Locking SharePoint Folder Structure

I very much appreciate your reply. My IT department has created Security Groups for the permissions, so I am unsure how to proceed. We created these permission groups to avoid breaking permissions/assigning individual permissions.

There are upwards of 1,000 users and we are trying to keep it as locked down with the security groups as possible.

Do you have any thoughts on it, when using these types of groups?

Hi DW,

Thank you for posting your question.

From your description, I understand that you've created a main folder structure in SharePoint Online and would like to prevent users from renaming or deleting those top-level folders while still allowing them to work within the established framework.

To achieve this, you may consider using unique permissions on the top-level folders. A common approach is to break permission inheritance on the folders that make up the master structure and assign users a custom permission level that does not include Delete Items/Delete Versions permissions. This helps protect the designated folders from being deleted and modified by regular users.

I recommend creating a test folder and a test user account first, then validating whether this configuration meets your requirements before implementing it in production.

Step 1: Create a custom permission level

• Go to your SharePoint site.
• Select Settings > Site permissions.
• Select Advanced permission settings.
• Select Permission Levels.

• Select Add a Permission Level.
• Create a new permission level based on your requirements.
• Clear the Delete Items and Delete Versions permissions.
• Save the new permission level.

Step 2: Break permission inheritance on the top-level folder

• Open the document library containing the folder structure.
• Select the top-level folder you want to protect.
• Select the three dots > Manage Access.

• Select Delete unique permissions

• Select Stop Inheriting Permissions.
• ⁠Confirm the change. This creates unique permissions for that folder.  

Step 3: Assign the custom permission level

• Select the checkbox next to your user > Edit User Permissions

• Select your newly created permission and select Ok

After configuring the permissions, sign in as the test user and verify whether the user experience aligns with your business requirements.

I hope this provides some helpful context. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to share them here.

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