ATOI365D#Office365Challenge Edit and Contribute are easily confused and I see a lot of Admins allocate it incorrectly just because they don’t know. In this post I’ll highlight the difference(s).

Day: 294 of 365, 71 left
Tools: Office 365, SharePoint
Description: SharePoint Permissions Difference between Edit and Contribute
Audience: All

Summary:

Edit – Can add, edit and delete lists; can view, add, update and delete list items and documents.

Contribute – Can view, add, update, and delete list items and documents.

Difference:

Below you’ll see that I highlighted the difference in red. There’s only one – and it’s a BIG ONE. Users with Edit rights can also create and delete lists (apps) and views in SharePoint. So for normal users who only add content, Contribute would be the way to go.

Permission Attributes

Edit:

  • Manage Lists  –  Create and delete lists, add or remove columns in a list, and add or remove public views of a list.
  • Add Items  –  Add items to lists and add documents to document libraries.
  • Edit Items  –  Edit items in lists, edit documents in document libraries, and customize Web Part Pages in document libraries.
  • Delete Items  –  Delete items from a list and documents from a document library.
  • View Items  –  View items in lists and documents in document libraries.
  • Open Items  –  View the source of documents with server-side file handlers.
  • View Versions  –  View past versions of a list item or document.
  • Delete Versions  –  Delete past versions of a list item or document.
  • Create Alerts  –  Create alerts.
  • View Application Pages  –  View forms, views, and application pages. Enumerate lists.
  • Browse Directories  –  Enumerate files and folders in a Web site using SharePoint Designer and Web DAV interfaces.
  • Use Self-Service Site Creation  –  Create a Web site using Self-Service Site Creation.
  • View Pages  –  View pages in a Web site.
  • Browse User Information  –  View information about users of the Web site.
  • Use Remote Interfaces  –  Use SOAP, Web DAV, the Client Object Model or SharePoint Designer interfaces to access the Web site.
  • Use Client Integration Features  –  Use features which launch client applications. Without this permission, users will have to work on documents locally and upload their changes.
  • Open  –  Allows users to open a Web site, list, or folder in order to access items inside that container.
  • Edit Personal User Information  –  Allows a user to change his or her own user information, such as adding a picture.
  • Manage Personal Views  –  Create, change, and delete personal views of lists.
  • Add/Remove Personal Web Parts  –  Add or remove personal Web Parts on a Web Part Page.
  • Update Personal Web Parts  –  Update Web Parts to display personalized information.

Contribute:

  • Add Items  –  Add items to lists and add documents to document libraries.
  • Edit Items  –  Edit items in lists, edit documents in document libraries, and customize Web Part Pages in document libraries.
  • Delete Items  –  Delete items from a list and documents from a document library.
  • View Items  –  View items in lists and documents in document libraries.
  • Open Items  –  View the source of documents with server-side file handlers.
  • View Versions  –  View past versions of a list item or document.
  • Delete Versions  –  Delete past versions of a list item or document.
  • Create Alerts  –  Create alerts.
  • View Application Pages  –  View forms, views, and application pages. Enumerate lists.
  • Browse Directories  –  Enumerate files and folders in a Web site using SharePoint Designer and Web DAV interfaces.
  • Use Self-Service Site Creation  –  Create a Web site using Self-Service Site Creation.
  • View Pages  –  View pages in a Web site.
  • Browse User Information  –  View information about users of the Web site.
  • Use Remote Interfaces  –  Use SOAP, Web DAV, the Client Object Model or SharePoint Designer interfaces to access the Web site.
  • Use Client Integration Features  –  Use features which launch client applications. Without this permission, users will have to work on documents locally and upload their changes.
  • Open  –  Allows users to open a Web site, list, or folder in order to access items inside that container.
  • Edit Personal User Information  –  Allows a user to change his or her own user information, such as adding a picture.
  • Manage Personal Views  –  Create, change, and delete personal views of lists.
  • Add/Remove Personal Web Parts  –  Add or remove personal Web Parts on a Web Part Page.
  • Update Personal Web Parts  –  Update Web Parts to display personalized information.

Be safe, be informed.

Related Posts / Resources:

Overview of my challenge: As an absolute lover of all things Microsoft, I’ve decided to undertake the challenge, of writing a blog every single day, for the next 365 days. Crazy, I know. And I’ll try my best, but if I cannot find something good to say about Office 365 and the Tools it includes for 365 days, I’m changing my profession. So let’s write this epic tale of “Around the Office in 365 Days”. My ode to Microsoft Office 365.
Keep in mind that these tips and tricks do not only apply to Office 365 – but where applicable, to the overall Microsoft Office Suite and SharePoint.