Metadata navigation is not visible to users with read permissions
This is a common issue when you start using the metadata navigation in your SharePoint 2013 site, let’s check how easily you can make it available to all the users.
By default, when you create a term in the navigation term set, SharePoint selects Term-Driven Page with Friendly URL, if you leave this option selected the term will be visible only to the users with write permissions.
To fix this issue you just need to select Simple Link or Header and provide the url to the desired page.
To get access to both options you need to select the Navigation tab.
Simple Link or Header it’s more robust than Term-Driven Page with Friendly URL, it allows you to make the navigation visible to all the users and it also let you add external URLs to the navigation.
July 20, 2018
What if the settings are as above and users without write access are still unable to see the menu item?
July 27, 2018
Hi Diana,
Make sure the menu is not cached in the browser for those users.
Refresh your browser using CTRL + F5.
My best,
João Ferreira
February 14, 2019
Good Day, On my SharePoint site collection I use managed metadata navigation to apply friendly URL to the site pages. Every term is tagging and on the “Navigation” tab has the options “Show on the current navigation” and “Term-Driven Page with Friendly URL” selected. Visitors (users with read only) have read access to the term target page.
The users with “Edit” or “Contribute” permission level can see all terms on the left navigation. But the Visitors can’t see some terms.
I can’t find the difference in selected options for the available and not available terms for readers.
But if I select “Simple Link or Header” for the term, the Visitors can see it, but I can’t to set the friendly URL for it.
If I make full access crawling, some not visible terms become visible for the visitors. Another visible term become not visible for readers. The Timer Job reloading didn’t help, clearing the cache too.
I can’t understang, why some terms may become visible or not visible for user. I checked ULS logs, but didn’t find some errors.
February 14, 2019
Hi Ann,
What you are describing is a limitation of the meta data navigation, if you are using Friendly URL option the menu will not appear to users with just read permissions.
You need to define it using the option Simple Link or Header.
February 14, 2019
But if I select “Simple Link or Header” I will be able to use the full URL only in my navigation. The users prefer the short URL…
February 14, 2019
But the users prefer short URL. They don’t like to use full URL. If I select “Simple Link or Header” I won’t be able to set short URL for my page.
February 14, 2019
Yes thats right, but I don’t know any work arround for this limitation
July 7, 2019
Is it possible to target audience with Managed Navigation?
July 7, 2019
Hi John,
With metadata is not possible, to do it eyou need to use structural navigation
July 8, 2019
But with Structural Navigation , How Can I attain a third level navigation menu?
August 9, 2019
Hi John,
With structural navigation you will need to modify the master page but I don’t recommend you to do it.
Structural navigation is well know to cause performance issues, the deeper you go in the number of items slower your site will be.
The article below have Microsoft Considerations about the navigation types.
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Navigation-options-for-SharePoint-Online-adb92b80-b342-4ecb-99a1-da2a2b4782eb?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
July 29, 2019
Thanks for replies,
Maybe it will be useful for somebody. I found the workaround. To see all terms, the user must be able to add the elements to list. So I created new Permission Level and named it “Site User” for my site collection. And gave to it the ability to add elements to List. Otherwise this new level is like standard “Reading” level.
And I gave this Permission Level to All.
August 9, 2019
Hi Ann,
Thanks for this information, really appreciate it.