Set Permissions on a File or List Item in SharePoint

Permissions on a file or item item in SharePoint are inherited from the list or library they are in, however it may be required to have permissions set for individual files or list items.

First, navigate to the file or list item you wish to set the permissions for, hover the mouse over it, click the dropdown list and select Manage Permissions (note, that if are not authorized to edit permissions, this option will not be shown).

Selecting Manage Permissions will open up a page showing the permissions for each user or group:

It is important to note that, by default, permission inheritance is set to On. This means that the file or list item inherits permissions from its parent list or library, when inheritance is set to On it is not possible to edit the permissions of the file or list item independent of the list or library. To prevent a file or item inheriting permissions, click the Actions dropdown menu in the Manage Permissions page and select Edit Permissions :

(Note that if inheritance is not On then you will be shown an Inherit Permissions option to turn it on)

After selecting Edit Permissions you will be prompted to confirm that you wish to disconnect the file or list item’s permission from the parent’s, click OK. On the Permissions page, you can select a user/group and remove or edit their permissions by selecting the appropriate option from the Actions menu. Alternatively you can add a user by selecting Add Users from the New menu.