Using an Authors field to restrict who can edit specific documents

An Authors field works in conjunction with Author access in the database ACL. If you assign users Reader access in the ACL, they can read documents in the database but cannot edit their own documents. If you list those users in an Authors field, they can edit documents in the database.

Entries in an Authors field cannot override the database ACL; they can only refine it. Users who have been assigned No Access in an ACL can never edit a document, even if you list them in an Authors field. Users who already have Editor (or higher) access in the ACL are not affected by an Authors field. Authors fields affect only users who have Author access in the ACL.

You must enter the user's full hierarchical name in the Authors field.

  • If you manually enter a name in the Authors field, Domino® expands and stores, for example, John Smith/ACME/West is stored as (CN=John Smith/OU=ACME/O=West) in its hierarchical form. The name displays in its abbreviated form.
  • If you programmatically enter a name, you must use the full canonical form such as CN=John Smith/OU=ACME/O=West.

For information on creating Authors fields, see To create Readers and Authors fields.

For information on updating Authors fields, see Updating Readers and Authors Fields if you have installed Domino® Administrator Help. Or, go to http://www.lotus.com/ldd/doc to download or view Domino® Administrator Help.