Great question! Here’s a detailed answer regarding Monday.com permissions and default item values:
1. Is there a limitation that team members cannot edit default item values even if the team is the board owner?
Yes and no.
In Monday.com, board ownership grants broad control over the board settings and permissions, but item-level default values are not a distinct permission entity.
Default item values usually refer to either:
Column default values (set by board admins in column settings), or
Automation-based default values that populate new items.
Team ownership of a board means all members of that team have the owner rights collectively, but individual member permissions still apply based on their role (e.g., member, viewer, editor).
Typically:
Board Owners can change column defaults and automation rules.
Members with Edit permissions can edit items and their values.
But if someone is only a member without edit rights, they cannot modify item values, default or otherwise, even if the team owns the board.
2. So can a team, as an owner, restrict individual members from editing default values?
Ownership at the team level does not automatically grant all members equal editing rights.
Permissions are managed per user, not per team ownership.
For example, a team might own a board, but individual users can still be assigned “View Only” or limited editing permissions.
3. If such limitation does not exist, why might editing default item values not work?
Possible reasons why members can’t edit default item values even though the team owns the board:
User permission settings: Individual users might not have “edit” rights on the board.
Column permission restrictions:Monday.com allows setting column permissions, e.g., some columns can be locked or restricted to certain roles.
Automation rules: Automations might be resetting values after edit attempts.
Interface confusion: Default values apply only when creating new items, not retroactively; members might expect to edit defaults on existing items.
Cached settings: Occasionally, UI glitches or cached permission states can cause unexpected behavior.
Summary:
Team ownership = control over board settings but does not override individual member permissions.
Members must have editing rights to change item values, default or not.
Check individual user roles and column permissions to ensure members can edit.
Consider automation rules or board settings that might reset or block edits.
If you want, I can help you troubleshoot your specific Monday.com board setup—just share details about roles, permissions, and what you’ve tried!
The security in this case seems a little unintuitive. The whole reason for teams, in my mind would be to allow the administrator to have less to manage when it comes to access. Now in this case it seems we have to manage individuals.
I did hear back from Monday support who said
Yes, you do have to be a board owner to set the item default value. I would recommend either setting the default yourself or making the individual a board owner.
