There are two types of groups - Permission groups and Distribution groups. Permission groups are used to simplify the assignment of permissions by providing a grouping of users in similar roles. Distribution groups are only used in recipient lists, like distribution lists with email. Both types of groups can be used as recipients for Notifications and emails, and as assignees for Workplan items.

Both Permission and Distribution groups can be further categorized into Default groups - those that are common across all proposals within the zone - and Proposal groups - those that are specific to a proposal. Only Proposal groups can be assigned permissions or used in recipient lists. Default groups are only used to facilitate the creation of Proposal groups. They are a way to keep Proposal groups consistent across multiple proposals and/or zones. Default groups can be created manually or copied from another zone when a zone is created. Default groups can also be synchronized across multiple zones. This is another way to copy Default groups to other zones. Proposal groups can be created manually or copied from Default groups.

To manually create a Proposal group, select the Proposal group button and click Add. To create a Default group, select the Default group button and then click Add. In either case a new panel will open with a text box to enter the group name, a checkbox to specify if Third Party users can be added or not (see below), and a checkbox to create the group as a Distribution group instead of a Permission group. Distribution groups are displayed in the group list in italics and blue. Only System Admin and Zone Super Admins can create, delete or edit Default groups. To create a new Proposal group by copying a Default group, select the Copy Default Group button, select the Default group from the window, and then click on the Copy Group button. Can copy multiple Default groups at same time. Use the Ctrl key for multiple individual selection of groups. Use Ctrl-A to select all groups. Use Ctrl-C convention to copy any list of users or groups to clipboard for use in another application.

Permission groups can be set to not allow adding of Third Party users. (Distribution groups cannot be restricted in this way.) Select the group and then select the Third Party Can't be Added checkbox. This can be done for default and proposal groups. This setting will be copied when creating a proposal group from a default group. Only System Admin and Zone System Admins can change this property. Admins can change the setting of the checkbox, but only during creation of the group.

To rename a Proposal or Default group, select the group, click on rename button or right-click and select rename from menu, enter new name in text box, and then click on OK. To delete a group, click on the group then Delete.

To add a user to a group, click on a group then double-click on a username or click Add User. To delete a user form a group, click on a group, then the user, then Delete. Use the Shift key for continuous selection of users. Use the Control key for multiple individual selection of users. Use the Control - A key to select all users.

Users can be listed by username or user's full name. The user list can be filtered to make it easier to find a user when dealing with a large number of users. Enter a search term in the text field and hit Enter or click on the search icon. The list will only display users that match, at least partially, the search term. To return to the full listing, click on the Cancel Search (red 'X') icon, or clear the field and hit Enter. For another navigational tool, select any user in the users list and strike a letter key. The list will scroll to the user name beginning with that letter.

To synchronize Default groups across more than one zone, right-click on the group and select Synchronize Default Group. In the panel that pops up, select the zones in which the Default group should be synchronized. If the Default group does not already exist in any of the selected zones, it will be created in those zones. In zones where it already exists, it will be overwritten. This allows updating of Default group membership across multiple zones. This feature is only available to the System Admin.

To copy a new user to an already existing Proposal group that was previously copied from a Default group, go to User Admin, select the user, right-click and select Add to Group. The user can also be copied to the Default group. For more information see the User Admin Help Screen.