidox
Cognidox’s default approach to security is open and collaborative, but some situations demand tighter controls. In this article, we explore how to manage access for external users, restrict visibility at the category level, and prevent accidental overexposure of sensitive data using Limited Access Groups and Private Workspaces.
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Why Openness Isn’t Always Ideal
While Cognidox encourages openness, certain users—such as contractors, clients, or suppliers—should not have unrestricted access to your internal content. To manage this, Cognidox provides structures that reverse the typical permissions model, limiting access until it's explicitly granted.
Limited Access Groups: Controlling Visibility for External Users
A Limited Access Group is a special type of user group in Cognidox designed for third parties. Unlike regular users, members of these groups:
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Have no access by default.
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Must be granted explicit rights to access documents or categories.
This inverted model helps you maintain tighter control over what external users can see and do within the system.
Private Workspaces: Restricting Categories
Private Workspaces offer category-level access restrictions. They’re ideal for internal use cases such as:
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Confidential departmental content (e.g. HR, Finance)
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Segregated access for different project teams or partners
A Private Workspace:
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Starts from a top-level category.
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Can include sub-categories restricted to specific users or groups.
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Allows precise segmentation of visibility.
Important Considerations for Workspaces
Private Workspaces are powerful—but misconfiguring them can cause issues:
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If no users are assigned, the data becomes invisible to everyone, even in searches.
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Always assign at least one manager with access to avoid being locked out.
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Plan workspace structure before creating sub-categories to avoid unintentional exposure.
Further information
Other knowledge base articles
- Creating security profiles: the first of four articles on security profiles and user rights.
- Creating and managing user groups: the first of four articles on user groups, private workspaces, and limited access partners.
Online help pages
There are plenty of help pages on this topic. Here are some examples:
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