Create a view of a document library specific to a group on SHAREPOINT ONLINE

Question

Create a view of a document library specific to a group on SHAREPOINT ONLINE

POLLET David 1

Hello, i have a document library where i have all my documents, with different attributes (column attributes).
Let's say i have 2 groups of people working for me, group A and group B.
I want to only give acess to group B to documents where the attribute "country" is "Germany".

Does anyone have an idea of how to do this feat ?

PS : this feat was possible in the old sharepoint via the webpart Content Query, but nowhere to be found today.

Thanks for your help ! :<)

Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-15T06:45:53.983+00:00

Thank you for your question. We are currently looking into this issue and will give you an update as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-15T15:44:18.027+00:00

Hello @Xuyan Ding - MSFT ! Thank you for your answer, I've tried the 2nd option in which you change the settings of the library in classic mode. I can see when i go the library that it has indeed switched, but I still can't add the content query web part, because to edit a page like you told me to do, I can't do so on the library page : I must be on a classic page where I can add web parts.
But only the library is in classic mode.
So when i Edit a normal page and I try to add the web part content query, I can't find it.
How did you go to the web part menu in classic mode, which we can see in your last screenshot ?

PS : I explored the web part Highlighted Content on the modern SP. It worked really well, it adds a column "Audience" in the library i'm working on. And I can add a Person or Group in the audience, and only the targeted group/person can see the documents. Which is what I wanted from the beginning.
But when i create a new group, and I try to add it in the column Audience for one document, it shows me an error message : "Object reference not set to an instance of an Object". Which is weird, because I just created the Group and put people in it.
I think this would be an ideal solution, if i could just find a workaround for this small problem.... In the hopes that you could help me

Big thanks to you trying to solve my problem !
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-17T08:32:40.287+00:00

Hi @POLLET David ,

If you can't find the content query web part, please check if 'SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure' feature is active.

Site Settings->Site Collection Administration->Site collection features

PS: I tested the web part Highlighted Content, if you select a recently created or changed audience group, it will indeed report the same error as you, it may take some time to take effect, the old group is no problem. Also I don't think this method is appropriate, it just highlights the target audience. It is better to manage access directly to the document than to do this, because both methods require manual settings for each document. Just like the first method I answered, I am afraid that you have too many files and plan to put them in a folder to manage access. If you do not have so many documents, it is recommended that you manually set the group permissions for each document directly:).
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-21T10:26:41.313+00:00

Hello again @Xuyan Ding - MSFT , thanks for answering.

Unfortunately, after checking it out, I only see Sharepoint Server Publishing ( There is no Sharepoint Server Publishing Infrastructure to be found), and it is active.
But I still can't find the old content query web part.

I tried in the Highlighted content Query WebPart the CAML query, using this code
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/schema/membership-element-query?redirectedfrom=MSDN

But i struggled to adapt it to my need, because it doesn't show any results.
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-23T02:13:56.083+00:00

Hi @POLLET David ,

The Sharepoint Server Publishing feature you mentioned is a feature at the site level, and its location is Manage site features under Site Actions. Sharepoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature is the site collection level, and its location is Site collection features under Site Collection Administration. You can check again.
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-23T10:30:27.977+00:00

Hello @Xuyan Ding - MSFT ,

I wasn't a collectoin site administrator, but now I am.
But the Server Publishing Infrastructure is actually active.

When you tried the solution of getting the library into classic mode in order to use the old web part, did you actually create the content query web part that was present ?
If you did, where did you find it ? When you go into Edit mode on an editable page ? Or on the library page ?
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-24T09:10:09.59+00:00

Hi David,
After clicking the edit page in the settings(the settings of the page where the library is located in the upper right corner), select Add a Web Part. Below is the overall preview:

What does the page look like after you edit the page? If possible,could you provide a screenshot?

1 answer

Your answer

Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-15T06:45:53.983+00:00

Thank you for your question. We are currently looking into this issue and will give you an update as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-15T15:44:18.027+00:00

Hello @Xuyan Ding - MSFT ! Thank you for your answer, I've tried the 2nd option in which you change the settings of the library in classic mode. I can see when i go the library that it has indeed switched, but I still can't add the content query web part, because to edit a page like you told me to do, I can't do so on the library page : I must be on a classic page where I can add web parts.
But only the library is in classic mode.
So when i Edit a normal page and I try to add the web part content query, I can't find it.
How did you go to the web part menu in classic mode, which we can see in your last screenshot ?

PS : I explored the web part Highlighted Content on the modern SP. It worked really well, it adds a column "Audience" in the library i'm working on. And I can add a Person or Group in the audience, and only the targeted group/person can see the documents. Which is what I wanted from the beginning.
But when i create a new group, and I try to add it in the column Audience for one document, it shows me an error message : "Object reference not set to an instance of an Object". Which is weird, because I just created the Group and put people in it.
I think this would be an ideal solution, if i could just find a workaround for this small problem.... In the hopes that you could help me

Big thanks to you trying to solve my problem !
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-17T08:32:40.287+00:00

Hi @POLLET David ,

If you can't find the content query web part, please check if 'SharePoint Server Publishing Infrastructure' feature is active.

Site Settings->Site Collection Administration->Site collection features

PS: I tested the web part Highlighted Content, if you select a recently created or changed audience group, it will indeed report the same error as you, it may take some time to take effect, the old group is no problem. Also I don't think this method is appropriate, it just highlights the target audience. It is better to manage access directly to the document than to do this, because both methods require manual settings for each document. Just like the first method I answered, I am afraid that you have too many files and plan to put them in a folder to manage access. If you do not have so many documents, it is recommended that you manually set the group permissions for each document directly:).
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-21T10:26:41.313+00:00

Hello again @Xuyan Ding - MSFT , thanks for answering.

Unfortunately, after checking it out, I only see Sharepoint Server Publishing ( There is no Sharepoint Server Publishing Infrastructure to be found), and it is active.
But I still can't find the old content query web part.

I tried in the Highlighted content Query WebPart the CAML query, using this code
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/schema/membership-element-query?redirectedfrom=MSDN

But i struggled to adapt it to my need, because it doesn't show any results.
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-23T02:13:56.083+00:00

Hi @POLLET David ,

The Sharepoint Server Publishing feature you mentioned is a feature at the site level, and its location is Manage site features under Site Actions. Sharepoint Server Publishing Infrastructure feature is the site collection level, and its location is Site collection features under Site Collection Administration. You can check again.
POLLET David 1 Reputation point

2022-11-23T10:30:27.977+00:00

Hello @Xuyan Ding - MSFT ,

I wasn't a collectoin site administrator, but now I am.
But the Server Publishing Infrastructure is actually active.

When you tried the solution of getting the library into classic mode in order to use the old web part, did you actually create the content query web part that was present ?
If you did, where did you find it ? When you go into Edit mode on an editable page ? Or on the library page ?
Xuyan Ding - MSFT 7,601 Reputation points

2022-11-24T09:10:09.59+00:00

Hi David,
After clicking the edit page in the settings(the settings of the page where the library is located in the upper right corner), select Add a Web Part. Below is the overall preview:

What does the page look like after you edit the page? If possible,could you provide a screenshot?

Answer 1

Hi @POLLET David ,

In modern UI, as a workaround, you can filter and then set permissions.
1)If your country column is a choice column or a single-line text column, you need to group or filter directly based on the "Germany" attribute first. If there are many files, you can move the documents to a folder, and then manage access to the folder.

2)If your country column is a location column without group or filter options, you need to set all countries individually as a list, and then use the lookup column to reference in the library.

For what you said about the content query webpart not found, in classic mode, you can add it in the page.
Library settings->Advanced Settings->List experenice: switch to classic mode->ok->Edit page->Add a Web Part

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Create a view of a document library specific to a group on SHAREPOINT ONLINE

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