Seating Types

Seating types in your intranet

Seating defines the level of access a user has to your intranet. By assigning the right seating type, admins can make sure every employee has the access they need — without wasting licenses or creating unnecessary complexity.

What is a seat?

A seat is a license that determines whether a user can log in to your intranet and access its features. Your organization has a set number of seats, some of which may already be assigned to users while others remain available. Keeping track of how seats are distributed helps ensure resources match the actual needs of your workforce.

Types of seats

Happeo currently supports the following seat types:

• Seated: Users with full access to Happeo features and integrations.
• Unseated: Users who cannot log in or access Happeo’s features.
• Deskless (deprecated): A legacy seat type that restricted Google Workspace integrations.

🔎 For a broader look at how seat allocation works, see Seats Overview.

Seated vs. unseated

• Seated users: These users enjoy full functionality, including creating and contributing to channels, editing pages, and using integrations like Google Drive, OneDrive, SharePoint, Gmail, etc. They form the core of your intranet, keeping collaboration and content flowing.
• Unseated users: These users remain in the directory but have no access to Happeo. This option is useful for retaining user records or keeping certain accounts inactive without removing them entirely.

By balancing seated and unseated users, admins can keep licensing costs predictable while ensuring active contributors are never blocked.

Deskless users (deprecated)

The Deskless seat type was originally created for Google Cloud Identity users who lacked access to Google Drive. Assigning this seat would hide all Drive-based functionality from Happeo to avoid confusion.

Now that most Cloud ID users have Drive access, Seated is the recommended option. Assigning a Deskless seat to a user with Drive access will still remove Drive integrations from Happeo, limiting their ability to:

• Use channel folders, calendars, or widgets.
• Access Google Drive widgets or file lists on pages.
• See Google Calendar events in page widgets.
• Search across Gmail, Drive, or Calendar.

Because of these restrictions, Happeo has deprecated the Deskless option. While existing Deskless users can remain in place, it’s no longer recommended to assign this type.

How to manage seat types

Admins can adjust seat types for individual users:

1. Click your avatar in the top-right of your intranet’s main navigation.
2. Go to Admin Settings > User Management.
   Click the three dots next to a user.
3. Select Permission management.
4. Uncheck Inherit permissions and seating settings from the organizational unit.
5. Choose the seat type (Seated or Unseated) and click Save.

Managing seat types this way ensures admins can respond quickly to organizational changes, such as onboarding or offboarding.

When to use each seating type

• Seated: Default for employees who actively collaborate in Happeo.
• Unseated: For users who should remain in the directory but without intranet access (e.g., suspended accounts or contractors no longer active).
• Deskless: Legacy only. Keep for users who genuinely cannot use Google integrations, but avoid assigning it to new users.

Related topics

• Seats Overview: See how your seats are allocated across the environment.
• User Types and Statuses: Understand how user roles and statuses work alongside seat types.
• Seat Cap: Learn how to set limits on seat usage.

FAQ

General

What’s the difference between a seat and a user type?

A seat determines whether a user can log in and access Happeo, while a user type (such as Admin, Viewer, or Author) defines what that user can do inside the platform once they have access. 

Can I see how many seated vs. unseated users I have?

Yes, the Seats Overview in Admin Settings shows a breakdown of total, assigned, reserved, and available seats, along with user statuses.

 🔎 See Seats Overview.

Seated & unseated

What happens if I change a user from Seated to Unseated?

The user immediately loses access to Happeo and its integrations. They remain listed in your environment but cannot log in until reassigned as Seated.

Can unseated users be invited to channels or pages?

No. Since unseated users can’t access Happeo at all, they cannot join channels, view pages, or interact with any content.

Seat management

Who can change a user’s seat type?

Only Happeo admins can assign or change seat types, via Admin Settings > User Management > Permission management.

Do changes to seat type take effect immediately?

Yes. Once saved, the user’s access updates right away — either granting full access (Seated) or removing it (Unseated).

Troubleshooting

I can’t change a user’s seat type.

• Make sure you are a Happeo Admin — only admins can adjust seat types.
• (Google): Check if the user is inheriting permissions from an Organizational Unit (OU). If so, uncheck Inherit permissions and seating settings before assigning a new type.
• If the option is still unavailable, verify whether your seat cap has been reached in the Seats Overview.

A Seated user still can’t log in to Happeo.

• Confirm their Google Workspace, Entra, or Okta account is active and synced. Suspended accounts in your identity provider can’t access Happeo, even if Seated.
• Refresh the sync by clicking Update from Directory in User Management.
• If the problem persists, try unseating and reseating the user.

Unseated users are showing up in search or directories.

• This may happen if they’re still synced from your identity provider. To fully remove visibility, suspend the account in your provisioning source (Google, Entra, or Okta).

I can’t invite a new user. The invite button is disabled.

• Check if there are enough available seats. Invitations reserve a seat, so you can’t invite if none are free.
• If auto-seating is disabled, add more seats in Seats Overview before inviting.
• If auto-seating is enabled, review the Awaiting list to see if seats are being reserved for other pending users.