Selective access VS role list

Question

Hello everyone,

Could someone explain to me the difference between doing this:

And doing that:

I'm not sure but I think if we don't tick the list in roles > list, for a user role, the user will not be able to see/view the list.

Whereas selective access is to give write or read access to part of the list.

Sorry for my english.

alexpavel · Answer

Hi @FAT .. You just need to understand how Anaplan security works:

When you enable the Selective Access option for a list, that list becomes available in the Users section, where users can be granted Read and/or Write access to specific list items. This is what triggers the appearance of fields such as G1 Region Read and G1 Region Write in Users section.

From that point onward, every user should have at least one item from that list assigned in order to read or write data in any module or line item that uses the list as a dimension. Selective Access controls access to data cells.

It is important to note that data access through Selective Access is configured per user, not by role.

The settings in Roles → Lists control whether users can maintain the list members themselves (add, delete, update, etc.). This permission is assigned at the role level, meaning that all users associated with that role will inherit the same ability to modify items in that list.

"Full Access" role is not listed in Role → Lists section because the ability to modify the list cannot be removed from this role.

To summarize:

* Selective Access = controls access to data (Read/Write) and is assigned per user.
* Roles → Lists = controls access to list maintenance and is assigned per role.

Hope it helps,

Alex

samikshajain617 · Answer

Hey, good question - you're on the right track, but there's a nuance worth clarifying.

Roles → Lists isn't actually about whether the role can see the list - it controls whether that role can edit the list's structure (insert, delete, rename items). Even unticked, users on that role can still view and use the list as a dimension and enter data against it. They just can't restructure the list itself.

Selective Access is what actually controls visibility of individual items, and it works differently - once enabled on the list, access moves entirely to the user level. Even a Full Access role won't see a single item until you go into the Users tab and tick Read or Write per item, which is what those "G1 Region Write" / "G1 Region Read" columns are.

So in short:

* Roles → Lists = can this role edit the list's structure (not visibility)
* Selective Access = which specific items a user can see/edit, independent of role, once turned on

You'd use Selective Access when different people need to see different slices of the same list - e.g. each regional manager only seeing their own region.

Hope this helps!