# Roles Used in Settings
Many configuration settings restrict a feature to members of a role — the setting's name usually ends in Role (for example DeDuplicationRole or ArchiveMatterRole). This page describes the general rule these settings follow, and the exceptions to it.
# General rule
- Leave the setting empty: everyone can use or see the feature.
- Enter a role name: only members of that role can use or see the feature. Members of the Administrators role get no automatic access beyond what the role grants — for almost all Role settings, access follows the configured role exactly.
# Exception 1 — Administrators always keep access
For a small number of settings, members of the Administrators role keep access to the feature even when the setting restricts it to a different role. This cannot be turned off for these settings:
| Setting | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| VisibleRole (Activity section) | The Activities tab on a contact's or matter's details screen. Does not apply to the Activities entry in the home screen's quick search — that one fully respects the setting, including for Administrators. |
| VisibleRole (Matter section) | The Matters tab on a contact's details screen. Does not apply to the Matters entry in the home screen's quick search — that one fully respects the setting, including for Administrators. |
| DeDuplicationRole (Contact section) | Access to the duplicate-detection screen. |
| BillingInstructionsEditorRole (Contact section) | Editing a contact's billing instructions. |
| CreateRole (Matter section) | Creating a new matter for a contact. |
# Exception 2 — an empty setting means "Administrators only", not "everyone"
For the following settings, the general rule is reversed: leaving the setting empty does not open the feature to everyone — it restricts it to the Administrators role. Administrators always have access to these regardless of the setting's value.
| Setting | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| HideContactsWithContactTypeExcludeRole (Contact section) | Bypassing the contact-type visibility filter configured in HideContactsWithContactType. |
| UpdateServiceVisibleForRole (Web Services NL section) | Visibility of the update service action. |
# Exception 3 — an empty setting switches the feature off
For the following settings, leaving the setting empty does not open the feature to everyone and does not fall back to Administrators either — it switches the feature off for everyone, including Administrators. Enter a role to turn the feature on for that role's members.
| Setting | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| ArchiveMatterRole (Matter section) | Editing a matter's archive date/number. Left empty, editing is disabled for everyone. |
| ImportChamberOfCommerceRegistrationVisibleForRole (Web Services NL section) | Visibility of the Chamber of Commerce registration import action. Left empty, the action is hidden from everyone. |
Every other Role setting not listed above follows only the general rule: empty means everyone, a role name means only that role's members — with no automatic exception for Administrators, and no automatic switch-off either.