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FogBugz Access Levels
There are many reasons someone might need to see a case in FogBugz, and varying components of the case that should be exposed. FogBugz has three types of user accounts that provide access to the FogBugz UI: Administrator, Normal and Community users. Permissions for all users are set at the project level. Administrators will always have Modify access to all projects. Normal users may have any level of access which makes them a great way to provide varying levels of access to the entire contents of a case. Community users will only ever see cases for which their registered email address is the correspondent, and they will only ever see email correspondence.
Custom Fields also provide a way to control what fields are visible in which projects, which can add a bit of control over how fields are presented to users.
Options for Sharing Limited Case Views
Set up Normal Users and restrict them
Normal users may have any level of project access, from None through Modify. Normal users with any access to a project other than None will be able to see all of the details about a case. This makes Normal user accounts the most flexible way to manage who can see and work with cases. Your colleagues will likely have Normal User accounts, though they may also be useful for customers. For example, a Normal user account can be granted Read or Modify permissions on one project and None permissions on the other, giving them a detailed view of all the cases in the target project.
Use public ticket URL
Cases in FogBugz have a ticket URL that provides read-only access to the correspondence in a case. This is sent by default with the automated response when a case is opened by email. This is a handy way to make all of the correspondence of a case that involves the case correspondent available without requiring a user account. Anyone with possession of a ticket URL can see correspondence on the case From, To, or CCd to the email address currently configured as the correspondent of the case, as well as any other cases opened by that correspondent.
Set up an RSS feed user
Another way to share a case view is to set up a Normal user and create RSS feeds. The feeds include a signature that allows someone who can’t otherwise authenticate against FogBugz to view the feed. A FogBugz RSS feed will show when a case has been updated. The feed signature will not allow someone to see the case view. This is a great way to keep people up to date with the fact that cases have changed, though it won’t provide case details. It can work well with the public ticket URL, above.
Use a single community user account instead of multiple community user accounts
If an external user group has a single point of contact or email address, creating a single Community User account with that email address will let all users in the group share one account. They will be limited to email correspondence, though being logged in as a Community User will let them see any cases with their shared address as the case correspondent.
Build a custom portal using the XML API
The options above all have their strengths. If you need a more finely-tuned solution, there’s always the FogBugz XML API. A custom portal could use the XML API to fetch and reveal only the intended information. This is by far the most customizable option, though it also has the most overhead involved in setting it up.
Not sure which option is best for you? Please contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss it further with you!