Member access

Updated

Member access is per document. It is not lead gating. A selected-user doc never shows the Gravity Form overlay.

Limit a doc

  1. Edit the doc
  2. Set Access to Selected users
  3. Choose Allowed Users
  4. Update

Allowed Users only appears when Access is Selected users. Anyone who can edit the doc still has access.

Public listings, search, and Explorer hide docs the visitor is not allowed to see. Anonymous visitors who open a selected-user URL are sent to sign in, then back to the doc. Signed-in visitors who aren't on the list see a message that they don't have permission to view it.

Files stay private

A Selected users doc's file moves out of the public media folder into private storage, usually within a few minutes of saving. It then only downloads from the doc, for people allowed to see it. That holds on any host, not just Apache.

  • The file keeps its place in the Media Library, and editors can still open and replace it there
  • Old links to the file send people to the doc page
  • Existing selected-user docs move on their own after the update. Nothing to do

Hub login

Send members to the hub with ?ds_docs_login=1 on the Documentation Base Page URL. Example: /documentation/?ds_docs_login=1.

That screen is titled Sign in to documentation. Gravity Forms User Registration powers the on-page form when that add-on is active. Otherwise visitors continue to the WordPress login.

After sign-in, subscribers land on the hub. The library only lists docs available to their account. A short welcome with a log out link appears above the Explorer.

Subscribers stay out of wp-admin

Members with the Subscriber role (and no post-editing capability) are redirected away from wp-admin to the hub. The admin bar is hidden for them. They still download files they are allowed to see.

Tips

  • Create the WordPress users first, then pick them in Allowed Users.
  • Link Sign in to the hub login URL from your header or the hub page.
  • Keep public manuals on Public. Use Selected users only for files that should not appear in the open library.
  • A warning that a file hasn't moved to private storage yet clears once the move finishes. Until then, share the document page, not the file link.
  • Each doc should use its own file. A doc can't serve a file that also belongs to a Selected users doc the visitor can't open.