Sharepoint 2007 : Managing Security - Configure Access Requests for Lists and Libraries

Scenario/Problem: You are managing the security of a list or library, and you want to configure the access requests for it. Access requests are sent when a user who doesn’t have permission to a list or library wants to have permission. When users who don’t have permission try to get to the library, if access requests are configured, they are presented with a page that enables them to request access (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Users without access to a library see this page when trying to open the library.

As you can see, the users can then request access using the Request Access link. That request takes them to a page where they can explain why they think they should have access (see Figure 2). That information is then sent as an email to the library owner.

Figure 2. Requesting access to a document library.

Solution: To enable or disable access requests, open the document library or list, and get to the manage security page for that library or list . On this page, click the Access Requests option from the Settings menu (see Figure 3). On the resulting page, you have the option to enable or disable access requests.

Figure 3. Select Access Requests to begin configuring access requests on a document library or list.

In some instances the Access Requests option is not available. The availability depends both on the server configuration and on the site configuration. If the option is grayed out and you can’t change it, either the server administrator or site manager must change some settings.

The user who receives the access requests is defined at the site collection level. To be able to change that setting, you need permissions to manage permissions on the site. If you have those permissions, and you want to change the email address that will get the requests, select Site Settings from the Site Actions menu to get to the site management page.

If you started from a subsite, click the Go to Top Level Site Settings link. This redirects you to the page for managing the site collection (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. The Advanced Permissions link in the Site Settings page for a subsite.

Click the Advanced Permissions link under Users and Permissions to open the advanced permission management page. Here, you can open the Settings menu and select Access Requests (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Select the Access Requests option.

On the resulting page, you can set the email for the person (or a group) that access requests will be sent to (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Select the person or group to receive access on this page.