The first method of creating specific user permissions is the Manual method. User permissions are completed on an individual case-by-case basis method.

This is most useful if you only have a small number of users gaining access to a small number of sections. This is also useful if you are simply adding a new user to an already established group.


Creating a group of users

You can create a group of users who have the same level of access. You can add as many users as you require into a single group. Groups appear in the Groups field and when you select any of the groups, the users who are in that group appear in the Users field.  

  1. At the top of the Author screen, select the User Access icon and select User Group Management tab.
    Note: The User Access icon and corresponding sections are available from within any type of report.
  2. In the Add New Group field, enter the name of the group, and select Add New Group to create this new group.
    Note: You can find the groups that appear in the User Group Management tab within all reports.
  3. In the Groups field, select the name of a group to add users to that group.
    Note: In the Groups field, an Administrators group has already been created within your account in which Administrators have been added.
  4. Select the Select one dropdown, select a user, select Add User, and select OK to finish. Users who have access to Diligent ESG Author appear in this list.


Providing permissions to the group

After you create a group with all relevant users, then you need to provide this group with the relevant access permissions. You can provide a group with access to individual sections within a report or with access to the entire report. These permissions include whether they will have View, Edit, and Admin access.

  1. Select User Group Permissions tab.
  2. In the dropdown, select the group that you want to provide permissions to.
  3. Select the Edit icon beside the section you want to provide access permissions to and activate email notifications for.
  4. Select the View, Edit, or Admin access checkboxes in the row that you want to provide access. If you want to provide the group with access to the full report and all of the sections within it, in the report row, labelled Report: [Report Name], select the View, Edit, or Admin access checkboxes. To provide the group with access to individual sections, then select the View, Edit, or Admin access checkboxes in the row of the individual section.
  5. Select the Contributor or Reviewer checkboxes to activate email notifications for that report or section. If the group has not been assigned as a Contributor or Reviewer, the group will not receive the notifications and you can ignore these columns.
  6. In the first column, select the Update icon to save the access and notification changes.



Assigning users as a Contributor or Reviewer

You can manually assign a user as either a Contributor or a Reviewer so that they can change the status of sections accordingly.

Important: You can assign a user as a Contributor or a Reviewer, but not at the same time.

  1. After you provide the group of users with access to their relevant sections, navigate to the relevant report and the section that you want to assign a user as a Contributor or Reviewer.
  2. Right-click on the section title, hover over Assign to User, and select As Contributor or As Reviewer.
  3. In the Assign Contributor or Assign Reviewer window, in the Unassigned field, select a user, and select the To Right icon to assign a user as a contributor or reviewer to this section.

  4. Select Done when you have assigned all the relevant users to this particular section.
  5. (Optional) In the Assigned field, select a user, and select on the To Left icon to un-assign a user.

Note: Any user who you assign to a section will receive an email notification advising them that they have been assigned to a section. They only receive subsequent emails about status changes, if you selected the Contributor or Reviewer checkboxes for that section or report within the User Group Permissions tab. If you assign a user as a Contributor or Reviewer to multiple sections within a single day, then that user only receives a single email at the end of the day. This email outlines all the relevant sections that the user has been assigned to.