Checkbox Survey Software Checkbox Survey Software
  • Features
    • Survey Creation
      Survey question types, logic, merging, and action options.
    • Survey Look & Feel
      Survey customization, branding, and mobile responsiveness.
    • Survey Distribution
      Email invitations, reminders, embed options, and custom links.
    • Security & Permissions
      Survey permissions, sharing options, SSO, and data security.
    • Results & Reporting
      Data export formats, charts & graphs, report filtering and API.
    • Automation & Integration
      Automatic emails & URL redirects, API, and JavaScript.
    • On-Premises Features
      Overview of on-premises version features and architecture.
    • Full Feature List
      Compare all features and limits for hosted and on-premises plans.
  • Pricing
    • Hosted Plans
      Individual, team and enterprise cloud-hosted plans.
    • On-Premises Software
      Perpetual software licenses, installed on your own servers.
    • White Label & OEM
      Learn about integrating Checkbox into your software for resale.
    • Discounts Programs
      Discounts for academic, government and non-profits.
  • About
    • Clients
      View a sampling of our global customers by industry.
    • Blog
      Company news, announcements, and industry articles.
    • Case Studies
      Learn how some of our clients use Checkbox to streamline operations.
  • Contact Us
  • Support
    • Version 7 Help Guides
      Searchable knowledge base for Checkbox Version 7.
    • Legacy (V6) Help Guides
      Searchable knowledge base for Checkbox Version 6.
    • API Docs
      Documentation for working with the Checkbox Version 7 API.
    • Technical Requirements
      Technical requirements for installing Checkbox on-premises.
    • Support Info & Policies
      Customer support hours, holidays, access information, and terms.
    • Support Login
      Login form for Checkbox on-premises support users.
  • 
  • 
    • Sales/General
      +1 (617) 231-8890
    • Support
      +1 (617) 231-8899
  • Sign In
    • US-hosted
      Sign in page for accounts hosted in the US.
    • Canada-hosted
      Sign in page for accounts hosted in Canada.
    • EU-hosted
      Sign in page for accounts hosted in the EU.
    • UK-hosted
      Sign in page for accounts hosted in the UK.
    • Australia-hosted
      Sign in page for accounts hosted in Australia.
    • Support Login
      Login for on-premises support customers.
  • Try it Free
    • Hosted Trial
      Create a 14-day cloud-hosted trial account. US, Canada, EU, UK, & Australia hosting options.
    • On-Premises Trial
      Download a 30-day on-premises trial to install on your own servers (not for PC/laptop installation).
    • Learn More
      Not sure which option to choose? Learn more about our versions.
Homepage / Doc / Overview of Checkbox Permissions

Overview of Checkbox Permissions

This document provides an overview of the theory behind user permissions/access levels within the Checkbox application.

CONTENTS:

  • User Roles
  • User Permission Settings
  • Access Control Lists (ACL)
  • Permissions Diagram
  • User Permissions Review

 


User Roles

User roles are the first level of security in Checkbox. They are assigned to Checkbox users and dictate which areas and functions of Checkbox the user has access to. You can select one or more user role(s) for any given user, depending on the level of access you wish to grant them within Checkbox.

In order for a user to have access to a function in Checkbox, he or she must first have the proper user role. For instance, in order for Joe to be able to send out a survey invitation, he must first be assigned a user role of System Administrator or Survey Administrator, since these are the only two user roles that allow for access to survey invitations. If Joe was only a Survey Editor, our Survey Admin Mary would never be able to give access to Joe to send out her survey invitations, because his user role doesn’t permit it.

However, with the exception of the System Admin (who is a super-user), a user’s role alone does not give a user access to all surveys, reports, folders, and users. By default, a user has access only to what he or she has created. For example, if Mary and Joe are both Survey Admins, they will be able to create and manage their own surveys and reports because their user roles allow them to do so. However, even though they have the same user role, they can’t see each other’s surveys and reports unless they share access with each other by editing the survey or report’s permissions.

Below is a summary of user roles and the capabilities of each. For more specific information on User roles, click here for our User Roles Guide.

  • System Administrator: Super-user. Has access to all surveys, data, users, and system settings.
  • User Administrator: Has the ability to create and modify new users. User Administrators can only modify users they have created.
  • Survey Administrator: Has the ability to create, edit, and manage new surveys and reports. Survey Administrators can also create and modify Styles.
  • Respondent: Has the ability to respond to surveys.
  • Report Viewer: Has the ability to view existing reports (when granted access by the report creator or a System Administrator).
  • Report Administrator: Has the ability to create and modify new reports.
  • Survey Editor: Has the ability to modify existing surveys (when granted access by the survey’s creator or a System Administrator).
  • Group Administrator: Has the ability to create new groups and assign users to groups.

 


Access Control Lists (ACL)

In Checkbox, the Permissions of a survey, report, folder, user group or Library are controlled by an Access Control List (ACL). If a user wants to share access to a survey, report, etc. with another admin user, he would need to add that user (or a user group that the user belongs to) to the Access List for his survey or report. The only exception would be for System Admins – they don’t ever need to be added to ACL’s since they have access to everything in the Checkbox account by default.

Note that in order for the permissions that are granted on the ACL to take effect, the user on the ACL must first have the appropriate user role (see above).

media_1364314698716

 


Configuring an ACL

ACL’s for surveys, folders, reports, user groups and libraries all have the same format. You have to first add a user or group to the ACL, then select the permissions settings you want to apply to that user or group. The Default Policy is used to set default access for anyone not specifically on the ACL.

Access Lists can be found in the Permissions area for surveys, reports, folders, and Libraries. To add a user to an ACL, click the Add Users/Groups to Access List tab.

media_1364315128619_lg

Users/groups on the right are already included on the ACL (System Administrators will appear on the right by default because they have access to all entities within Checkbox). Users/groups on the left can be added to the ACL by clicking the desired entry. The entry will then move to the right-hand box.

media_1364315232186_lg

 

The next step is to configure the newly added user’s permissions. To do this, move to the Access List tab.

Select the newly added user to reveal a list of permissions on the right. Select desired permission(s), making sure that the permission level you select corresponds with the user’s designated user role(s).

After configuring the user’s permission level, select Save Changes.

media_1364315538483

 


Default Policy

A survey’s Default Policy is the permissions setting for all users not included on the entity’s ACL. For example, if on the Access List tab you granted specific users permission to administer a survey, but want anyone not specified on the ACL to still be able to respond to the survey, set the Default Policy to “Take Survey” (see image above). ACL permissions supersede any default policy.

User role limitations still apply for default policy permissions. For example, if the default policy for a survey is “Edit/Take Survey”, only users with the Survey Editor or Survey Administrator user role are able to access the survey.

NOTE: There are two exceptions to this rule, which allow anonymous persons not registered in Checkbox as users (no assigned user role) to access specific entities. The first is setting the default policy of a survey to “Take Survey”, which allows anyone with the survey URL to take the survey without the Respondent user role. The second is setting the default policy of a report to “View Report”, which gives anyone with the report URL the ability to view the report without the Report Viewer user role. The reason for the two exceptions is because both of these actions technically act outside of the application.

media_1364415217715 (1)

 

 


User Permissions Review

Key Points:

  • Checkbox allows you to set permissions on Surveys, Folders, Reports, User Groups, Libraries and Email Lists.
  • Checkbox allows you to set different access roles for individual users within Checkbox.
  • Being assigned a user role does not in of itself grant a user access to a Checkbox entity. Being a member of a role simply controls which permission can be granted to a given user.
  • The System Administrator has rights over all entities of Checkbox and does not need to be configured on any ACL or security page. When testing surveys for your respondents DO NOT use the System Administrator account since permissions will be superseded and you will not have a proper representation of how your survey will behave.
  • If you configure the permissions of your survey correctly but a user still cannot view/edit it, be sure to double check your folder permissions to confirm you have set those permissions as well.
This section is currently under construction. Any documents that appear blank will be populated as soon as possible. If you have any questions or need assistance with something that is not currently documented please feel free to submit a support ticket and we will be glad to assist you.
October 12, 2017

Version 6 Help Guides

  • Getting Started
    • Quick Start: Full Guide
    • Quick Start: Create a Simple Survey
    • Quick Start: Apply a Style to your Survey
    • Quick Start: Basic Conditions
    • Quick Start: Distribute Your Survey
    • Quick Start: View Responses & Reports
    • Checkbox Browser and Hardware Requirements
    • Checkbox Online Survey Glossary
    • Checkbox 30-min Demo
  • Survey Creation & Settings
    • Guide to Checkbox Question Types
    • How to Set Response Limits
    • How to Validate Response Text
    • How to Create & Use Question Libraries
    • How to Create & Edit a Slider Question
    • How to Create and Edit a Rank Order Question
    • Using Question and Answer Aliases
  • Survey Style & Branding
    • How to Brand Your Survey with Style Templates
    • How to Create Custom Mobile Templates (Server Only)
  • Logic, Merging, Action Items
    • How to Add Conditions & Branching/Skip Logic
    • How to Merge/Pipe Text into Surveys & Invitations
    • How to Trigger an Automatic Email
  • Security & Permissions
    • How to Set Permissions on Your Surveys & Folders
    • Report Permissions Guide
    • Overview of Checkbox Permissions
    • How to Use Resume + Save and Exit
  • Advanced Survey Features
    • How to Create Hidden Items (Query String Variables)
    • How to Embed a Video in Your Survey
    • How to Create a Scored Survey
    • How to Create Multi-language Surveys
  • Creating & Managing Users
    • Managing User Roles
    • User Roles Cheat Sheet
    • How to allow Admin Users to See/Manage Other Users
    • How to Import Users into Checkbox
    • How to Create Custom User Profiles
    • How to Update User Profiles with Survey Responses
  • Survey Sending & Sharing
    • How to Share your Survey via Email
    • How to Add Recipients to an Existing Invitation
    • How to Schedule Invitation Reminders
    • Your Email Footer and CAN-SPAM
    • How to Embed a Survey in your Website
  • Responses, Reporting & Exporting
    • How to Export Your Survey Responses
    • How to Create a Quick Summary Report
    • How to Use the Report Wizard
    • How to Create a Custom Report
    • Guide to Checkbox Chart & Graph Types
    • How to Filter your Reports
    • How to Create a Cross-Tab Report
    • How to Display “Other” Responses in Reports
    • How to Create Multi-Question Charts
    • How to Group Open-Ended Questions in a Report
    • How to Give a User Access to Edit/Delete Responses
    • Help with Special or Multi-Language Characters in Excel
  • FAQs and Other Guides
    • Checkbox Survey & GDPR Compliance
    • Checkbox Survey Security
    • Survey Accessibility & 508 Compliance
    • Guide to Editing Live Online Surveys
    • 12 Tips for Creating your First Online Survey
    • 8 Tips for Maximizing Online Survey Responses
    • Sending Automatic Thank You Emails

 

Checkbox develops affordable, feature-rich survey software for organizations, teams, and individuals. Available as a cloud-hosted subscription or installable software. API, source code and integration options available.

Checkbox Survey Inc.
65 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458  USA
General: 1-617-231-8890
Sales: 1-617-231-8891
Support: 1-617-231-8899
info@checkbox.com

  • Features
  • Pricing
  • On-Premises Software
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Pay a Quote/Invoice
  • Support
  • Release Notes
  • API Documentation
  • Hosted SLA
  • Software License Agreement
  • Privacy Policy
©  2002 - Checkbox Survey, Inc.