WordPress File Manager Plugin (CMDM) - Users - Access Permissions

Access Permissions Settings

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After installing the WordPress File Manager Plugin, the admin can quickly and easily change the access permissions to specify which users can view and download the files in the downloads manager. 

The admin can also restrict access to downloads based on user roles. For example, you could allow only users who are also editors to submit downloads. Or, you could limit the viewing of downloads to those users who have logged in. 

To adjust the access permissions settings, first, navigate to the Access and Moderation tab in the plugin settings.

The options under the Access section are:

• Who can add new downloads - You can specify which users will have access to the dashboard for uploading new files. The permissions list is: 
  • Logged-in users
  • Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities
  • Users from specific CMDM user groups
• Who can view downloads - You can specify which users will have read-only access to downloads. The permissions list is: 
  • All users (including guests)
  • Logged-in users
  • Only author
  • Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities
  • Let download author decide
  • Users from specific CMDM user groups
  • Users from specific WP roles
• Allow only admin to view subscriber's downloads - Enable this option to restrict viewing subcriber's downloads - so, only admin can see all downloads. Every subscriber can see only his own downloads and noone's else.

• Upload options for Subscribers - Define the list of allowed permission options that subscribers can choose while adding a new download. Important: this option works only if Let download author decide is chosen in the option Who can view downloads. Note: this option was introduced in version 4.4.7.

  

• Allow admin to delete files even if he can't edit it - If on some reason your admins don't have enough rights to edit subscriber downloads, they still can be able to delete these downloads by enabling this option. Note: this option was introduced in version 4.4.5.
• Who can use preview and use media player - Specify which users can have permission to preview files and use media player (even if all users are allowed to view the download page). The permissions list is:
  • All users (including guests)
  • Logged-in users
  • Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities
• Who can download files - Specify which users can download files (even if all users are alloed to view the download page). The permissions list is:
  • All users (including guests)
  • Logged-in users
  • Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities
  • Users from specific CMDM user groups
  • Let download author decide
• WP capability required to edit other users' downloads - Specify which WordPress capability will allow users to edit the other user's downloads. By default it's only admin with manage_options capability.
• Who can approve new uploads - Specify which users will have permission to approve new files.  The permissions list is:
  • Users with "manage_options" capability
  • Users from specific CMDM groups (Warning: if you choose this option, the users in this group must have the capability edit_others_posts)
• Who can use "Browse WP upload dir" on the upload page - Specify which users will have permission to use the server-side file browser when adding or editing a file. The permissions list is:
  • Logged-in users
  • Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities
  • Nobody
• Inherit parent's access restrictions in subcategories - If enabled, the subcategories without own access restrictions will inherit the access settings from the parent category. Warning: this option is in the beta mode and some restricted documents can be still listed in widgets and included in counters.
• Allow users to create categories - If enabled, users will be allowed to create new categories on the Upload Page.
• Use the custom WP page for the Access Denied view - If enabled, users which have no access to the resources will be redirected to the custom Wordpress page "Access denied" which you can customize. The page will be created automaticaly.
• Access denied custom page - Select page to be opened (via redirect) once visitor restricted to view download page. The options are:
  • Access denied custom page
  • Site home page
  • Site login page

More detailed about options in the permissions lists:

• All users (including guests) - Even anonymous users will be able to perform the action. Note that, if you want anonymous users to be able to add downloads, you require the Download Manager Anonymous Posting Add-on.
• Logged-in users - The user has to be registered to the site in order to view the download.
• Only author - Only the author of the download and the admin have access.
• Users with edit_posts / publish_posts / manage_options capabilities - The user has to be of a certain role in order to view the download. Learn more: General Support - WordPress - WordPress User Roles
• Let download author decide - Every time authors create a download, he/she will be able to choose the permission (see below)
• Users from specific CMDM user groups - If you choose this option from the dropdown menu, you can then select which user groups have that specific permission. 
• Users from specific WP roles - If you choose this option from the dropdown menu, you can then select which user roles have that specific permission.

Creating Categories

Below the admin can allow users to create their own download categories on the upload page. Additionally, the admin can opt to use the custom WordPress page for the "Access Denied" view. 

Permissions For Each Category

It's possible to restrict certain roles from adding, editing and deleting files for each category. To do this, simply edit the relevant category. Check the specific guide for more information.

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