# Unable to set up permissions on parent/subcategory
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562
**Category:** Bug
**Created:** [March 26, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562 "2019-03-26T02:12:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/1 "2019-03-26T02:12:13Z")
This seems to be a new issue as it was working fine previously.
Here are a couple example structures - it is a common pattern on forums:
- Learning Resources - parent category that everyone can see but nobody can post in
-
- Books - sub cat where staff can create/see/reply and everyone else can see/reply
-
- Courses - same as above
-
- etc
Aim of the above is to force use of sub-categories and the parent category is used to keep them all neatly together, i.e to act as a ‘parent’ category.
Another slightly different example:
- Parent Category (can be seen by various groups, usually all those who can access the below, but can not be posted in)
-
- Sub-cat 1 - user group 1 can create/see/reply
-
- Sub-cat 2 - user group 2 can create/see/reply
-
- Sub-cat 3 - user group 3 can create/see/reply
-
- etc
Again the parent category is _not_ to be posted in - it is to act purely as a parent for the sub-categories. The sub-categories can only be seen and posted in by those groups specified in the permissions. This is again to keep the (sub) categories neatly organised.
Trying to add a new sub-category and then a new user group to the sub-cat (where I try to allow that new user group to `See` the parent category) I get:
> Any group that is allowed to access a subcategory must also be allowed to access the parent category.
Yet this is the parent category.
Anyone know what’s going on?
---
### Author:  [@HAWK](https://meta.discourse.org/u/HAWK)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/2 "2019-03-26T04:00:01Z")
Could this be related to your recent work @maja ?
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### Author:  [@maja](https://meta.discourse.org/u/maja)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2019, 10:29am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/3 "2019-04-01T10:29:34Z")
Bug where you couldn’t add permissions to sub-category even though parent category is accessible by everyone was fixed few weeks ago ([FIX: any subcategory permissions are valid if everyone has access to … · discourse/discourse@fea5d4f · GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/fea5d4f3eceba37c43559a7c61a962de7d41d3b3))
> [@AstonJ](#):
>
> - Parent Category (can be seen by various groups, usually all those who can access the below, but can not be posted in)
> -
> - Sub-cat 1 - user group 1 can create/see/reply
>
> -
> - Sub-cat 2 - user group 2 can create/see/reply
You have to make sure group 1, group 2 etc. have permissions to see parent category before adding them to sub-categories.
I improved error message so it’s clearer now which groups only have access to sub-category and should be added to parent category:
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/88128f1cedd069cbdf751bdee7fc8727355b06fb](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/88128f1cedd069cbdf751bdee7fc8727355b06fb)
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/4 "2019-04-01T21:52:15Z")
> [@maja](#):
>
> I improved error message so it’s clearer now which groups only have access to sub-category and should be added to parent category:
Thanks, this should help a lot!
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### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/5 "2019-04-09T17:32:03Z")
> [@maja](#):
>
> I improved error message so it’s clearer now which groups only have access to sub-category and should be added to parent category:
Ah that’s very helpful, thanks!
It appears I had a parent category for staff forums but the ‘staff’ group wasn’t able to ‘see’ it! I wasn’t actually using the staff group for the other sub-cats hence why it didn’t click. Thanks again Maja!
---
### Author:  [@jomaxro](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jomaxro)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/unable-to-set-up-permissions-on-parent-subcategory/112562/6 "2019-04-26T22:00:02Z")
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