Managing category access and Request visibility

Control who can access each category, set the default visibility for new Requests, and change visibility for one Request.

Written By Markus Palm

Last updated 39 minutes ago

Overview

Category access controls who can browse a category. Request visibility controls who can see a particular Request within that category.

These rules work together with Customer Portal access and moderation. A Request must meet each applicable rule before a customer can see it.

Configure category access

Choose who can access a category

  1. Go to Settings → Requests → Management → Categories

  2. Open the category's 'General' tab

  3. Set Category access

  4. Click 'Save changes'

Choose the audience that matches the feedback:

In the category list, a lock icon marks a Team only category. Click the icon and confirm 'Show on portal' to open the category to customers again.

Note: For segment-based access, Featurebase must recognize the customer and have the data needed to place them in the relevant segment. Set up customer identification for your embedded experience.

Set default Request visibility

In the category's 'General' tab, use Default request visibility to choose who can see Requests submitted there, then click 'Save changes':

  • Everyone: Customers who have category access

  • Author's company only: The author's company, as recognized in Featurebase

  • Author only: The customer who submitted the Request

Your permitted teammates can still manage these Requests.

Note: Company-only visibility uses the customer's company association. If the author has no company, access falls back to the author. A company name written in the description does not establish that association.

Change visibility for one Request

  1. Open the Request

  2. Open the Visibility control in the Request details

  3. Choose the intended audience under Who can see this request

The control appears only while the Customer Portal is on and the category is not Team only.

The choices depend on the category. In a category open to everyone or to selected segments, choose Visible on portal (shown as Visible for segments when the category is limited to segments), Author only, or Internal. In a category whose default Request visibility is Author's company only or Author only, the Request shows that audience, and you can only switch it between that audience and Internal.

For a Request that is still Private until reviewed, the control shows that the Request is not on the portal yet. Choosing an audience publishes the Request and clears it from the review queue. You can also approve or reject it through moderation.

Note: To widen a Request beyond a restricted category's audience, change its category or the category's access rules first. Showing a page in portal navigation does not override these rules.

Check why a customer cannot see a Request

Check the access layers in this order:

  1. Confirm that the customer can access and sign in to the Customer Portal

  2. Check whether they can access the category, including any segment restriction

  3. Check the Request's visibility and whether it is waiting for approval

  4. For an author-only or company-only Request, confirm the customer's identity and company association

Note: Roadmap privacy controls add another layer when the customer is viewing the Request through a Roadmap.

FAQs