Why it matters
Some contact actions depend on the user's role. When a user can view contacts but cannot add, edit, export, bulk update, or manage related settings, permissions are often the reason.
Key Concepts
Role: A permission set assigned to a user or invited user.
Contacts permissions: The role permissions that control what a user can do with contacts.
View access: Permission to see contacts without necessarily being able to change them.
Edit access: Permission to create or update contact records and related contact data.
Export access: Permission to take contact data out of Whippy through export actions where available.
Step-by-Step: Check contact permissions
Confirm which contact action is unavailable.
Open Settings.
Select Users.
Open Roles.
Open the role assigned to the affected user.
Review the Contacts permission group.
Enable the permissions needed for the user's work.
Review related permissions for channels, campaigns, sequences, settings, and exports when relevant.
Save the role and ask the user to refresh Whippy.
Tips and Best Practices
Use least privilege and grant only the access a user needs.
Give export access carefully because exports remove contact data from Whippy.
Check role assignment as well as role settings when troubleshooting access.
Document which roles should manage contacts, imports, exports, objects, and tags.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
A user can view contacts but cannot edit them | The role allows contact viewing but not contact updates | Update the Contacts permissions in Settings > Users > Roles |
A user cannot export contacts | Export or data access permissions are restricted | Review the user's role before granting export access |
A user still cannot access the action after a role change | The user may need to refresh, may have the wrong role, or may lack related permissions | Confirm the assigned role, refresh Whippy, and review related feature permissions |