Sharing Private Content in Item Banks

This functionality is available to Authors with the required permissions, Item Bank Managers and Planners.

Private Content allows authors to keep Questions and Question Sets isolated to themselves by default, while enabling controlled collaboration with selected colleagues or Access Groups.

This article explains how to share Private Questions and Question Sets, how role selection works during sharing, how Planners access shared question sets in Deliver, and what happens when user or Access Group memberships change.

For a conceptual introduction, see Understanding Private and Public Content in Item Banks.

For information about managing content privacy states, see Managing Content Privacy.

For details on how Access Groups and user roles control bank entry, see Advanced Access Controls for Item Banks.

Before you start

Before sharing Private Content, keep the following rules in mind:

Supported Content Types: Only Questions and Question Sets can be shared with individual users or Access Groups. Supporting content types (such as Rubrics) do not support item-level sharing.
Item Bank Access Requirement: You can only share content with users or Access Groups that are associated with the same Item Bank. A user must belong to an Access Group linked to the Item Bank to access shared content.
Sharing Permissions: The Author system role permits authors to share their content. For Custom User Roles (CURs), sharing capabilities are governed by the Share Own Private Content and Re-share Private Content permissions.

Sharing is performed directly within the content editor (available in both Legacy Author and New Author workspaces).

Open the Private Question or Question Set in the content editor.
Select the Share action at the top of the screen.
Choose one of two sharing modes:
- Share with users: Share the item with specific individual colleagues.
- Share with Access Groups: Share the item with an entire Access Group.

When you select Share with users, a modal opens allowing you to search for and select colleagues.

Search for the user by name or username. The search list is automatically restricted to users who are members of the Item Bank.
Select the appropriate User Role for the user from the drop-down menu (see Selecting User Roles when sharing).
Select Add to update the share list.
Save the changes.

Removing user access

To revoke access from an individual user, select the Remove (trash icon) next to their name in the share modal and save your changes.

When you select Share with Access Groups, you can grant access to all members of a specific Access Group associated with the Item Bank.

Search for and select an Access Group. Only Access Groups linked to the Item Bank will appear.
Select the User Role to apply to the group.
Select Add to update the share list.
Save the changes.

When an item is shared with an Access Group:

All current members of that Access Group who hold the corresponding role on their user profile immediately gain access to the item.
Any users added to the Access Group in future (again, who have the correct corresponding role) will automatically gain access upon joining the group.

Removing Access Group access

To revoke access from an Access Group, select the Remove (trash icon) next to the group's name in the share modal and save your changes.

When sharing a question or question set, you must select the role that defines what the recipient can do with the content.

The available roles in the drop-down menu depend on the recipient's profile roles and the roles associated with the Item Bank's Access Groups:

Selectable Role	Who Sees This / Description	Access Granted
Author (system role)	Displayed when the recipient holds the Author system role.	Grants full access to view, edit, and collaborate on the content item.
Author Custom User Role (CUR) (e.g. View-only CUR, Edit-only CUR)	Displayed when the CUR is assigned to the user profile and linked to an associated Access Group.	Grants specific, restricted capabilities defined by that CUR (e.g. view/preview only or edit only).
Planner	Displayed when sharing with a user who holds only the Planner system role on their profile.	Allows the Planner to preview and attach the question set to a test in Deliver.
Author / Planner	Displayed when sharing with a user who holds both the Author system role and the Planner role on their profile.	Grants authoring collaboration rights in Authoring and test-creation access in Deliver.

Note on Access Group sharing: When sharing with an Access Group, members of that group must hold the selected role on their individual user profiles to access the shared content.

To enable a Planner to attach a Private Question Set to a test in Deliver, the Question Set must be shared with them individually or through an Access Group.

The Planner must also have access to the Item Bank. Once both conditions are met, the Planner can see and attach the Private Question Set in Deliver.

Sharing is not required for Public Question Sets. A Planner with access to the Item Bank can see and attach any Public Question Set in that Item Bank.

When sharing a Private Question Set with a Planner:

Confirm that the Planner has access to the Item Bank.
Share the Question Set with the Planner individually or through an Access Group.
Select the Planner role, or Author/Planner where the recipient has both roles.
Save the sharing changes.

The Planner can then see and attach the Question Set when adding a Question Set to a test in Deliver.

Changes to Item Bank membership and access warnings

Content access relies strictly on valid Item Bank membership. If user or group memberships change after content has been shared, access is updated automatically:

1. User removed from Item Bank

If a user is removed from an Access Group linked to the Item Bank:

The user immediately loses access to all Private content shared with them in that bank.
In the sharing modal, their name remains listed for reference but is flagged with a warning icon and tooltip: "User does not have access to the Item Bank".
If the user is later re-added to the Item Bank, their access to the shared content item is automatically restored.

2. Access Group disassociated from Item Bank

If an Access Group is removed from the Item Bank's configuration:

Members of that group lose access to Private content shared with that Access Group.
In the sharing modal, the group name displays a warning icon and tooltip: "Group does not have access to the Item Bank".
If the Access Group is re-attached to the Item Bank, access for its members is automatically restored.

By default, the content creator retains full ownership of their Private content. Whether recipient users can re-share that content with others depends on their permissions:

Author System Role: Users who receive shared content and hold the Author system role can re-share the item with other members of the Item Bank.
Custom User Roles (CURs): Re-sharing by CUR users is controlled by the Re-share Private Content CUR permission. If enabled on their assigned CUR, the user can re-share the item; if disabled, the sharing options are hidden when they view the shared item.

If a user re-shares an item and their Re-share Private Content permission is subsequently revoked, they will no longer see the share controls, but users with whom they previously shared the item will retain their access.

See CURs documentation

Event logging

All sharing activities are recorded in the system Event Log to provide details for content creators and administrators.

Understanding Private and Public Content in Item Banks — Conceptual overview of privacy states and role behaviours.
Managing Content Privacy — Instructions for setting Item Bank defaults and converting content between Private and Public.
Advanced Access Controls for Item Banks — Guide to Access Groups, Author system roles, and Custom User Roles (CURs).

Sharing Private Content in Item Banks