Overview

Organizations often store business documents in Microsoft SharePoint while using Drupal as their employee portal, customer portal, or intranet. However, not every document should be visible to every user. Different teams, departments, or user groups require access to different content.

This use case describes how SharePoint files, folders, and content displayed on a Drupal site can be restricted and shown based on the roles assigned to Drupal users, using the miniOrange SharePoint Integration Module. Instead of exposing an entire SharePoint document library to every visitor, administrators can ensure that each user only sees the SharePoint content relevant and permitted to their role.

Prerequisites:

• miniOrange SharePoint Integration module is installed and enabled.
• The Drupal website is connected to Microsoft SharePoint.
• A Microsoft Entra ID application is configured with the required Microsoft Graph API permissions.
• Administrator access to module configuration and Drupal's People/Roles settings.
• Drupal user roles are already defined (e.g., Administrator, HR, Finance, Authenticated User, Anonymous).

Problem

Organizations often store sensitive or department-specific documents in SharePoint — HR policies, financial records, internal reports, client contracts — alongside content that's meant to be public or broadly accessible. When this SharePoint content is surfaced inside Drupal without any access control, every visitor sees the same folder structure and files regardless of who they are.

This can result in:

• Exposure of department-specific documents.
• Confusing document listings for users.
• Difficulty managing content for multiple teams.
• Manual creation of separate document pages for different user groups.

Solution

The Drupal SharePoint Integration module enables administrators to control which SharePoint content is displayed based on Drupal user roles.

Administrators can map Drupal roles to specific SharePoint folders or document libraries. When a user logs in, the module automatically displays only the files and folders assigned to their role.

For example:

• HR users can view HR policies and onboarding documents.
• Finance users can access invoices, budgets, and financial reports.
• Sales teams can view sales presentations and marketing collateral.
• Customers can access product documentation and user guides.
• Partners can view partner-specific resources and agreements.

Role-to-Folder Mapping

• Administrators select a SharePoint site and document library, then map specific folders (or the entire library) to one or more Drupal roles.
• A single folder can be mapped to multiple roles (e.g., both HR and Management can access the same "Policies" folder), and different folders within the same library can be restricted to different roles independently.
• Folders left unmapped can be configured to default to either "visible to all authenticated users" or "hidden," depending on the organization's security posture.

Role-Based Content Flow

• A user logs in to the Drupal website.
• Drupal identifies the user's assigned role.
• The SharePoint Integration module checks the configured role mappings.
• The module retrieves the corresponding SharePoint files and folders.
• Only the authorized SharePoint content is displayed on the Drupal page.
• Users can browse or download only the documents assigned to their role.

Implementation

To configure role-based SharePoint content display:

• Install and enable the miniOrange Drupal SharePoint Integration module.
• Connect Drupal with Microsoft SharePoint.
• Configure the required Microsoft Graph API permissions.
• Select the SharePoint document libraries or folders.
• Map Drupal user roles to the desired SharePoint content.
• Configure the Drupal page where SharePoint files should be displayed.
• Save the configuration and verify the role-based access.

Benefits

• Sensitive SharePoint content stays restricted to the appropriate Drupal roles, reducing the risk of accidental exposure.
• Public and internal content can coexist in the same Drupal view without manual duplication.
• Reduce administrative effort with automated content filtering.
• Improve user experience with relevant document listings.
• Manage multiple departments through a single Drupal portal.
• Keep SharePoint as the centralized document repository.

Result

The Role-Based Content Display feature enables organizations to create personalized document experiences by displaying only the relevant SharePoint content to each user on the Drupal website. This improves security, simplifies document management, and ensures users always have access to the information they need.