Configuring Online Help Access and Permissions

Proper configuration of Online Help access and permissions ensures that the right users can create, edit, and manage help documentation while maintaining appropriate security boundaries and access control throughout the help system. The Online Help Module integrates with Magentrix Security Role framework to provide granular control over help content management and user access patterns.

Requirements

To configure Online Help access and permissions, users must be assigned a security role with the following permissions:

Administrator System Role permissions

Understanding Online Help Security Structure

Core Entity Permissions Required

The Online Help Module relies on two primary entities that require permission configuration:

Help (system) Entity: Controls access to help articles including creation, viewing, editing, deletion, and publication capabilities. Users need appropriate Help entity permissions to participate in help content management.

Help Category (system) Entity: Controls access to category management including creating new categories, editing existing categories, organizing content hierarchy, and managing the overall help system structure.

Permission Levels by User Type

The Online Help Module supports different permission strategies based on Security Role types:

Employee Security Roles: Can utilize full range of permissions including Private, Team, User and Direct Subordinates, All Employees levels for internal help content collaboration and distributed documentation management.

Partner & Customer Security Roles: Limited to Read permissions only, ensuring users can access help documentation through contextual links but cannot create, edit, or delete help content, maintaining content integrity and security.

Guest Security Roles: Typically limited to read-only access for public help viewing when help content is made publicly available, with careful consideration of security implications for any granted permissions.

Configuring Security Role Permissions for Online Help

Accessing Permission Configuration

1. In the Setup Home page, click Security > Security Roles.
2. Click the security role you want to configure and then click Edit.
3. Navigate to the All Entities tab to configure entity permissions.

Configuring Help (system) Entity Permissions

For the Help (system) entity, specify the Create, Read, Edit, and Delete permissions using the following options:

Permission Options for Help Content:

• None: Users have no access to help documentation
• Private: Users can only access help articles they personally created or own
• All: Users can access all help articles (available for roles not connected to Account/Contact filtering)
• Team (Employee roles only): Access to help articles created by team members and managers
• User and Direct Subordinates (Employee roles only): Personal help articles plus articles from direct reports
• All Employees (Employee roles only): Access to all help articles from internal users

Configuring Help Category (system) Entity Permissions

For the Help Category (system) entity, configure permissions to control category management:

Create: Allows users to create new help categories and subcategories in the content hierarchy.

Read: Enables users to view and navigate existing categories within the help system structure.

Edit: Permits modification of existing category names, properties, and organizational structure.

Delete: Allows removal of categories (use with caution as this affects content organization).

Additional Module Requirements

Beyond entity permissions, ensure the following access requirements are configured:

Tab Settings: Configure help system access through tab settings based on organizational requirements and user needs.

App Settings: Ensure applications provide appropriate access to help functionality for different user types and organizational roles.

Entity-Level Help Control Configuration

Configuring Disable Inline Help Settings

Each Magentrix entity includes configuration options that control help availability:

1. Navigate to Setup Home > Create > Entities.
2. Click the entity you want to configure.
3. Click Edit.
4. Locate the Entity Options section.
5. Configure the Disable Inline Help checkbox:
   • Unchecked (default): Help functionality is available for this entity
   • Checked: Help functionality is disabled for this entity
6. Click Save.

Entity Help Control Strategy

Default Help Availability: By default, the "Disable Inline Help" checkbox is unchecked for all entities, making help functionality available throughout the portal unless specifically disabled.

Selective Help Disabling: Administrators can disable help for specific entities where documentation is not needed, not appropriate, or where alternative support mechanisms are preferred.

Custom Entity Integration: Both standard Magentrix entities and custom entities support help functionality configuration, ensuring consistent help system integration across all organizational customizations.

Permission Configuration Strategies

Employee User Permission Strategy

Full Content Management Access:

• Help (system): Read, Create, Edit, Delete = All Employees
• Help Category (system): Read, Create, Edit, Delete = All Employees
• Use Case: Distributed documentation management where multiple Employee users can collaborate on help content creation and maintenance

Restricted Content Management:

• Help (system): Read = All Employees, Create/Edit/Delete = Private
• Help Category (system): Read = All Employees, Create/Edit/Delete = None
• Use Case: Limited help content creation where only content creators can modify their own articles

Team-Based Help Management:

• Help (system): Read = All Employees, Create/Edit/Delete = Team
• Help Category (system): Read = All Employees, Create/Edit = Team, Delete = None
• Use Case: Department-based help content management with team collaboration on documentation

Partner and Customer User Strategy

Read-Only Access (Recommended):

• Help (system): Read = All, Create/Edit/Delete = None
• Help Category (system): Read = All, Create/Edit/Delete = None
• Use Case: Standard configuration providing help access without content modification capabilities

No Help Access:

• Help (system): All permissions = None
• Help Category (system): All permissions = None
• Use Case: Organizations that do not provide help documentation to external users

Guest User Strategy

Public Help Access:

• Help (system): Read = All, Create/Edit/Delete = None
• Help Category (system): Read = All, Create/Edit/Delete = None
• Use Case: Public knowledge base accessible without authentication

No Public Access (Default):

• Help (system): All permissions = None
• Help Category (system): All permissions = None
• Use Case: Help documentation restricted to authenticated users only

Access Control Scenarios and User Experience

Scenario 1: Authorized User with Create/Edit Permissions

User Experience:

• Clicks "Help on this page" link
• If help exists: Views existing help content with edit options
• If no help exists: Sees page with Page Key and ability to create new help content
• Can create, edit, delete help articles based on permissions
• Can manage categories based on Help Category permissions

Applicable User Types:

• Administrator users (full access)
• Employee users with appropriate Security Role permissions

Scenario 2: User with Read-Only Permissions

User Experience:

• Clicks "Help on this page" link
• If help exists: Views existing help content (no edit options)
• If no help exists: Sees "404 - Page Not Found" message
• Cannot create, edit, or delete help content
• Can browse help portal and search content

Applicable User Types:

• Partner and Customer users (typical configuration)
• Employee users with read-only permissions
• Guest users (if public access enabled)

Scenario 3: User with No Help Permissions

User Experience:

• No "Help on this page" links visible in portal interface
• Cannot access help portal directly
• Help functionality is completely unavailable

Applicable User Types:

• Users with Security Roles that have no Help entity permissions
• Users accessing entities where "Disable Inline Help" is enabled

Best Practices and Security Considerations

Permission Design Strategy

Principle of Least Privilege: Start with minimal permissions and expand based on specific organizational needs and user responsibilities rather than granting broad access initially.

Role-Based Access Control: Align help permissions with organizational roles and responsibilities, ensuring content management capabilities match job functions and business requirements.

Content Security Boundaries: Maintain appropriate security boundaries between internal help content and content accessible to external partners, customers, or public users.

Content Management Workflows

Distributed Content Creation: For organizations with multiple content creators, use Team or All Employees permissions to enable collaborative help documentation development.

Centralized Content Control: For organizations requiring tight content control, use Private permissions with designated content managers responsible for help documentation maintenance.

Review and Approval Processes: Implement organizational processes for content review and quality assurance even when technical permissions allow direct publishing.

Security Monitoring and Maintenance

Regular Permission Audits: Periodically review help system permissions to ensure they remain appropriate as organizational roles and responsibilities evolve.

Content Access Monitoring: Monitor help content access patterns to identify potential security issues or inappropriate content exposure.

User Feedback Integration: Collect user feedback on help system accessibility and effectiveness to optimize permission configuration and user experience.

Common Configuration Issues and Solutions

Help Links Not Visible

Cause: User Security Role lacks Help (system) Read permissions or entity has "Disable Inline Help" enabled.

Solution: Verify Security Role permissions and check entity configuration settings for inline help availability.

Users Cannot Create Help Content

Cause: Security Role has Read permissions but lacks Create permissions for Help (system) entity.

Solution: Update Security Role to include appropriate Create, Edit, and Delete permissions based on organizational content management strategy.

Page Key Not Visible to Content Creators

Cause: User lacks Create permissions for Help (system) entity, so system shows 404 instead of Page Key.

Solution: Ensure users who should create content have proper Create permissions for Help (system) entity in their Security Role.

Category Management Issues

Cause: Users have Help (system) permissions but lack Help Category (system) permissions for organizing content.

Solution: Configure appropriate Help Category permissions to support content organization and management workflows.

Integration with Organizational Security Framework

Security Role Alignment

Comprehensive Permission Planning: Coordinate Online Help permissions with broader Security Role strategy to ensure consistent access control across all portal modules and functionality.

User License Compatibility: Ensure help permissions align with user license types and access boundaries established by organizational user management strategy.

Module Integration: Coordinate help permissions with other module permissions to provide consistent user experience and avoid access conflicts or confusion.

Organizational Policy Compliance

Documentation Standards: Ensure help permission configuration supports organizational documentation standards, content governance, and information management policies.

Audit Requirements: Configure permissions to support audit trail requirements and compliance documentation for organizational security and governance standards.

Change Management: Establish procedures for updating help permissions as organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities evolve over time.

Jump to Online Help Setup Checklist

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