View only permission level for communication site

Question

I am trying to disable download option for documents in a library in a communication site.

But I can not see restricted view permission level. Is there any way to enable it in a communication site?

Answer 1

Solution: Activate “SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features”

The “View Only” permission level allows users to view content and restrict Create/edit/download of documents from the site (documents can be opened in the browser, however). Have you ever needed to give someone view-only permissions on a SharePoint Online site or list and noticed that this permission level is missing from the SharePoint Online roles? Well, This is because the “SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features” is not active! This feature is not active on Modern group sites, so the “View Only” permissions level is missing by default in SharePoint Online. Follow these steps to activate the feature:

1. Login to your SharePoint Online site collection as a site collection Administrator
2. Click on Settings gear >> Site Information >> View all site settings
3. Click on “Site Collection Features” under “Site Collection Administration”
4. Click on the “Activate” button next to “SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features”
5. On the Site settings page, click on the “Manage site features” and activate the SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features at the site level as well.

That’s all! Now you should see the “View Only” permission level on the site.

Source: https://www.sharepointdiary.com/2021/08/sharepoint-online-view-only-permission-level-missing.html

Answer 2

You will need to activate the SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection feature to enable the View Only permission.

To do this:

1. Go to your communication site
2. Select the cog on the top right of the page and select Site Settings
3. Select "Site Collection Features" in the "Site Collection Administration" section (requires Site Collection Administrator permission).
4. Activate "SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features" from the list.
5. The View Only permission level should now be available.

Answer 3

There was a way in classic SharePoint server sites to prevent downloading files by granting "View only" or "Restricted Read" permissions to users. But, these permission levels are not available in communication sites by default.

So, you need to activate SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features feature in your communication site to get View only permission level.

Check this article for more information: Prevent Contributors from Downloading SharePoint Content

Similar thread: To prevent the ability to download files for read-only users (Visitors group), check my answer at: How to add users to the Viewer role in a communications site to prevent the ability to download files?