Back to Documentation

Projects and Members

What are Projects?

Projects in Sutram are collaborative workspaces where teams can organize and manage content items together. Each project has its own set of members with different permission levels, allowing you to control who can view, create, or manage content.

Project Roles

Sutram has four distinct roles for project members, each with specific permissions:

Owner

  • Full control over the project
  • Can manage all project settings
  • Can invite, remove, and change roles of any member
  • Can archive or delete the project
  • Can transfer ownership to another member (via Settings → Projects)
  • Note: Each project has exactly one owner

Admin

  • Can manage project settings
  • Can invite and remove members
  • Can change member roles (except the owner)
  • Can create and manage all content items
  • Cannot delete the project or transfer ownership
  • Requires the Max plan — The project owner must have an active Max subscription to invite or promote members to Admin

Member

  • Can create and edit content items based on permissions
  • Can view project information
  • Can collaborate with other team members
  • Cannot manage project settings or invite others

Reader (Viewer)

  • Read-only access to content items they have permission to view
  • Cannot create or edit any content
  • Cannot invite others or change settings
  • Ideal for stakeholders who need visibility without editing rights

Inviting Members to Your Project

As an Owner or Admin, you can invite new members to join your project:

  1. Navigate to your project's home page
  2. Click on the Members card
  3. Click the Invite button
  4. Enter the email address of the person you want to invite
  5. Select their role (Admin — Max plan only, Member, or Reader)
  6. Choose the invitation language
  7. Click Send Invitation

What happens after sending an invitation?

  • Existing users: They receive an email in the selected language with the invitation link
  • New users: They receive an invitation email with a link to join. When they accept the invitation, a new account is created on the Basic plan.

The invited person will receive an email containing:

  • Information about who invited them
  • The project name
  • A link to accept the invitation and join the project

Pending invitations appear in the members list with a Pending badge until accepted. Invitations expire after 7 days and are automatically removed.

Managing Project Members

Viewing Members

In the Members page, you can see:

  • All active project members
  • Their display names and email addresses
  • Their current roles (indicated by colored badges)
  • Online status indicators (green dot for online members)
  • Pending invitations

Use the search box to quickly find members by name or email.

Changing Member Roles

Owners can change member roles via the ⋮ (three dots) menu:

  • Make Admin — Only visible when the project owner has the Max plan
  • Make Member
  • Make Reader

Changes take effect immediately and all online users will see the update in real-time.

Note: Admins can manage other members (invite, remove) but only the Owner can promote members to Admin.

Removing Members

Owners and Admins can remove members from the project:

  1. Find the member in the members list
  2. Click the ⋮ menu next to their name
  3. Click Remove
  4. Confirm the action

Important: Removing a member immediately revokes their access to the project and all its content items.

Transferring Project Ownership

Owners can transfer ownership via Settings → Projects:

  1. Find your project in the list
  2. Open the dropdown menu and select Transfer Ownership
  3. Select the new owner from the member dropdown (only active members are listed)
  4. Type the project name to confirm
  5. Click Transfer Ownership

After transfer:

  • The previous owner becomes a regular Member
  • The new owner gains full control
  • The project's API key is revoked
  • Webhooks and Autodesk credentials are cleared
  • Storage usage is rebalanced between subscriptions

Important: Ownership transfers cannot be undone. The new owner must have capacity in their plan for an additional project.

Project Chat

Every project includes a dedicated chat feature for real-time team communication and discussions.

Using the Chat

  1. Navigate to your project and click the Chat card
  2. Type your message in the text box at the bottom
  3. Click Send or press Enter to post your message

Chat Features

  • Real-time messaging: Messages appear instantly for all online members
  • Automatic scrolling: The chat automatically scrolls to new messages when you're at the bottom
  • New message indicator: If you scroll up to read older messages, a notification button appears to quickly jump back to the latest
  • Relative timestamps: Messages show when they were sent (e.g., "just now", "5 mins ago", "2 hours ago", "3 days ago")
  • Message deletion: You can delete your own messages by clicking the three-dot menu next to them
  • User identification: Each message shows the sender's display name and profile picture

Chat Permissions

  • All members (Owner, Admin, Member, Reader) can read and send messages in the chat
  • Message deletion: Users can only delete their own messages
  • The chat preserves message history, so new members can see past conversations

Real-Time Collaboration

Sutram uses real-time technology to keep everyone in sync:

  • Online indicators: See which members are currently active (green pulsing dot)
  • Instant updates: When someone joins, leaves, or changes roles, everyone sees it immediately
  • Display name updates: If a member changes their display name in settings, it updates across all their projects instantly

Plan Requirements for Roles

Most roles are available on all plans. The Admin role requires the project owner to have the Max plan.

If the project owner downgrades from Max, existing Admins are downgraded to the Member role.

For a detailed comparison of plans and features, visit sutram.io/en/plans.

Best Practices

Choosing the Right Role

  • Owner: Only for the primary project manager or lead
  • Admin: For team leads who need to manage members and settings (requires Max plan)
  • Member: For active contributors who create and edit content
  • Reader: For stakeholders, clients, or team members who only need read access

Project Organization

  • Create separate projects for different initiatives or clients
  • Use meaningful project names and descriptions
  • Regularly review and update member access
  • Remove members who no longer need access

Security Tips

  • Only invite people you trust to your projects
  • Assign the minimum necessary role (principle of least privilege)
  • Use the Reader role for external stakeholders
  • Regularly audit your project members

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I invite someone who doesn't have a Sutram account? A: Yes! They receive an invitation email. When they accept, a new account is created on the Basic plan.

Q: What happens to pending invitations? A: Invitations expire after 7 days and are automatically removed from the system.

Q: Can a project have multiple owners? A: No, each project has exactly one owner, but you can have multiple Admins with similar permissions (Max plan required).

Q: Why can't I invite or promote someone to Admin? A: The Admin role requires the project owner to have the Max plan. If you don't see the Admin option, the owner needs to upgrade.

Q: What happens to Admins if the owner downgrades from Max? A: Existing Admins are downgraded to the Member role. No new Admins can be added until the owner upgrades back to Max.

Q: Can members see each other's email addresses? A: Yes, all project members can see the email addresses of other members in the Members page.

Q: What happens when ownership is transferred? A: The previous owner becomes a Member, the API key is revoked, webhooks are removed, and storage is rebalanced between subscriptions.

Back to Documentation