Member Groups: Manage User Permissions
Submitted Mark, Nov 20 2009 11:04 AM | Last updated Feb 14 2011 01:38 PM
What is a Permission Set?
A Permission Set controls which forum a user can see and post in - it also expands to addons - for example, in IP.Gallery, it controls which categories a user can see and upload image to.
By default, each user group is linked to one permission set - and the permission set of the group that the user is in is what is used.
However, you can override a user's permission set or assign more than one permission set to a group.
Managing Permission Sets
You can see, edit and create new permissions by going to Admin CP --> Members --> Manage User Permissions.
This page will list all of your permission sets and also shows which group(s) use them, and how many members have been manually overridden with that permission set (you can click on the number to see which members specifically).
You can edit or delete a permission set by choosing the appropriate options from the dropdown - note that you cannot delete a permission set that is in use by any member or user group.
To create a new permission set, choose the permission set you wish to base it on from the dropdown at the bottom and then press "Create".
The set you choose will not actually affect the new set, it will simply provide the default permissions for setting up the new set, you can configure these as you choose.
The Permissions Matrix
When editing or creating a permission set you will see the Permissions Matrix - a large table of checkboxes.
The tabs at the top of the matrix represent the applications installed on your community. For example, the "Forums" tab allows you to configure permissions for forums, the "Gallery" tab allows you to configure permissions for categories in IP.Gallery if you have it installed, etc.
The columns in the matrix represent the permission. For example, when configuring forum permissions:
Show Forum specifies forums which the set can see
Read Topics specifies in which forums the set can read topics
Reply Topics specifies in which forum the set can reply to topics
Start Topics specifies in which forums the set can start a topic
Upload specifies in which forums the set can add an attachment
Download specifies in which forums the set can view attachments.
You can use the buttons at the top to give the permission to, or take it away from, all rows in a single click.
The rows in the matrix represent the item you're giving permission to. For example, when configuring forum permissions, there is a row for each forum.
You can use the buttons at the top to give all permissions to, or take them away from, the row in a single click.
Overriding a Member's Permission Set
To override a member's permission set means that that you will manually specify a permission set for them to use - and the permission sets specified by their user group will have no effect.
To do this, go to Admin CP --> Members and search for the member you wish to override permissions of. Then select their name, go to the "Posting & Access Restrictions" tab. The first setting allows you to override their permission mask - you may specify more than one.
Multiple Permission Sets
If, under any circumstance, a user is using more than one permission set (either their group has more than one, or they have a secondary group which uses a different set to their primary group, or they have been manually overridden with more than one set) then the better permissions are used.
A Permission Set controls which forum a user can see and post in - it also expands to addons - for example, in IP.Gallery, it controls which categories a user can see and upload image to.
By default, each user group is linked to one permission set - and the permission set of the group that the user is in is what is used.
However, you can override a user's permission set or assign more than one permission set to a group.
Managing Permission Sets
You can see, edit and create new permissions by going to Admin CP --> Members --> Manage User Permissions.
This page will list all of your permission sets and also shows which group(s) use them, and how many members have been manually overridden with that permission set (you can click on the number to see which members specifically).
You can edit or delete a permission set by choosing the appropriate options from the dropdown - note that you cannot delete a permission set that is in use by any member or user group.
To create a new permission set, choose the permission set you wish to base it on from the dropdown at the bottom and then press "Create".
The set you choose will not actually affect the new set, it will simply provide the default permissions for setting up the new set, you can configure these as you choose.
The Permissions Matrix
When editing or creating a permission set you will see the Permissions Matrix - a large table of checkboxes.
The tabs at the top of the matrix represent the applications installed on your community. For example, the "Forums" tab allows you to configure permissions for forums, the "Gallery" tab allows you to configure permissions for categories in IP.Gallery if you have it installed, etc.
The columns in the matrix represent the permission. For example, when configuring forum permissions:
Show Forum specifies forums which the set can see
Read Topics specifies in which forums the set can read topics
Reply Topics specifies in which forum the set can reply to topics
Start Topics specifies in which forums the set can start a topic
Upload specifies in which forums the set can add an attachment
Download specifies in which forums the set can view attachments.
You can use the buttons at the top to give the permission to, or take it away from, all rows in a single click.
The rows in the matrix represent the item you're giving permission to. For example, when configuring forum permissions, there is a row for each forum.
You can use the buttons at the top to give all permissions to, or take them away from, the row in a single click.
Overriding a Member's Permission Set
To override a member's permission set means that that you will manually specify a permission set for them to use - and the permission sets specified by their user group will have no effect.
To do this, go to Admin CP --> Members and search for the member you wish to override permissions of. Then select their name, go to the "Posting & Access Restrictions" tab. The first setting allows you to override their permission mask - you may specify more than one.
Multiple Permission Sets
If, under any circumstance, a user is using more than one permission set (either their group has more than one, or they have a secondary group which uses a different set to their primary group, or they have been manually overridden with more than one set) then the better permissions are used.
Example of multiple permission sets
Charles is a member on a community about pets. He is in the Members user group, which uses the Member Forum Set permission set. The Member Forum Set has access to the General Chat forum, but none of the specific pet forums.
Charles owns a cat, and so the administrator makes the Cat Owners user group one of Charles's secondary groups. The Cat Owners group uses the Cat Owners Forum Set permission set which has access to the Cat Owners forum. Charles now has access to both the General Chat forum, and the Cat Owners forum.
Charles is a member on a community about pets. He is in the Members user group, which uses the Member Forum Set permission set. The Member Forum Set has access to the General Chat forum, but none of the specific pet forums.
Charles owns a cat, and so the administrator makes the Cat Owners user group one of Charles's secondary groups. The Cat Owners group uses the Cat Owners Forum Set permission set which has access to the Cat Owners forum. Charles now has access to both the General Chat forum, and the Cat Owners forum.
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