Synapse controls who can access your data in two ways. First, sharing settings determine who can access content and at what level. Sharing settings are the list of people or teams and the permissions those groups have with respect to a dataset. For example, sharing settings on a File can be used to control who can view, edit, download, or delete that data.
In addition to sharing settings, the second way to control who can access your data is by applying Conditions for Use. These restrictions define how users who have access to your data may use it. For example, users who have permission to view and download a data file (as set by sharing settings) can only use the data for their research if they fulfill certain requirements like IRB approval (as set by Conditions of Use).
All content in Synapse has sharing settings, but not all content has Conditions for Use. For example, open data has a sharing setting that allows any registered user on Synapse to view download it, and it does not have Conditions for Use attached to it.
This article covers the details of controlling sharing settings in Synapse, see the Conditions for Use article for information about those settings.
Permissions
You can use the sharing settings to grant different levels of access, or permissions, to individuals or Teams. These permission levels are: view, download, edit, edit and delete, and administrator. You can apply sharing settings to an entire Project or individual Files or Folders within a Project.
View permissions
View permissions give you the ability to see that something in Synapse exists (like the name of a Project, File, or Folder). You can discover it using Synapse search, and it will be visible to you if included in a View. If there are annotations associated with it, they can see these as well. You cannot see the contents of a File, including if a preview of the File is available in the web. View permissions are the only permissions that can be granted to the public (anonymous users).
Download permissions
Download permissions give you the ability to see the contents of a File and download the file to your own computer. Having download permissions includes also having view permissions.
Edit permissions
Edit permissions allow a Synapse user to make changes to something in Synapse. This permission level also allows you to upload data to a Folder or Project where you are not an Administrator (although you must be a certified user to do so). A user with edit permissions can:
change the name of an entity.
change the annotations associated with an entity, including removing existing annotations.
create a new version of a file
make changes to a Wiki.
change the storage location settings of a Project or Folder.
Someone with edit permissions cannot delete the entity shared with them. Edit permissions are cumulative with view and download permissions.
Edit and delete permissions
Edit and delete permissions allow you to delete an entity shared with you, in addition to the edit permissions previously described. Edit and delete permissions are cumulative with view and download permissions.
Administrator permissions
Administrator permissions allows you to change the sharing settings and metadata related to an entity. You can also change the friendly URL of a project. You can add, remove, or modify the sharing settings, including removing yourself. Administrator permissions are cumulative with edit and delete permissions.
Important: Synapse users are responsible for determining the appropriate Sharing Setting for any content they upload into Synapse.
Edit Sharing Settings on a Project
When managing sharing settings for a Project, Folder, or File, there are two main options: public and private. The private sharing setting limits access to only specified users and teams. By default, all new Synapse Projects are set to private, and you can manually add additional collaborators and set their permissions as needed. When you create a new Project, you are the only Synapse user with access and your permissions level will be Administrator. The public sharing setting allows you to specify permissions for any registered Synapse user as well as to allow anyone on the web to view an item.
To view and modify sharing settings on a Project, navigate to the project and click Project Settings in the upper right corner of your screen. Select Project Sharing Settings from the drop down menu.
The resulting pop-up window displays the individual users or teams that have been assigned specific permissions for this Project. You can add individuals or groups by entering a username and then selecting the appropriate level of permissions from the drop down menu. You can manage permissions for a group of users at once by first adding these users to a Team. If certain individuals require unique permissions, consider creating multiple teams or sharing the item directly with the individuals that require unique permissions.
At the bottom of the sharing settings pop-up window, you have the option to make the Project public using the Make Public button.
Clicking on Make Public adds two additional groups to your sharing settings window: 1) all registered Synapse users and 2) anyone on the web. You can edit the level of access for either group and then click Save to make your changes. Note that you can only grant view permissions to “anyone on the web”. To removes the settings for these two groups, click Make Private.
Edit Sharing Settings Files, Folders, and Tables
You can adjust the sharing settings for Folders, Files, and Tables separately from their parent project. For example, you may wish to keep a particular Folder private while you make the project Public. Or you may want to share drafts of individual Files to collaborators first prior to sharing them publicly.
By default, all of the content residing within a Project inherits the Project sharing settings. If you move a File, Folder, or Table, then it carries those settings to another Project or Folder. You can override this inheritance by defining a Local Sharing Setting for that specific item. To do so, navigate to the Folder, File, or Table, then click on the Folder or File Tools menu. Select the Sharing Settings option from the dropdown menu. You’ll see the current (inherited) sharing settings in the resulting pop-up window, and you can change the permissions for individuals or teams, just as you can for Projects. You will also see the option to Create Local Sharing Settings, which allows you to specify different sharing settings than the parent Folder or Project.
Sharing Wikis and Discussion Forums
Note you cannot set local sharing settings for Wikis and Discussion Forums. These areas can only inherit the sharing settings from their parent project.