Different levels of Admin users? [was Please make a suggestion for this?]

Hi

I originally came to the modx site, cause I was looking for a base to build a site on. Modx seemed to have been more than I wanted (in some good ways as well), so I’m currently only mainly using it as a framework, for the templating engine, and the fact that I can build snippets and use it in the site. The SEO stuff is also very helpfull.

I have a question though, and maybe I can get some clarity on this.

For my site, I want to have different levels of - let’s call it admins. There should be a general site admin, aka root user. Not me. This user must be able to only access the site from the frontend, but his permissions must be that of a root user. I want him to be able to:

1. create /edit / delete pages
2. create / edit / delete / suspend / unsuspend users
3. be able to create / modify / remove forms, be it as a simple contact form, or a more complex form. Something like phpform
4. He must be able to create / modify / assign groups, permissions and roles.
At the end of the day, the site will have 4 / 5 different user levels. First the root user, then I want a 3 admin levels, and then the guyst user. The admin level can do also add / edit / remove users, but only those belonging to their group.
5. I want the admin to be able to backup / restore the DB - even if he only could have access to some, less dangerous tables.
6. He should be able to change / add / edit site templates


So, basically I want to have a root user, who doesn’t have access to the /manager side, but still do almost everything I can.

Then, is it possible to have more than one signup form, but each one with different fields & requirments. And then, when a user signs up, he automatically get’s put into a group?

The site will be a portal type of site, where you can post exhibitions, services, and venues. But those who post venues, should be the "bosses" of those posting services and exhibitions. And then you also get exhibit master’s, who should be the bosses over those who post venues, as well as those posting services and exhibitions.

Does this make sence

All the things you want your Admin user to do are done from the Manager, not the front-end. All control is done via roles. Examine the options available when creating a new role.

Content is managed via manager user groups and document groups. A document’s content can include chunks, snippets and TVs, as well as HTML tags and text. A manager user assigned to a given manager user group which is connected to a given document group will be able to access all documents assigned to that same document group.

You can also set chunks and snippets so that only users with Role 1 can edit them, thus protecting them from being changed by users assigned to other roles. So you could create another role with all the permissions, but if you set a chunk containing a form to only allow role 1 to edit it, users with the second role would not be able to change it, although they could still use its tags in a document.

I understand all of that.

But, what I want to achieve, is for people to do these things from the frontend. I don’t want anybody using / accessing the manager section.

Maybe I should ask the different q’s that I have:

1. How difficult would it be to setup different roles / groups for the frontend?
2. Would it be possible to have three different signup forms, each one with different requirements?
3. Could it be possible (either via plugin / module / hack) to have an option to create documents / pages / content from the frontend?


Maybe some / all of these can be accomplished, one way or another?

You’d have to get inspiration and tweak the "DeletePage" snippet. It allows a logged in manager user to delete a page that they created
http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php/topic,1263.msg38948.html#msg38948

Maybe you’ll be able to tweak this to perform other actions and allow web users to perform them... Just an idea, check with developpers if this is a feasible one or not, I wouldn’t vouch it is...

I created a suite of snippets and modifications for another cms which provided this exact functionality which I am porting over to modx, but at the moment I am still getting a feel for how to interact with the modx api. Many parts of the system I put together are already present in the modx code, so I’ll have to see which bits I need to alter and which are not needed at all...

The mod allows:
1. member management - (is totally seperate from eto but configured from the manager or frontend) this is the biggest feature which would need overhauling.

2. Registered members can add documents to the database which can be set to be automatically published or set to await validation by a back end manager. You can allow them to use an RTE or just a textarea.

3. Folder management - you can set which folder a particular set of users can add documents to.

4. You can set it to send an admin an internal mail to notify them there is a listing that was published or that it needs validation before pubishing. It also has the option to show a preview of the content in the mail.

5. Members can reset their password from a front end control panel type page only accessible to members. Adding other features to this panel was in the works, like allowing them to edit their own postings and edit their personal info.

Theres way more but those are the main things I need to get done first as I need to port the Scout site I built over to modx and it uses the system I put together. I’ll be putting this together and when I get it at least working with modx I’ll post so you guys can help me test it

breezer, this is a VERY good news.

A lot of people are awaiting this kind of module/plugin (it’s not a hack of the core, is it ?), myself included.
The features you list are just plain great, I can’t wait to beta test this one !

Thanks for the update, we’ll stay tuned

Breezer,

This does look very exciting. I can’t wait to see it. This functionality looks very good.

Chuck

The mod does not affect any core files at all, as I built it all in snippets and chunks last time so I figured I better stick to what I know for now.

So far all I have is two rough snippets which (1)shows the users profile info (2) allows them to create a document from the front end.

(1) They can edit their profile fields, and I am using the comment area as a bio - signature -whatever, with the option of using an RTE (tinymce so far) or standard textarea to edit the comment field.

(2) Basic document creation but needs another 75% to be usable. I’m sure that once it gets a bit further along and I get a better understanding of the tools offered by the modx core development will go a bit faster.

Would you care to share some examples, maybe for a beta tester?

Breezer, thanks for the update

This is great news