Who can read a page

1. Overview & Business Value#

This comprehensive operational guide details the architecture, business workflows, configuration parameters, and execution steps for Who can read a page within SmartERP.

Documentation is often not meant for everyone: a partner price list, a customer runbook, an internal procedure. Every section and every page has a visibility, and the server enforces it on every path that serves a page.

{screenshot:who-can-read-overview-dashboard}

2. Prerequisites & Security Access Groups#

• Required Modules: smarterp_docs
• Security Groups:
  • Technical Documentation Architect (Technical ID: base.group_system)
  • Enterprise User (Technical ID: base.group_user)
• Master Data Dependencies: Markdown documentation trees, asset manifests, SVG diagram generators, and multi-language search indexes.

3. Step-by-Step Configuration & Execution#

Step 1: Navigating to the Module Interface#

1. Log into your SmartERP instance at https://smarterp.et/odoo.
2. Open the main App Switcher (grid icon in the top-left corner).
3. Select the Documentation Portal app icon.
4. From the top navigation bar, open Documentation Portal → English (/docs/en) / Amharic (/docs/am).

{screenshot:who-can-read-app-switcher-navigation}

Step 2: Creating and Parameterizing Records#

1. Click the New button in the top-left control panel.
2. Complete the mandatory fields in the record form:
   • Page Title (Mandatory): Standardized title conforming to Diátaxis framework
   • Summary (Mandatory): Concise operational summary describing page intent
   • Diátaxis Type (Mandatory): Valid classification (how_to, tutorial, concept, reference, admin_guide)
3. Configure optional operational parameters and localized tags as required:
   • Audience (Optional): Designated user roles (Accountants, Engineers, Administrators)
   • Difficulty Level (Optional): beginner, intermediate, or advanced
4. Click the Save icon in the control bar to commit the record.

{screenshot:who-can-read-record-creation-form}

Step 3: Validating and Processing Transactions#

• State Transitions: Execute operational state progression (Authoring → Local Offline Test Validated → Manifest Registered → Published Live).
• Ledger & System Impact: Powers the public and internal technical documentation portal (smarterp.et/docs) with sub-second rendering and dual-theme visual diagrams.
• Audit Verification: Automated recording of author ID, timestamp, and immutable revision history.

{screenshot:who-can-read-transaction-processing-state}

The four levels#

Customers and partners are portal users. You choose which by giving them the group Documentation / Customer or Documentation / Partner. A customer cannot read partner pages and a partner cannot read customer pages.

Sections narrow, never widen#

A page is as visible as the most restrictive of its own level and every section above it. A public page in an internal section is internal. The result is shown on the page as its effective visibility.

An unpublished section hides everything under it, whatever the pages say.

What a reader who may not read a page sees#

The page is simply not found: the same answer as for an address that does not exist, so the existence of an internal page is not revealed. Its title does not appear in the sidebar, the section list, search, the suggestions or the sitemap. Pages that are not public are never cached and are marked to stay out of search engines.

The same rule is used by the website, search, search-as-you-type, the sitemap and the API at /docs/api/v1, and the back office applies it again with record rules.

Drafts#

Only people who write or review documentation see drafts, and they are labelled. Reviewers and editors see every draft. An author sees the pages they wrote or own.

A good habit#

Set the visibility of a section when a whole area is restricted, and of a page only for an exception. Files can declare it too, with visibility: internal in the front matter.

4. Advanced Configuration Points#

• Automated Actions & Scheduled Tasks (Crons):
  • Documentation: Auto-rebuild search index (smarterp_docs.ir_cron_reindex): Runs on module upgrade to refresh full-text search indexes
• Custom Print Templates & Reports:
  • SmartERP Technical Documentation Standards & Style Guide
  • Documentation Coverage & Visual Asset Verification Matrix
• Multi-Company Rules: Record-level security isolation under Company 1 (Ashewa Technology Solutions S.C.), preventing cross-company ledger leakage across parent and subsidiary legal entities.

5. Comprehensive Troubleshooting Matrix#