Located in People > Permissions, the Observer role allows users to audit a workspace in which they do not actively participate. The following applies to Observers:
- will not see any workspaces they are Observers in in their workspace list
- cannot be subscribed to discussions, files, etc. in the workspace
- cannot be assigned to tasks or milestones in the workspace
- can access the workspace and it's contents via search, or recent activity feeds.
Here's a scenario in which the Observer role could be used:
Your Engineering department might not need to participate in the Sales department workspace and their names would unnecessarily clutter the notifications section when Salespeople create new discussions, tasks, etc. Also, the Engineers might not like getting sent email notifications from Sales Discussions in which they couldn't or shouldn't participate. However, on occasion, the Engineers do need to access the Sales workspace to remain informed.
Making a member an observer
To make a member an Observer in a workspace navigate to People > Permissions, and check the "Observer" box next to any desired users.
Accessing workspaces as an observer
Since the Observer role is intended for members to audit a workspace, the workspace is not visible under the Workspaces drop-down menu by default. However, Workspace Administrators can make a workspace visible to Observers by changing this setting under the workspace General Settings. This setting can be accessed by navigating to the workspace Settings > General Settings.