--- title: "How map access works in MangoMap" description: "Understand how map access works: signed-in access for your team through groups, and web access through Public, Link-only, or Password publishing modes." sidebar: label: "How map access works" --- MangoMap has two map access models: signed-in access for people in your workspace and web access for everyone else. Choose whether viewers must sign in, use a public link, use a private link, or enter a password. MangoMap checks signed-in access first, then web access. Map access means the map's creator, the account owner, a group with `View` or `Edit` access, or any user in your workspace when `Allow public access` is on: Who can open a map Flowchart: signed-in users with map access open the map; everyone else needs Allow public access on, and then the publishing mode decides whether they need the public link, the private link, or the link and a password. YES NO NO YES PUBLIC LINK-ONLY PASSWORD Someone opens a map Signed in withmap access? Allow publicaccess on? Publishingmode? Opens the mapno password needed Can’t open itneeds map access Anyone can open itcan be listed in the portal Needs the private linkunlisted, not indexed Needs link + passwordunlisted, not indexed ## Signed-in access Signed-in access depends on the current user, map creator, account owner, and group access. A signed-in user can view a map when one of these is true: - The map is public. - The user created the map. - The user is the account owner. - The user belongs to a group with view access for the map. Editing is narrower. A user can edit when they created the map, they are the account owner, or they are an admin-level user with group edit access for the map. Share access follows the same rules as edit access. ## Group access [Groups](/docs/managing-team/concepts-team-and-roles) let admins grant access to multiple workspace users at once. A group can have `View` access, `Edit` access, both, or neither. `Edit` access also counts as view access. A group with `Edit` access can open the map, but only members with the `Admin` role can change it. Group access still requires sign-in. It does not create a public URL. ## Web access Web access controls whether people can open a map without workspace permissions. In the map's `Configuration` page, this starts with `Allow public access`. When `Allow public access` is off, the map is limited to signed-in users with permission. When it is on, `Publishing mode` controls how outside viewers reach the map. ## Publishing modes `Public` mode lets anyone with the public link view the map. It can also make the map discoverable through the public portal and search engines, depending on the map's visibility settings. `Link-only` mode uses a private link. Anyone with that private link can view the map, but the map is not listed in the public portal and is not indexed for search engines. `Password` mode uses the public link plus a password. Anyone with both can view the map, but the map is not listed in the public portal and is not indexed for search engines. ## Public portal listing Public portal listing is narrower than web access. A map appears in the public portal only when it is public, uses `Public` mode, and has `Show in public portal` enabled. `Link-only` and `Password` maps are web-accessible, but they are unlisted. They are intended for direct sharing rather than public browsing. ## Common confusion It is possible for a map to be viewable on the web without appearing in the public portal. `Link-only` maps and `Password` maps are examples. A `Public` map can also be hidden from the public portal when `Show in public portal` is off. A group can also show view access while a map is public. In that case, the view access is inherited from web publishing: everyone can view the map, including all groups. Current access summary of a Public map, with Team access View: All groups (inherited from web publishing) and Edit: No groups, and Web access Enabled, Public access, shown in public portal and indexable by search engines ## Related - [Map access settings](/docs/map-access/map-access-settings) - [Choose how to share a map](/docs/map-access/choose-how-to-share-a-map) - [Legacy map access modes and current settings](/docs/map-access/concepts-legacy-map-access-modes) - [How to configure map access](/docs/map-access/configure-map-access) - [How to share a map with groups](/docs/map-access/share-map-with-groups) - [How to publish a map to the web](/docs/map-access/publish-map-to-web) - [Account roles reference](/docs/account-roles/account-roles-reference) - explains the account role side of edit and share access. ---