Overview
There are many reasons for allowing someone to see a case in FogBugz. To satisfy these varying needs, different components of a case can be exposed. This article provides brief information about FogBugz access levels and options for allowing limited case access.
Information
FogBugz Access Levels
FogBugz has three types of user account that provide access to the Fogbugz UI, namely Administrator, Normal, and Community users.
Permissions for all users are set at the project level. Administrators 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 content of a case. Community users only see email correspondence for the cases that their email addresses are registered as correspondent.
Options for Providing Limited Case Access
Restricting Normal Users
Normal users may have any level of project access, which makes them the most flexible way to manage who can see and work with cases. Usually, your colleagues have Normal User accounts, but this type of user may also be useful for customers. You may grant Normal users different access levels for various projects. In one project, Normal users can be granted Read or Modify permissions that allow them to view all the cases on that project, while in another project, they can be denied access by setting permission level to None.
Using Public Ticket URL
Cases in Fogbugz have a ticket URL that provides read-only access to the correspondence in a case. This is sent with the automated email response that is triggered when a case is opened. Anyone with possession of a ticket URL can see the correspondence on that case, as well as any other cases opened by the same correspondent. This is a handy way to make the correspondence of a case available to someone without requiring a user account.
RSS Feed User
Another way to share a case is to set up a Normal user and create RSS feeds. The feeds include a signature that allows someone who cannot otherwise authenticate against FogBugz to view the feed. A FogBugz RSS feed shows when a case has been updated. The feed signature will not allow someone to see the case view. This is a great way to notify people about the changes in a case, though it will not provide case details. It can work well together with a public ticket URL.
Single Community User Account
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.
Custom Portal Using XML API
You can create a custom portal that uses the XML API to fetch and reveal only the intended information. This is by far the most customizable option; however, it takes more time and effort to set up when compared to the other options.