Viewing permissions control whether customers and agents can see documents in their dashboards. When viewing permissions are enabled, the document appears in their dashboard. When disabled, they won't see the document at all.
You might adjust viewing permissions to:
Control when customers or agents can access documents
Require payment before granting access (if not invoicing through HomeGauge)
Add someone to a document after uploading it
Note: You'll always see your documents in your Inspector Dashboard regardless of viewing permissions. These settings only affect what customers and agents see.
Change Viewing Permissions for a Document
In your Inspector Dashboard, locate the property folder containing the document
Find the specific document you want to manage (properties can have multiple documents with different permission settings)
Click the Viewing tab above the document
Select Edit Permissions
On the Set Permissions page, check or uncheck the boxes in the View column for each contact
Checked: Contact can view the document in their dashboard
Unchecked: Contact cannot see the document
(Optional) Check or uncheck boxes in the Forward column to control whether contacts can forward the document to others
Click Set Permissions to save your changes
Set Viewing Permissions When Adding a Contact
You can also set viewing permissions when adding a customer or agent to a document:
Follow the steps to add a customer or agent to a document
On the Create New Account or the Add Existing Account page, scroll to the bottom
Check the View and/or Forward boxes before clicking Add Contact To Report
Set Default Viewing Permissions
Choose whether viewing permissions are enabled or disabled by default for newly uploaded documents:
In your Inspector Dashboard, go to My Reports > Upload / Email Options in the left menu
Under Default permissions assigned when a report is uploaded, check or uncheck the View and Forward boxes for customers and agents
Scroll down and click Save Upload Document Options
Note: Default settings only apply to new documents. Existing documents keep their current permissions until you change them manually.
Understanding Agreements and Viewing Permissions
If a property folder contains an unsigned agreement:
The customer must sign the agreement before viewing any reports, even if viewing permissions are enabled for the report
Agents will see a message: "Signature Required: Before viewing the report documents, the buyer must first agree to the inspection agreements"
Enable viewing permissions for the agreement so the customer can access and sign it
What Customers and Agents See
When viewing permissions are enabled:
The document appears in their dashboard
They can open and view the document after any required agreements are signed and payments are made
When viewing permissions are disabled:
The document does not appear in their dashboard
Tip: Need help understanding what appears in customer and agent dashboards? Click the [?] icon in the Allow or Sent column on any document's viewing tab for more information.
Other Ways to Share Documents
Viewing permissions aren't the only way to share documents from your Inspector Dashboard:
Public links - Create shareable links that don't require dashboard access
Password-protected links - Create secure links that require a password