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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, letting you 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 the role 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's)
  • 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

Viewer

  • Read-only access to the 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 the Members card
  3. Click the Invite button
  4. Enter the email address of the person you want to invite
  5. Select the role (Admin — Max plan only, Member, or Viewer)
  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 member list with a Pending badge until they are accepted. Invitations expire after 7 days and are removed automatically, and can be reissued if needed.

Managing Project Members

Viewing Members

On 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 members who are online)
  • Pending invitations

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

Changing Member Roles

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

  • Make Admin — Visible only when the project owner has the Max plan
  • Make Member
  • Make Viewer

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 member list
  2. Click the ⋮ menu next to the name
  3. Click Remove
  4. Confirm the action

Important: Removing a member immediately revokes access to the project and all of 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 members dropdown (only active members are listed)
  4. Type the project name to confirm
  5. Click Transfer Ownership

After the 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 removed
  • Storage usage is rebalanced between the subscriptions

Important: Ownership transfers cannot be undone. The new owner must have capacity in their plan for the 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 messages: Messages appear instantly for all online members
  • Auto-scroll: The chat scrolls automatically to new messages when you're at the bottom
  • New message indicator: If you scroll up to read old messages, a notification button appears to quickly return to the most recent message
  • Relative timestamps: Messages show when they were sent (e.g., "just now", "5 min 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, Viewer) can read and send messages in the chat
  • Message deletion: Users can delete only their own messages
  • The chat preserves the message history, so new members can see previous conversations

Real-Time Collaboration

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

  • Online indicators: See which members are currently active (pulsing green dot)
  • Instant updates: When someone joins, leaves, or changes role, everyone sees it immediately
  • Display name updates: If a member changes their display name in settings, the change is reflected across all 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 demoted 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 main project manager or lead
  • Admin: For team leads who need to manage members and settings (requires the Max plan)
  • Member: For active contributors who create and edit content
  • Viewer: 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 role needed (principle of least privilege)
  • Use the Viewer 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! The person receives 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 removed automatically from the system, and can be reissued if needed.

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

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, you need to upgrade.

Q: What happens to Admins if the owner downgrades from Max? A: Existing Admins are demoted to the Member role. New Admins cannot be added until the owner upgrades to Max again.

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

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