Understanding Permission Types in restricting access to Event tickets

When creating an Event and its tickets, if you have the Soapbox user integration add on, you have the option of restricting access to tickets to logged in users. When doing so, you can choose set the Permission Type for access as either:

1. Access Level; or
2. User Group

These two options behave differently for one another and it is helpful to understand the difference.

Setting Access Level as the Permission Type for a Ticket

Access Level is the default Permission Type for a ticket. When choosing Access Level as the Permission Type, you can choose Public, Registered, or Special, depending on which type of end user you wish to be able to register using this ticket.

If you select Public, all non-logged in front-end users and logged in users can register for the ticket. This is the default value when creating a ticket.

If you select Registered, front-end logged in users in either the Registered or Special access level will be able to register using this ticket.

If you select Special, only front-end logged in users in the Special access level will be able to register using this ticket.

If a back-end user logs in to the front-end of Soapbox, they will be able to access Public, Registered or Special tickets.

Setting User Groups as the Permission Type for a Ticket

If you select User Groups as the Permission Type, you may use the dualing picklist that appears to select which User Groups should have access to this ticket. You may select one or more of either standard User Groups or custom User Groups. You can also select either or both front-end user groups of back-end user groups (e.g., Manager or Administrator).

When you use User Groups as the Permission Type, only the specific User Group(s) you choose will have access to the ticket. Unlike the Access Level option, Special users will not be able to access tickets restricted to a User Group that is assigned to the Registered Access level. In addition, back-end users logging in to the front-end will not be able to access tickets assigned to User Groups unless the Manager and/or Administrator user group has been assigned to the ticket.

As an example, let's say you have a custom User Group called Basic Member that is associated with the Registered access level. You have another custom User Group called VIP Member that is associated with the Special access level. You have a ticket for an event called "Basic Member" that is assigned to the Basic Member user group. Only logged in users with the User Group of "Basic Member" will be able to register using this ticket. VIP Members will not have access to this ticket even through they are associated with the Special access level.

As another example, you may wish to create a ticket for an event that only staff with back-end login accounts can access. To do so, you can assign the Ticket Type to only the Manager and Administrator user groups.