XM Directory Roles

Suite
Customer Experience Strategy & Research
Product
Qualtrics
What's on this page

About XM Directory Roles

Do you have multiple directories and want to give access to some directories for certain users, and different directories for other users? This can be accomplished using role-based access control with XM Directory. With this feature, Brand Administrators can choose which specific users have access to which directories, as well as grant certain users admin permissions over specific directories.

Qtip: This support page only covers XM Directory roles. Roles in other parts of the platform are not covered here.

Necessary Brand Permissions

Before you can use this feature, your brand must have the Manage Directory Roles permission enabled. To have this permission enabled, please contact Account Services. You must also have this permission enabled on a user level to enable and configure roles – to get this enabled, reach out to your Brand Administrator.

Enabling Directories to Use Roles

Before you can create roles, you need to choose which directories can be controlled by roles.

Qtip: This only needs to be performed on directories created before this feature was enabled for your license. For newly created directories, this is automatically enabled and you can immediately begin creating your roles.
Navigate to the XM Directory by clicking Directories.
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and choosing Directories
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and choosing Directories
Select a directory using the dropdown menu.
accessing directory roles by going to the manage directory settings
accessing directory roles by going to the manage directory settings
Click Directory Settings.
Select Manage Directory.
Turn on Enable role-based access.
Qtip: Once you turn on Enable role-based access for a directory, a user in your license will not be able to access that directory until a role is made granting that user access to the directory.

Creating Directory Roles

Qtip: For each directory in your license, we recommend having two roles.

  • One role is basic access to the directory, and allows users to distribute to lists or add contacts without necessarily giving them access to the directory settings (renaming or deleting the directory, contact frequency rules, deduplication rules, etc.). This role will have most of your users in it and will have “Manage Directory” disabled.
  • The second role is administrative access, the users who have access to the directory and can edit the options found in the Directory Settings tab. This role will have fewer users in it (possibly only yourself) and will have “Manage Directory” enabled.
Navigate to the XM Directory by clicking Directories.
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and choosing Directories
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and choosing Directories
Click on the name of the currently selected directory
selecting the roles setup by clicking the directory name in the top left
selecting the roles setup by clicking the directory name in the top left
Select Roles.
Click Create a role.
the create a role button
the create a role button
Give your role a name.
the popup for naming a new role
the popup for naming a new role
Click Create.
Click Add a directory and select the directory you want this role to have access to. Users will be able to create and edit mailing lists as well as send emails in this directory.
the add a directory dropdown in the top right
the add a directory dropdown in the top right
Qtip: If you don’t see your desired directory here, then that directory has not been enabled for role based access. See Enabling Directories to Use Role-Based Access to learn how to enable your directory.
Qtip: You can add multiple directories to one role.
If desired, determine the additional directory privileges this role has by enabling or disabling the following option:
add permissions to the role on the right hand side. click add users in the middle of the screen to add users to the role
add permissions to the role on the right hand side. click add users in the middle of the screen to add users to the role
  • Manage directory: When enabled, this privilege gives users administrative access to the directory. This means that in addition to having access to the Directory Contacts tab, they will have the ability to access the directory settings, which includes contact frequency rules, duplication settings, directory messages, directory names and settings, and respondent funnel access. When Manage directory is disabled, the users added to the role can still send distributions and create mailing lists, but they will not be able to access the entire directory or its settings.
    Qtip: Outside of roles, you can use administrative permissions to limit access to features like automations for individual users, groups, or divisions.
Click Add Users to add users to the role.
Search for users by typing their email.
searching for a user to add to a role
searching for a user to add to a role

Qtip: You can add multiple users to a role.

Attention: Make sure that you give yourself access to the role. If you enable role-based access for a directory and do not add yourself to the role, then you will lose access to the directory!
When finished, click Add.
Qtip: It may take a minute for a role to take effect after it is created. If you’ve added a user to a role and they aren’t seeing the correct directories, have the user refresh their account.

Managing & Deleting Directory Roles

After you create your role, you can change the role privileges and which users are in the role at any time. You can also rename your role or delete the role entirely if needed.

editing a role
editing a role
Click the pencil icon next to your role name to edit it.
Click the trash can icon next to your role name to delete it.
Qtip: Once a role is deleted, it is irretrievable!
Click the trash can icon next to a user to remove them from the role.
Click the trash can icon next to a directory name to remove the directory from the role.

Platform vs. Role-Based Permissions

There are two ways to give users access to directories: through platform permissions and through role-based permissions. This section explains each the differences between these permissions.

  • Platform Permission: The individual user permissions found in the Admin page.
    the xm directory permissions found in the Admin tab
    the xm directory permissions found in the Admin tab
  • Role-Based Permission: The permissions granted to a user via XM Directory roles. These permissions are applicable to directories that have role-based access enabled.
    the role based permissions found when setting up xm directory roles
    the role based permissions found when setting up xm directory roles

Explanation of Permission Types

  • Platform “Manage Directory Roles” permission​: A user with the Manage Directory Roles permission can enable and disable role-based access for directories. The user can also access the roles configuration to view and edit roles for directories where role-based access is enabled.
  • Platform “Access XM Directory” permission: ​A user with the Access XM Directory permission will be able to create and edit mailing lists and use the distribution features on all directories where role-based access is disabled.
  • Platform “Manage Directory” permission: ​A user with Manage Directory permission will be able to access the directory admin features such as directory contacts and directory settings on all directories where role-based access is disabled. This user will be able to view and edit directory contacts, access mailing lists, directory-level summaries and settings.
  • Role-Based “Manage Directory” permission disabled: ​A user with the Manage Directory role-based permission disabled can still create and edit mailing lists and use the distribution features for directories, so long as the directory uses role-based access and the user has been added to a role with access to the directory.
  • Role-Based “Manage Directory” permission enabled: ​A user with the Manage Directory role-based permission will be able to access the advanced and management features for directories where role-based access is enabled and the user has been added to a role with access to the directory. This user will be able to view and edit directory contacts, access mailing lists, directory-level summaries and settings.

Manage versus Access Directory

Manage Directory Access Directory
Full access to view and edit all contacts in the directory Yes No
Contacts uploaded by this user automatically added to the central directory Yes Yes
Distribute to contacts not added/uploaded by the user Yes No
Central contact frequency and deduplication rules apply to the contacts they upload via their own lists Yes Yes
See, edit, and distribute to automatic enrollment lists created from the directory that are shared with them Yes Yes
Create Contact Lists Yes Yes
Add Contacts Yes Yes
Add Transactions Yes Yes
Remove Contacts they have uploaded Yes Yes
Remove Contacts they have not uploaded Yes No
Change Contact Frequency Rules at the Directory Level Yes No
Change Identity Resolution at the Directory Level Yes No
Configure Respondent Funnel Yes No
Create a Transaction Group Yes Yes
Distribution to List Yes Yes
Distribution to Transaction Group Yes Yes
Access Transaction APIs Yes No
Run XMD Task (load/distribute) Yes No

Was this helpful?

The feedback you submit here is used only to help improve this page.

That's great! Thank you for your feedback!

Thank you for your feedback!