Understanding User Groups and Access Levels in Soapbox Engage

Overview

Soapbox Engage uses User Groups to control what registered users can access and manage on your site. When a user is assigned to a group, they inherit the permissions associated with that group.

The appropriate User Group depends on whether the user only needs access to restricted content on the front end of your site or needs permission to create, edit, or manage content.

Your site may also include custom User Groups in addition to the standard groups described below.

Front-End User Groups

Registered

Registered users can log in to the front end of your site and access content available to Public or Registered users.

This group is commonly used when visitors need an account to access restricted resources, such as member-only content.

Registered users do not have permission to create or edit site content.

Author

Author users have additional front-end access and can submit content.

Authors can:

• Submit new content.
• Edit their own content after it has been published.
• Select publishing dates and other available publishing options when submitting content.

Content submitted by an Author must be reviewed and published by a user with the appropriate permissions.

Editor

Editor users can create and edit content from the front end of the site, including content created by other users.

Editors can also access and edit unpublished content. However, they cannot publish content or change its publishing status.

Publisher

Publisher users have the highest level of front-end content management access.

Publishers can create, edit, and publish content, including content created by other users. They can also review unpublished content and change its publishing status.

Administrator User Groups

The following groups provide access to the Soapbox Engage administrator.

Manager

Manager users can log in to the administrator and manage site content. Their administrative access is more limited than an Administrator.

Managers can perform content-related tasks such as managing articles, sections, categories, menus, and other available content settings. They do not have access to areas such as user management, components, modules, or plugins.

When accessing the front end of the site, Managers have permissions similar to a Publisher.

Administrator

Administrator users have broader access to the Soapbox Engage administrator.

In addition to the content management permissions available to Managers, Administrators can:

• Access the User Manager to manage users.
• Delete forms and other content available within their level of access.
• Access additional administrative settings that are not available to Managers.

Administrators do not have access to certain system-level configuration options reserved for Soapbox Engage staff.

Super Administrator

Super Administrator access is reserved for Soapbox Engage staff and is not assigned to customer users.

Choosing a User Group

When assigning a User Group, consider what the person needs to do within the site and provide the level of access appropriate for those tasks.

For example, someone who only needs access to member-only content may only require Registered access, while a staff member responsible for managing site configuration may require Administrator access.

If your site uses custom User Groups, the permissions for those groups may differ from the standard groups described above.