Solving permissions issues on a responsive dashboard

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read

    • Dashboard permissions can be set in several different locations.

    Before you begin

    When you find problems with permissions on responsive dashboards, you can review permissions on the Dashboard Sharing panel, group permissions, and dashboard properties.

    Role required: dashboard_admin, pa_admin

    Procedure

    • Check the permissions on the Dashboard Sharing pane.
      The dashboard owner, users with the dashboard_admin or admin role, and users with the pa_power_user or pa_admin role who can edit the dashboard can perform this step.
    • Review the permissions of the group to which the dashboard belongs.

      Dashboard group permissions do not show up in the dashboard Sharing panel.

      Users with the dashboard_admin, admin, pa_power_user, or pa_admin role can perform this step.
    • Compare the dashboard and dashboard group permissions.

      If permissions are specified on a dashboard, the permissions on the dashboard group are overridden and no do not apply.

      Users with the dashboard_admin, admin, pa_power_user, or pa_admin role can perform this step.
    • On the dashboard properties form, review the roles specified in the Restrict to roles field.

      Only users with one of the roles specified in this field can view the dashboard.

      The dashboard owner, users with the dashboard_admin or admin role, and users with pa_power_user or pa_admin roles who can edit the dashboard can perform this step. Other users who can edit the dashboard can view this field but cannot edit it.

    Dashboard permissions scenarios

    Permissions on dashboards can be complicated. If you set a permission on a dashboard group, for example, permissions set on a dashboard within that group override it. This matrix shows what is visible based on various combinations of permissions.

    The Dashboard permissions scenarios table uses these abbreviations:
    Note:
    Users with admin and dashboard_admin roles have full permissions on all dashboards.
    Table 1. Dashboard permissions scenarios
    Scenario DG DG Permission DB view permission DB edit permission RTR Who can view the DB?
    No DG, no DB permissions X X X X X Only the owner
    Only RTR X X X X asset Only the owner
    Only DB permissions X X itil X X Users with the itil role
    DB permissions and RTR X X itil X asset Users with both the itil AND asset roles
    Only DG without permissions Exists X X X X Users with either the pa_admin role OR the pa_power_user role
    DG without permissions and RTR Exists X X X asset Users with both the asset role AND either the pa_admin role OR the pa_power_user role
    Only DG and DG permissions Exists itil X X X Users with either the itil role OR the pa_admin role OR the pa_power_user role
    DG, DG permissions, and RTR Exists itil X X asset Users with both the asset role AND either the itil role OR the pa_admin role OR the pa_power_user role
    DG, DG permissions, and DB permissions Exists itil itil_admin X asset Users with both the itil_admin role AND the asset role
    DG, DG permissions, DB permissions, and RTR Exists itil itil_admin X X Users with the itil_admin role
    The default permissions for a dashboard group are pa_admin and pa_power_user. If a permission, such as itil, is specified on the dashboard group, this permission is added to the default permission. Permissions on individual dashboards override the dashboard group permission.

    Solving issue with edit permissions on responsive dashboards

    Users with edit permissions on a responsive dashboard may also need edit permissions on another dashboard that the tab is used in.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin

    About this task

    A dashboard is shared with a user with edit permissions. On some tabs, the user cannot add widgets. When the user selects Add widgets, nothing happens. The same user is able to add widgets to other tabs and dashboards. The cause for the problem is related to how the affected dashboard tab was created.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to the affected dashboard.
    2. From the context menu , select Dashboard Properties.
    3. Select Launch Dependency Assessment.
      The results show the dashboard and all the tabs used by the dashboard.
    4. Select the affected tab.
    5. From the context menu , choose Show Used By.
      The result shows the dashboards where the tab appears.
    6. Open the other dashboard that uses the affected tab.
    7. Edit sharing permissions on that dashboard and to give edit access to the affected user.

    Result

    The affected user can now edit the dashboard tab on the responsive dashboard.

    Solving issues with shared dashboards in non-global scopes

    Dashboards in scoped applications may not be visible to non-admin users. Non-admin users may not be able to view the dashboard or the widgets on the dashboard don't load.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin of the associated scoped application.

    About this task

    Users may see the message 'Dashboard hasn't been shared with user' or 'This dashboard is restricted to the following roles,' without a list of roles.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > sys_properties.list.
    2. Set the system property glide.security.scoped_administration.honor_global_acl to true.
      If this property is already set to true, no update is necessary.
    3. As application administrator, switch the scope to the scope the dashboard was created in.
    4. Navigate All > sys_scoped_admin_acl_inheritance.list.
    5. Optional: If reports have the same issue, create records for these tables:
      • Reports [sys_report]
      • Report Users and Groups [sys_report_users_groups]
    6. Create records for these tables:
      • Dashboard [pa_dashboards]
      • Portal Page [sys_portal_page]
      • Tabs [pa_tabs]
      • Dashboard Permissions [pa_dashboards_permissions]