Is it possible to grant a user access to a PAGE in Confluence, but that user not be in permissions?

[Angela Boston]

We grant our clients access to the Space we work in for their account. This is done by granting the Group/User permission in the Permissions.  This is the global - you can access/see.

Then we have to restrict each page (or parent pages) that we do NOT want the client to view. 

This is how I thought it worked.  The only way to allow the external Group/User access then restrict what they can see. 

My question though is, can I eliminate the step of adding the group/user to Permissions and only grant access to pages for that group in restrictions?  So the group is not in Permissions, but grant permission to view at a page level? 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

No.  Global permissions are the first layer of access control, space permissions the second, restrictions the third. 

Imagine Confluence without the restrictions function - you have to do permissions to tell it who to let into the space.  Restrictions are done by page, later in the process of working out "who can see this"

Or, imagine a building which has a couple of locked rooms.  You can give a key to some people for to let them into those locked rooms, but you are always going to have to give them a key to the building as well.

[Angela Boston]

What an honor.  Thank you, Nic.  Makes total sense and suspected that was the case.  Much appreciated. 

[Dave Symonds]

Most access control systems allow you in but then restrict what you can do/access, using your building analogy you are allowed in but the only door you see is the one we want you to.  Or it only allows you to press one button on the lift.  That's the way it should work but Confluence forces you to allow an action (View) to the user at the global level.

Our problem is we have built up a body of knowledge using multiple spaces and we have various pages we want to let them see but not anything else