> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.nextmatter.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Workflow visibility

> Visibility and permission settings help you manage access to workflows. For example, the accounting team might not need to see the workflows of the sales team. Alternatively, you might want only yourself and a handful of people to be able to see certain workflows.

## Visibility hierarchy

The visibility settings are organized hierarchically in the following top-down structure: Folder > Workflow > Instance. This means that public workflows in a private folder can only be viewed by those who can access the folder.

Additionally, the workspace admin has the whole permission set.

## Folder visibility

Folders are the best way for you to organize your workflows. By adjusting the visibility rules, you can make folders visible for teams or colleagues that you select. Folders can be either:

* **Public**: all colleagues can see this folder and the public workflows that the folder contains
* **Private**: only the admins, the folder owner, and the colleagues and teams who have access can see this folder and its public workflows

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nextmatter/Z3-w3RiDibcpWWcE/images/docs/14792ca-folder_visibility.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=Z3-w3RiDibcpWWcE&q=85&s=b0d234e292c831a078db6c19c31f1e15" alt="Image showing folder settings with visibility settings highlighted" width="2857" height="1322" data-path="images/docs/14792ca-folder_visibility.png" />
</Frame>

<Info>
  **Note:** After selecting **Private**, you can then select the people you specifically want to share this workflow with. Other colleagues, who are involved with workflows within a private folder, can only see the workflows in which they are involved.
</Info>

<Info>
  Access to a private folder (as the owner, or with team, read, or edit access) does not let you see other people's work on a private instance. The instance stays hidden in the instance table, in **Workflows > Overview**, and in **Actions**. If a step on that instance is assigned to you, that task still shows.
</Info>

## Workflow visibility

Workflows can be one of the following:

* **Public**: all colleagues and invited external collaborators can start this workflow and see the workflow's information
* **Private**: only admins, the workflow lead, and colleagues involved with this workflow (by being assigned to one of the steps) can start it. If you create a private workflow, only you and the admin can edit and delete it.

Who can see each instance is a separate setting. For details, see [Instance visibility](/docs/instance-visibility).

<Tip>
  You can further restrict access by managing which teams have access to the folder the workflow is created in. To control who can see each instance, see [Instance visibility](/docs/instance-visibility).
</Tip>

### Workflow permissions

You and all your colleagues can view and create workflows, regardless of which team you belong to.

However, only admins, workflow leads, or workflow editors can change or delete workflows. Workflow leads are normally the point of contact for escalations and questions. If the lead is only a business owner, the tech lead can be assigned. In this case, the tech lead will receive notifications when steps fail.

You can find the workflow lead when you open the workflow to view its details. For more on workflow and tech leads, see [here](/docs/workflow-lead-and-tech-lead).

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nextmatter/bsmXZ466WcpOtxYo/images/docs/60900a0f24f4ea8598e5fba2861eb9825f6e36251173b2fffe2543ba06dcc1e0-vis.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=bsmXZ466WcpOtxYo&q=85&s=882817391f0b7a2926e5ac33489abfd1" alt="Image showing visibility settigns in Workflow overview" width="2940" height="1596" data-path="images/docs/60900a0f24f4ea8598e5fba2861eb9825f6e36251173b2fffe2543ba06dcc1e0-vis.png" />
</Frame>

<Info>
  Only administrators can change workflow leads.
</Info>

| Role | View private workflow | Create instances of private workflow | Change private workflow | Delete private workflow | Receive email escalations when a step fails | Start a workflow in a portal |
| :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: |
| Admin | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | ✅ |
| Lead | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (if tech lead isn't set) | |
| Colleague | ✅ | ✅ | | | | ✅ |
| Light user | | | | | | ✅ |

## Instance visibility

Who can see each running instance is set in **Workflow start options**. You can keep instances public, limit them to the people involved, or restrict them to selected teams.

For details, see [Instance visibility](/docs/instance-visibility).

### Instance permissions

Instances of a workflow can be started by any colleague that can view the workflow.

When an instance has been started, it can be changed and deleted only by the process lead and workflow instance lead (the user that started the instance). Only the workflow lead can skip steps or delegate steps within the workflow.

| Role | View private instance | Start private instance | Change private instance | Delete private instance | Skip a step | Delegate step |
| :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: | :-: |
| Admin | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Workflow lead | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Instance lead | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | |
| Colleague | ✅ | ✅ | | | | |
| Light user | | ✅ (if shared in a portal) | | | | |

## Step visibility

For your team and colleagues to see a step, you need to specifically give them permission to do so.

If you don't set the permissions, no one else will be able to see the step. Administrators won't have permission to see the step either.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/nextmatter/bsmXZ466WcpOtxYo/images/docs/6b88c0a-step_visibility.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=bsmXZ466WcpOtxYo&q=85&s=e843d60e8fc491c7c0811b6a7527c5dc" alt="Image showing step visibility" width="2828" height="948" data-path="images/docs/6b88c0a-step_visibility.png" />
</Frame>

If you have a step assigned to you, you become this step's owner. You will see an overview of the steps that are assigned to you or your team in your Next Matter inbox. You can also receive email notifications reminding you about open steps.


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