Report and dashboard folders and running users
Grant report and dashboard access through folder sharing (Viewer, Editor, Manager) plus report permissions, and control what dashboard viewers see through the running user, View My Team's Dashboards and dynamic dashboards, including external-user reporting and the aggregate-data risk of a privileged running user.
Given a scenario, determine the appropriate access control needed to grant access to data that is not standard or custom objects.
~7 min read · 15 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Choose the folder access level (Viewer, Editor, Manager) and the report or dashboard user permissions that together meet a least-privilege requirement.
- Recognise which administrative permissions reach every public and hidden folder, and why they are not least privilege.
- Predict what a static or dynamic dashboard shows a viewer from its running user, and who may change the running user.
- Spot aggregate-data exposure through a privileged running user and recommend the fix.
- Grant partner and customer users the right report permissions and folders.
Key terms: folder sharing (the folder, not the report, is shared); running user (the user whose access a static dashboard uses); dynamic dashboard (data follows the logged-in user); hidden folder (a folder not shared with the user); enhanced folder sharing (Viewer, Editor and Manager levels).
Key facts
- Detail
- The folder, never the individual report or dashboard
- Detail
- Report permissions, not the folder level, decide edit and delete
- Detail
- Can't access report and dashboard folders
- Detail
- Read access to hidden report folders too
- Detail
- Shows every viewer the running user's data
- Detail
- Running user can be anyone below you in the role hierarchy
- Detail
- Ignores the running user; viewer needs page access
- Detail
- Can't be scheduled, subscribed to or saved in a private folder
- Detail
- Create and Customize Reports, Report Builder, Edit My Reports
Sources for this section (7)
- Foldershelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Manager Accesshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Viewer Accesshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Folder Permissionshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Visibility Considerationshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Dynamic Dashboardshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- External User Reportshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Why does Manager access not let a user edit a colleague's report?
- When does a dashboard viewer see data they couldn't otherwise reach?
- Why is a Visualforce widget blank for some viewers of a static dashboard?
- Which permission lets a manager choose any subordinate as running user but nobody else?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Platform Sharing and Visibility Architect pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 21 lessons of the Platform Sharing and Visibility Architect guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (15 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
- Unlimited timed practice exams