Adding a Viewer is a one-click action in the file Share dialog. Multiple Viewers can be added at once; group-based additions scale to large teams.
- Open the file
Navigate to the file in the Files tab or on a record page. Click the file to open it.
- Click Share
On the file detail page, click Share. The Share dialog opens.
- Add user or group as Viewer
Type a user or group name to search. Select. Pick Viewer from the permission dropdown. Click Add.
- Save
Click Done. The ContentDocumentLink record is created with ShareType=V. The user can now view and download but not edit.
- Verify the access level
Optionally Login As the new Viewer (or test with a real user) to confirm they can open the file but cannot edit it.
- Adjust as needed
To grant edit access later, change the ShareType to C (Collaborator). To remove access entirely, delete the ContentDocumentLink.
Read-only access. View, download, comment. No edit.
Add a Public Group as Viewer; every member inherits read-only access.
Users with record access automatically get Viewer-level file access when a file is linked to the record.
Library membership at the Viewer permission level grants read-only access to all Library files.
- Viewers can download the file. Read-only does not prevent the file from leaving Salesforce; for stronger control, use Salesforce Files Sync or DLP integration.
- Record-inherited Viewer access can be unexpected. A file linked to a widely-shared record gives Viewer access to everyone with record access.
- Comments by Viewers are still visible to all who can see the file. Sensitive Viewer comments may leak unintended information.
- Downgrading from Collaborator to Viewer is reversible but visible to the user. They lose edit access immediately; communicate the change if it affects their workflow.