Permissions

FogBugz allows you to set up permissions, restricting users to areas they're allowed to access.

Rather than setting each user's permission individually, FogBugz has clients and departments. For example:

1. Bob and Alice are in the Mail Department
2. The Mail Department has two projects: Shipping and Handling
3. Therefore, FogBugz concludes that Bob and Alice can access both Shipping and Handling.

Now, when you add new users or projects to the department, all the permissions are granted automatically. And when someone leaves a department, they automatically lose permissions to all of that department's projects.

• Every project, wiki, and discussion group can be a part of a single client or department.
• Clients and departments both function the same way; the only difference is terminology.

Setting Up Permissions

Setting up permissions is done in four steps:

1. Ensure that FogBugz is configured to require passwords (Settings | Site | Authentication | Log on Method)
2. Create the appropriate clients or departments
3. Edit each client and department, putting in the users that belong to it
4. Edit each project, wiki, and discussion group, assigning it to the appropriate client or department

Editing Clients and Departments

When you are editing a client or department in FogBugz, you have three choices.

1. You can give everyone access (default).
2. You can give everyone read access to the client or department, and customize who has modify access to edit cases.
3. You can customize access on a per-user basis, deciding individually what each user can do:
1. None
2. Read only
3. Modify
4. Client or Department administrator (see Administrators, below).

If you choose option #1 or #2 for any client or department, you will not be able to completely, hermetically isolate groups of users from each other, because they can meet each other in that client or department. (See Isolating users from one another, below.)

You won't be able to configure site administrators' permissions individually, because they always have access to all parts of FogBugz.

Note:
If all you want is for people to be able to submit cases, and be able to view the current status of their own cases, don't even give them a FogBugz account. Have them send email to a FogBugz mailbox, or set a project to allow public submissions.

Assigning Projects, Wikis, and Discussion Groups to Clients or Departments

Projects are always associated with a client or department. To configure it, choose Settings | Projects, edit the project, and select the client or department from the dropdown.

Wikis can be associated with a client or department, or they can be open to everyone. Choose Wiki | Customize, configure the wiki, and choose the permissions level you want:

Note: Wikis also can allow access to Community Users.

Discussion groups can be associated with a client or department, or they can be open to everyone. Choose Discuss | Customize, configure the discussion group, and choose the permissions level you want:

Note: Discussion groups can also allow access to Community Users.

Administrators

You can make any user an administrator over a particular:

• client,
• department,
• project,
• wiki,
• or discussion group.

Client and Department Administrators

Client and Department Administrators can't edit FogBugz site configuration settings, but they do have full control over projects, wikis, and discussion groups within their client or department, including the ability to:

• create, edit, and delete projects, wikis, and discussion groups
• create, edit, and delete areas
• create, edit, and delete releases
• modify wiki templates
• modify discussion group layouts
• modify client and department settings
• create, edit, and delete administrators within their projects, wikis, and discussion groups

To modify client or department administrators, edit the client or department, and check the appropriate box next to each user's name.

Project Administrators

Project Administrators can't create or delete projects, but they do have full control over their own projects, including the ability to:

• create, edit, and delete areas
• create, edit, and delete releases
• modify project settings

To modify project administrators, edit the project, and click Edit Project Admins.

Wiki Administrators

Wiki administrators can't create or delete wikis, but they do have full control over their own wikis, including the ability to:

• create, edit, and delete templates
• modify wiki settings

To modify wiki administrators, configure the wiki, and click Edit Wiki Admins.

Discussion Group Administrators

Discussion Group Administrators can't create or delete discussion groups, but they do have full control over their own discussion groups, including the ability to:

• moderate discussions (deleting and undeleting posts)
• see the email address and IP address of a poster
• modify discussion group settings
• modify discussion group layouts

To modify discussion group administrators, configure the discussion group, and click Edit Discussion Group Admins.

Isolating users from one another

In various parts of the FogBugz user interface, you can see a list of users in a dropdown list. FogBugz will only show each user the names of people who have some project in common.

For example, if Alice is in the Apple department and Bob is in the Beer department, Alice and Bob will not see each other's names in any dropdown lists. But if you also set up a Common department, and allow anyone to access it, suddenly Alice and Bob will see each others' names in the user interface.

If you need to isolate users from one another, for example, if you have multiple departments and users are not even allowed to see the names of users in other departments, you can't set up any departments or clients that are open to everyone.