In a community that uses HID, access comes from access levels. An access level gives one or more doors, each on a schedule. Credentials hold the level. A Brivo group holds people, but an HID access level is held by credentials. This article tells you how to create one level and set it up. For the full access model, see *Groups, Schedules, and Access Levels*.
Before you start
- Each door on a level needs a schedule. If your community has no schedule, the page of the level tells you to create one first. See *Create an Access Schedule*.
- To create, change or delete access levels, your role needs the Access groups permission in the Doors & devices category. By default, only the Admin role has it.
Open Access Levels
1. Select Access in the navigation.
2. Select the Access levels tab.
The list shows each access level of your community, with its name and description. To find a level, type its name in Search access levels.
Create the access level
1. Select Create access level. The Create new access level dialog opens.
2. If you manage more than one community of a community group, choose the Community.
3. Type the Access level name. The name is required.
4. Optional: type a Description.
5. Select Create. The message Access level created successfully shows.
To change the name or the description later, select the pencil icon on the row. Change the text in the Edit access level dialog, then select Save.
Open the level
Select the row of the level. The page of the level shows its name, its description and the number of credentials that hold it. The Credentials panel is on the left. The Access points panel is on the right.
Give the level its doors
In the Access points panel, Current access lists the doors of the level, each with its schedule. Add new access lists the other doors of your community. To find a door, type its name in Search access points....
1. Find the door under Add new access.
2. In Schedule, select the schedule for the door.
3. Select Add.
If your role can view the hardware, each door also shows Online or Offline, from the status of its controller.
To remove a door, select the bin icon on its row under Current access. In the Remove access point dialog, select Remove. The credentials on the level then lose access to that door. You cannot undo this step.
Add credentials
1. In the Credentials panel, select Add credential. The Add credential to access level dialog opens.
2. Find the credential. The dialog shows the first credentials of your community. To find one, type at least 3 characters in Search credentials....
3. Select the credential. A credential that the level already holds shows Already added.
4. Select Add.
The credential starts to give access to the doors of the level after the change reaches the controllers.
To remove a credential, select the bin icon on its row. In the Remove credential from access level dialog, select Remove.
A credential can also get its access levels when you create it or assign it to a person. HID needs at least one access level on each credential. So you must create an access level before you can create credentials. See *Create a Credential*.
How changes reach the controllers
You do not send changes to the controllers yourself. When you add or remove a door or a credential, MyWatchtower puts the change in a queue for the controllers of the level, and a message confirms the change. The controllers can take a short time to get the change. If MyWatchtower cannot queue the change, the message says so and tells you what to do next.
Delete an access level
1. On the Access levels tab, select the bin icon on the row of the level. The Delete access level dialog opens.
2. Read the check of the dialog. The dialog counts the credentials that hold the level. It then tells you how many of them lose access. A credential that gets the same doors from another level keeps its access.
3. Select Delete. The button is available after the check is done. The message Access level deleted successfully shows.
You cannot undo a delete. MyWatchtower also removes the level from each controller that holds it.
MyWatchtower does not delete a schedule that an access level uses. The This schedule is still in use notice names the levels. On each of these levels, remove the doors that use the schedule, or add them again with a different schedule. Then delete the schedule. See *Create an Access Schedule*.
Need help?
If you do not see the Access levels tab, your community can use Brivo and not HID. Brivo communities use groups. See *Create a Brivo Group*. Your role can also be without the permission. Ask your community Admin.