> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.courses-plus.com/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Private Communities

Unlike **free** or **public** communities, customers do not have access to private communities by default, nor can they purchase access as they would for paid communities. **Private communities** allow customer access to be granted in two ways:

1. Tag-based access
2. Manual invitations

### Setting Up Tag-Based Access

To enable tag-based access, follow these steps:

1. Create a private community and open it for editing.
2. Scroll down to the **Tags** section and enter the tag(s) in the *Tag-based access* text field.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/image_1ver18b.png)

3. Save the community.
4. Assign the tag(s) you specified earlier to the customer(s) you want to grant access to the community.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/image_1iqpprx.png)

All customers with the specified tag(s) will then automatically gain access to this private community.  
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### Setting Up Manual Invitations
To manually invite customers to a community, follow these steps:

1. Create a private community.
2. On the communities page, use the actions dropdown to select the **Invites** option, or open the community for editing and click **More actions** > **Invite members** in the top-right corner.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/screenshot-2024-11-18-at-11195_d0i0p8.png)

3. On the Invites page, click the **Invite members** button. If no members have been invited, this button will appear at the center of the page; otherwise, it will be located in the top-right corner.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/screenshot-2024-11-18-at-11203_1c2h9i0.png)

4. Enter the required email addresses, separated by commas or spaces (you can copy and paste them from Excel or Google Sheets), and click **Invite** to start the import process.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/screenshot-2024-11-18-at-11214_gpekdr.png)

The import process will run in the background, allowing you to perform other actions within the admin panel or storefront.  

The merchant can monitor the progress of the import process. If necessary, click **Cancel** to stop the import. Already imported members will remain listed in the table.  
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### Managing Members

**Invites** page includes a table with all manually invited community members. You can:  

- Sort by invite date.  
- Search for members by first/last name (if available) or email.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/screenshot-2024-11-18-at-12044_1wrp5jz.png)

To revoke access for specific members:  

1. Select members in table.
2. Click "three dots" icon.
3. Choose  **Revoke access** option.

This action will immediately remove  selected members' access to the community.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/3aea62344d5c9200/screenshot-2024-11-18-at-11240_1tro0ac.png)
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### Important Notes

- If provided emails do not correspond to existing shop customers,  app will automatically create a customer record for them and send an email invite to join  shop.  
- Disabled customer accounts will still receive an invitation.  
- Only one import process can run at a time. While importing members to one community, you cannot start an import for another.  
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