Confused about Joomla users requesting/posting events

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

Hi:

I still don't know if i'll use the Joomla Studio or the wrapper thingy, but my concern is now in the user access permissions. I understand Joomla->Thyme authentication and it works, but what i need is:

1) Any Anonymous/Guest visitor that visits my Joomla site, should be able to go to the Thyme Calendar and view all the events, but not request nor post. I see no problem here.

2) Any Joomla registered user will be able to go to the Thyme Calendar & Events and request an event but not to post directly.

3) Some of the Joomla registered users i want to allow them to post directly. I don't care if i have to group them in Joomla or in Thyme(i mean specifying each of the users i want to give direct posting permission)

Can this be done? Right now i only see 2 Member types: Public and Registered but i cannot add a new member type called for example "Posters". To my understanding, setting "Registered Users" access level to "Normal", will allow any of my Joomla users getting into the Thyme calendar, to post events, and that is not what i want. Again, i want to allow posting only to some of my Joomla users.

Thanks in advance,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Hi Nicolas,

If you should be able to add a group called 'Posters' in Admin -> Groups. You can then add any Joomla user to that group from tthe same place by clicking on the Members button for that group. The Thyme auth module does not use Joomla's user types. It has it's own Public and Registered Users. Which really means the same thing in both; users that are not logged in or do not have an account and users that are logged in.

You do not have to use a group at all if you don't want to. On the Members tab of each calendar you can add specific Joomla users.

Let me know if you have any questions at all.

Guest · Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 1:24 pm Post subject:

Hi Ian. Thanks for your prompt and detailed reply Wink

However, my question still remains unanswered, i think.

Can I or can i not have 2 types of Registered Users?

1) First type would be any user registered in Joomla(no need to add them again in Thyme. They would be authenticated logging in Joomla). These users would be able to view and to send event requests.
2) Second type would be the ones that can as well post events directly(no need of admin approving these events). If i create a group called "Posters" as you suggest, how do i set it so the users i included in this group, get to post events directly?

In the scenario i will be neediong to have, the vast majority of my Joomla registered users will be just viewing the information about events and venues in their city(one calendar for each city) to decide which event they are interested in going to(i.e a concert). If they know about an event that is not listed there, they could send an event request. Since anybody can create a user account, i want to investigate the truth or consistency about this new event they are telling me about before actually publishing it.

Then, some of these registered users, once i would have identified them as event organizers/venues organizers, and making sure that they have used at least one "request event" without trouble, i want to allow them post events directly.

I hope i am clear and that i am not asking for something impossible here.
Cheers,
Nicolas

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

Hi, that was me...sorry. I hadn't logged in.

Thanks,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Ahhh.. ok. I see.

Out of the box, Thyme can not do this. Event requests are based on access level to the calendar. E.g.

Normal members can add events
View Only members can submit event requests

- or -

Normal members can submit event requests
View Only members can only view the calendar

In both cases, Admin members may add events directly.

However, your scenario can be done with some modifications....

For each calendar:

1) Set up event requests in 'Normal' mode on the Event Requests tab of the calendar.

At this point, any user or group specified as 'View-Only' on the members tab of the calendars will only be able to view the calendar. Any user or group speicified as 'Normal' will be able to submit event requests. So...

2) Add 'Public' as a member on the Members tab with 'View-Only' access. Add 'Registered Users' with normal access.

Now comes the part where you want to allow some registered users to add events to some calendars. What I suggest you do is add those people to the Members list of the calendars with 'Admin' access. You may instead create a group called 'Posters' and add that group as an admin to each calendar. That may be easier.

This will allow them to post events directly. The down side is that they may also manipulate the calendar's properties. I'm assuming them being able to modify the calendar is not desireable. To get around this:

3) Add this to the top of modules/calendars/register_module.php after <?php:

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

it does make a lot of sense, yes.

I have tested the setup you suggest and added that line in the script. Everything seems to work as i would expect: posters(users added for that calendar as admins) can post but, they can also edit and delete any event, even events they have not created. This is something i want to avoid.

I want Posters(admins) to be able only to edit or delete the events they have created. Can a quick modification accomplish this?

To be honest(and i am just thinking out loud now)...Ideally i will also wish i could have yet another user type/group that would behave much like the admins originally do. I would call them i.e: Moderators Since i will have many calendars, and some of them of cities and in languages i will not understand, i will need to nominate somebody that speaks the language, a moderator of that calendar. He would be able to edit or delete events that posters might have posted, eventhough he/she(the moderator) was not the creator of the event.

Cheers and thanks again,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Ok, remove the line from that file. I'm going to come up with something else.

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

cool, let me know what other option i have for accomplishing this, since it's a must have in my plans.

Cheers,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Are you using the Zend or IonCube encoded version of Thyme?

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Hi smeallum,

I've modified some of the source for you. Download this zip file. It contains class.access.php. Upload it over the existing file in include/classes in Thyme's folder. Don't forget to upload in binary mode.

Next create your Posters group. It must be named Posters. If a calendar contains the Posters group in it's members list with an access level of 'Normal', anyone in that group will be allowed to post events directly.

Let me know if you have any questions / problems.

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

Thanks a lot Ian for the mod.

Unfortunately it didn't work here. Maybe i forgot something. Here is what i did:
First, of course i removed the line that i had changed in /modules/calendars/register_module.php

1) In Admin > Calendars > Event Requests > I set it to "Normal"
2) I created a group called "posters" and added 2 of the Joomla recognized users in this group
3) In Admin > Calendars > Members > I added group "posters" with access level set to "Normal"
3) I tested it

Conclusion:

a) Guests can only view -> OK
b) Joomla Registered users can submit event requests -> OK
c) BUT: The 2 users i had added to the "posters" group still get the Event Request forms when clicking on the + sign, and the event they post is pending for admin approval.

Also, i was thinking...if this mod would actually work, i think that since it only allows for grouping all posters(independently of calendar) in one big group each poster would have posting rights in the rest of the calendars, and that is something i want to avoid.

Also, what about a poster editing or deleting events that he hasn't created? I don't want to allow this.

Hope my requirements make any sense, and that it's something not too out of the agenda Wink

Cheers,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Hi smeallum,

Basically this would require a rewrite of quite a few things. You want a 3rd access level allowed that can only do event requests. This moves things out of the quick rewrite and into the custom development area. I could implement this for a custom development fee. Or if you feel up to it, I will gladly tell you what needs to be changed/added.

Let me know.

smeallum · Joined: 17 May 2006 Posts: 177

Hi Ian,

Tell me first what would needto be changed/added. I am ok with working on this mod myself, as long as it's something that it makes it to future versions so anybody can benefit and so i can update my installation in the future without losing the mod.

For me(i am still testing Thyme) this is a must have.

It's ok for me if this 3rd access group can send event requests, but most important, they must be able to post events directly in the calendar they are assigned to, and be able to edit or delete events(but just the events they have posted themselves).

Let me know. You can email me directly if you prefer. Cheers,
Nicolas

esoft_ian · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 5275

Naa.. we can do it here so that other people can see. Just in case someone else wants to make the same mod. Configuring event requests per member rather than access level makes perfect sense and will be included in the next version.

1) In modules/calendars/members_tpl.php, change the $acls = ... line to be: