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What are sub-directories
Your directory is every person you have access to communicate with — for most users, this will be all employees or recipients synced or uploaded into Workshop. Sub-directories allow admins to define more targeted segments, meaning you may only have access to the people that are relevant to you.
A sub-directory is simply a defined subset of people that you can communicate with in Workshop — for example, by region (United Kingdom, Northwest, Branch A), department (Sales, Marketing), or business division. Sub-directories determine which people a user can see, build lists from, and send messages to.
With sub-directories, teams can build lists and send communications to the right audience — without admins having to manage permissions one list at a time. Instead of setting access on every individual list, you organize people into sub-directories and grant users audience access at that level. Any lists created within a sub-directory are automatically scoped to only contain the relevant people.
Create a sub-directory
Only Admin users can create sub-directories.
Sub-directories are created from the Manage → Directory page and allow you to define a specific group of employees that users can communicate with in Workshop.
To create a sub-directory:
Navigate to Manage in the top navigation.
Select Directory.
Click the Actions button.
Choose Create directory.
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Select the employees you want to include:
Choose one or more lists, or
Select individual employees directly.
Save your new directory.
Once created, the directory becomes available to assign to users via user permissions.
Manage a sub-directory
Admins and Full access users can view sub-directories from the Manage → Directory page. From here, you can filter the main directory view to see a specific sub-directory and the employees within it.
Filtering by sub-directory
Navigate to Manage in the top navigation.
Select Directory.
Use the directory filter to select a specific sub-directory.
This updates the page to show only the employees included in that sub-directory.
Editing a sub-directory (Admins only)
When an Admin selects a sub-directory, a gear icon appears. This icon allows them to manage that sub-directory.
To edit a sub-directory:
Go to Manage → Directory.
Filter down to the desired sub-directory.
Click the gear icon.
Update the lists that define the sub-directory.
Save your changes.
Sub-directories are powered by the lists assigned to them. Editing those lists will update which employees are included in the sub-directory.
Important behavior to understand
Changes only affect which employees belong to that sub-directory.
Existing lists that were previously created (and may include employees outside the sub-directory) will still be visible and available to send to.
However, users scoped to that sub-directory will no longer be able to add employees outside of their directory to new or existing lists.
In other words, historical access remains intact, but future list edits are limited to the sub-directory’s employees.
Deleting a sub-directory (Admins only)
Admins can delete a sub-directory from the same gear icon menu.
When deleting a sub-directory:
If the sub-directory is assigned to any users, the Admin will be prompted to assign a new sub-directory to those users before deletion can be completed.
Once deleted, the sub-directory and its scoping rules are permanently removed.
Deleting a sub-directory does not delete employees or lists—it only removes that directory structure and its associated access boundaries.
How sub-directories extend permissions
Sub-directories build on top of your existing role-based permissions. What a user can do depends on both:
Their role (Admin, Full access, Limited access)
The directory access they’ve been granted
Below is how each role behaves with sub-directories.
Admin permissions
Admins have full control across all directories.
Directory access
Can create, manage, and assign any directory.
Have access to All employees and all sub-directories.
Creating lists
All newly created lists (manual or automatic) are associated with All employees directory.
Can see and edit all lists across all directories.
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When editing a list associated with a sub-directory, they are currently restricted to adding people from that directory.
If uploading a CSV, people outside the directory will be ignored.
To add someone, they must first be included in the directory.
Importing people
New people added via CSV are placed into All employees directory.
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To include someone in a sub-directory:
Add them to All employees.
Update the sub-directory configuration accordingly.
Full access permissions
Full access users have broad visibility but slightly more restrictions than Admins.
Directory access
Have access to All employees directory and all sub-directories.
Cannot create or manage sub-directories.
Creating lists
All new lists are associated with All employees directory.
Can see and edit lists across all directories.
When editing a sub-directory list, they can only add people from that directory.
Cannot add new people directly into a sub-directory via list upload.
Importing people
New people added via CSV are placed into All employees directory.
Can update all people and attributes.
Cannot explicitly add new people to a sub-directory via upload.
Limited access permissions
Limited access users are scoped to one directory (or none).
Their experience depends on which directory they have access to.
If they have access to “All employees” directory
They inherit the same list management abilities as a Full access user (if granted list management permissions as well).
If they have access to a specific sub-directory
Can see all lists associated with that sub-directory.
Can only create lists from people within their directory.
When editing a list, they can only add people who already exist within that directory.
Importing people
Can only add or update people who already exist within their directory.
Cannot add new people.
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Cannot update any field that determines directory membership.
Example If a directory is powered by an automatic rule based on Office location, a limited access user cannot update the Office location field for anyone in that directory.
How sub-directories work with permissions
Sub-directories work alongside your existing permissions — especially:
Can they send emails / text messages
Who can they send to
Can they manage lists
These permissions combine to determine what someone can see, create, edit, and send.
How “who can they send to” permission works with sub-directories
The “who can they send to” permission may function independently of directory access.
For example:
If set to Only some, a user may be given access to select specific lists — even if those lists contain employees outside their assigned sub-directory.
Important:
This does not change the employees inside their directory.
It does not expand their directory access.
It only extends which lists appear in their sending index.
In other words, it affects sending visibility, not directory membership.
How “Can they manage lists” works with sub-directories
The Can they manage lists permission must be enabled for a user to create or edit lists.
When sub-directories are applied to a Limited access user:
They can only create lists that include people from their assigned directory.
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They can manage:
All lists created within their sub-directory, and
Any additional lists they’ve been explicitly granted access to send to.
They cannot add employees from outside their directory to any list.
They are restricted from editing the list that defines or manages the sub-directory itself.
This ensures that directory boundaries remain intact, even if other permissions (like sending access) are expanded.
Creating lists with sub-directories
List association now depends on user role and directory access.
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Admins & Full access users
New lists are associated with All employees.
When editing sub-directory lists, additions are limited to that directory.
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Limited access users
New lists are associated with their assigned directory.
Can only add people who exist in that directory.
Automatic lists always scope to the directory they are associated with.
Importing and updating people with sub-directories
CSV behavior depends on role.
Admins & Full access
New people → added to All employees
Must configure directories separately
Cannot directly upload new people into a sub-directory
Limited access
Cannot add new people
Can only update people already in their directory
Cannot modify directory-defining attributes
If a CSV includes people outside the permitted sub-directory:
Those people records will be ignored.
The user will be notified of which people records are ignored and can download a CSV of all of those people.
Sharing with sub-directories
Sharing behavior is largely unchanged.
User and group visibility
The user index is not scoped by directory.
Users can search and see all users and groups in the company.
When creating a group, any company member can be added.
Sharing to “All company” grants access across directories.
Sharing items (emails, journeys, campaigns)
Any user can share with any Workshop user.
If a limited access user is granted access to an item that includes recipients outside their directory:
They can view those recipients within that shared item.
They cannot export recipients outside their directory via the UI.
Export remains restricted to their directory access.
Sharing grants one-time contextual visibility, not expanded directory access.
Sending with sub-directories
Sending behavior remains mostly unchanged. The key change applies to limited access users.
If a limited access user:
Has access to a directory
Has permission to send emails (whether to one list or all)
Then:
Sub-directories now define the boundary of who they can directly target. They can send to any individual person within the directory they have access to.