If you have given a member access to a Resource and they still cannot see it, work through these in order.
1. Check the Resource is published
An unpublished Resource is visible to admins only. Open it and look for the draft banner at the top. If it is there, nothing inside is reaching members, however their access is set.
The same applies one level down. A document with a Draft label is invisible to members even when the Resource around it is published. Publish the document from the three-dot menu at the top of it, or include it next time you publish the Resource.
2. Check the access setting on the Resource, not the document
Access is set on the Resource and covers everything inside it. There is no per-document access setting, so there is nothing to check at the document level.
Open the Resource, click the three-dot menu, and choose Edit details. Under Community access:
- Open access means everyone in the community can see it.
- Limited access means only the roles and groups listed under Included access can see it free. If your member is not covered by one of those chips, they do not have access.
If One-time purchase is switched on, everyone outside the included list is offered the Resource at a price rather than being given it.
3. Confirm the member is actually in the group or role you granted
Go to Settings > People > Access Groups, hover over the group and click View Members, and confirm they are listed. For manual and joinable groups you can add them there.
Automated groups cannot be edited by hand. A member joins one by meeting the filters set on the group, so check the filters rather than the member list.
4. Check the Resource is not empty
A Resource with no published documents in it does not appear for members, only for admins.
5. Ask them to refresh
If access was granted in the last few minutes, a browser refresh or an app restart clears the cached permissions and pulls in the change.
Why the Resources tab can disappear entirely
If a member has access to no Resource at all, and there is nothing they could buy either, the Resources tab is hidden from their sidebar rather than shown empty. Give them access to one Resource, or put one on sale, and the tab comes back.
This is worth knowing before you conclude a member has a permissions problem. A missing tab and a missing Resource look the same from their side but have different causes.
Need a refresher on Access Groups? Check out our Access Groups Overview ->