: In this paper we present a new access control method called Granular. Granular extends traditional access control methods in order to manage XML-like documents by means of a rules set that allows easy administration of the system describing the accessed content using a suitable set of rights. One of the main novelties is the definition of closed and open authorizations, which provides a more precise way of controlling document access. It allows for an early control of possible conflicts between different kinds of accesses. Formal definitions of Granular actions and rules are presented in this paper, and the implementation of Granular is discussed.