Troubleshooting Issues with Asset Downloading and Sharing

Overview

If some users can't see the Download or Share buttons on assets within their Experience Portal, the cause is almost always a permission layer that overrides the portal’s page-level permissions. Asset and category permissions are applied in four layers, and a restriction at any layer hides the buttons.

Work through the layers below in order:

1. Group permissions: The categories a user's group is allowed to access across the DAM and Experience Portals.
2. Category-level permissions: Exceptions for a group on specific categories.
3. Experience Portal component settings: Whether download and share are enabled per asset and asset category components inside the portal.
4. Assets in more than one category: A restriction on any category an asset belongs to applies to that asset everywhere.

Before you begin

1. You need to be logged into the DAM as an admin who can manage groups, categories, and Experience Portal pages.
2. Write down which user group is affected and which portal page and assets they can't download or share.

Step 1: Check group permissions

Group permissions take precedence over every other setting. If a group can't download or share a particular category, the buttons stay hidden for those users regardless of other settings.

1. In the DAM, go to Settings in the left menu, then select Groups.
2. Find the affected user's group and select View/Edit under Actions.
3. Check which permissions the group has:
   • System permissions: The group should have a role that includes download and share, such as Contributor, Member, Approver, or an Admin role. The Guest role does not include them.
   • Custom permissions:
     • Under Share, confirm Share originals or renditions is selected.
     • Under Download, confirm Download originals or renditions is selected.
4. If either is set to Cannot share or Cannot download, change it and save.
   • Note: Ensure neither permission is set to “renditions only” as it overrides download and sharing access to assets in Experience Portals.

If the group already has both permissions, go on to Step 2.

Step 2: Check category-level permissions

Category-level permissions are exceptions to a group's overall permissions within the DAM. A group that can download and share in general can still be restricted in a specific category. That restriction overrides the portal component's settings.

1. Note which category the portal page shows (for example, Illustration Library below).

2. In the DAM, go to Settings > Categories and find that category. A notice appears if category-level permissions have been applied.

   

    

3. Select the notice to view the permissions and look for a rule that stops the affected group from downloading or sharing.

   

    

4. If the group should have access, click Manage. In the window that opens, clear that permission and select Save.
5. Ask the affected user to refresh the portal page and confirm the action buttons now appear.

Step 3: Check the component settings

If group and category permissions allow download and share, check that the portal component itself has them turned on.

1. As an Experience Portal administrator, open the affected page in the CMS.
2. Use the toggle in the top-right corner to switch to edit mode.
3. Select the impacted Asset Category or Asset component and choose to edit it.
4. In the property window that opens, select the Content tab. Under the content's Actions, confirm that Download and Share are both enabled.
5. Save your changes.
6. Ask the affected user to refresh the portal page and confirm the action buttons now appear.

Step 4: Check assets that belong to more than one category

If every asset in a category has the buttons except one or two, those assets probably also belong to a restricted category. A restriction in any category an asset belongs to applies to that asset everywhere. This prevents assets from being shared by accident.

How to check:

1. In the DAM, open the affected asset.
2. In the asset panel on the right, check which categories it belongs to.
3. Compare them with the categories of an asset that works. Look for a category only the problem asset belongs to.
4. Go to Settings > Categories, open that category, and check its category-level permissions for the affected group.
5. Fix it in one of two ways:
   • Remove the restriction, if the group should have access to that whole category.
   • Remove the asset from the restricted category. Use this when you restricted the category on purpose. Edit the asset and take it out of the category.
6. Ask the affected user to refresh the portal page and confirm the action buttons now appear.

Quick checklist

Need more help?

If the download or share buttons still don't appear after all four checks, contact MediaValet support.