joomla 1.6 acl - j and beyond 2011 #jab11
DESCRIPTION
Joomla 1.6 ACL explained by Sander Potjer during J and Beyond 2011. More info about ACL Manager for Joomla 1.6 on http://www.aclmanager.netTRANSCRIPT
@sanderpotjer
Joomla! 1.6 ACLSander Potjer
Sander Potjer• Co-founder of JoomlaCommunity.eu
• Organizer Joomla!Days Netherlands
• Organizer Joomla! User Groups in The Netherlands
• Company: Sander Potjer Webdesign
• Yireo/Jira ICT
• Student Architecture
Joomla! 1.6 ACL
It took a while...
• http://www.slideshare.net/JohanJanssens/drupalcon-2005-joomla-drupal-and-you-presentation
DrupalCon, October 2005Johan Janssens
• ACL = Access Control List
• Access to parts of the website– e.g. menu / module visibility– “view” action
• User actions on objects– e.g. create / edit / delete article
ACL?!
• 7 fixed Groups– Public, Registered, Author, Editor,
Publisher, Manager, Administrator and Super-Administrator
– Hierarchical structure
• User can be assigned to one group
• Unlimited Groups– user-defined– not hierarchical
• User can be assigned to multiple groups
ACL in Joomla! 1.5 & 1.6 (Access)
• 3 fixed Access Levels– Public, Registered and Special
• Fixed relation between Groups and Access Levels
• Unlimited Access Levels– user-defined
• Any combination of Groups can be assigned to any Access Level
ACL in Joomla! 1.5 & 1.6 (Access)
ACL in Joomla! 1.5 & 1.6 (Actions)
• Fixed Actions per group– Create / edit / delete /
admin access / etc.
• Permission scope for entire site– Same permission for all objects
• Permission inheritance not applicable
• http://brian.teeman.net/joomla-gps/joomla-15-acl-explained.html
ACL in Joomla! 1.5 & 1.6 (Actions)
• http://brian.teeman.net/joomla-gps/joomla-15-acl-explained.html
• Fixed Actions per group– Create / edit / delete /
admin access / etc.
• Permission scope for entire site– Same permission for all objects
• Permission inheritance not applicable
• User defined Actions per group
– Create / edit / delete / admin access / etc.
• Permission scope at multiple levels
– Site, Component, Category, Object
• Permission can be inherited
– from parent Groups and parent Categories
ACL in Joomla! 1.5 & 1.6 (Actions)
Joomla! 1.6 ACL Overview
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Joomla 1.6 ACL: User• Guest is also a
user
• Users can be assigned to one or several groups
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Joomla 1.6 ACL: Permissions• Assigned to group (not to a user!)
• 9 Actions– Site Login– Admin Login– Super Admin– Access Component– Create– Delete– Edit– Edit State– Edit Own
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Joomla 1.6 ACL: Groups
• Users with same permissions
• User can be in multiple groups
• Inherit permissions from parent groups
• Unlimited (sub-)groups
• Keep it simple! Only use nested groups if needed
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Joomla 1.6 ACL: Access Level
• Which group can view what (article, menu, module, etc.)
• Permissions are not inherited between Access Levels
• Even Super Users can not view content onfrontend
Joomla 1.6 ACL Overview
• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html
Permissions
How Permissions work
• 4 possible permission settings
– Not Set
– Inherited
– Allowed
– Denied
How Permissions work• Not set
– ‘soft’ deny– can be overridden by ‘Allowed’ or ‘Denied’
How Permissions work• Inherited
– value from a parent permission level– value from a parent user group– can be overridden by ‘Allowed’ or ‘Denied’
How Permissions work• Allowed
– action for current permission level and lower levels– action for current user group and child groups– can be overridden by ‘Denied’
How Permissions work• Denied
– action for current permission level and lower levels– action for current user group and child groups– can’t be overridden at all– always win!
Permission Hierarchy Levels
• Level 1: Global configuration – default permissions settings for actions for a group
Permissions: Global Configuration (Level 1)
Permission Hierarchy Levels
• Level 1: Global configuration – default permissions settings for actions for a group
• Level 2: Component Options – can override the permissions of Level 1
Permissions: Component Options (Level 2)
Permissions: Component Options (Level 2)
Permission Hierarchy Levels
• Level 1: Global configuration – default permissions settings for actions for a group
• Level 2: Component Options – can override the permissions of Level 1
• Level 3: Category – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2– available for components with categories (Articles, Banners, etc...)
Permissions: Category (Level 3)
Permissions: Category (Level 3)
Permission Hierarchy Levels
• Level 1: Global configuration – default permissions settings for actions for a group
• Level 2: Component Options – can override the permissions of Level 1
• Level 3: Category – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2– available for components with categories (Articles, Banners, etc...)
• Level 4: Item – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2 & Level 3– only available for articles in Joomla 1.6 core
Permissions: Item (Level 4)
Permissions: Item (Level 4)
Permission Hierarchy Levels• Level 1: Global configuration
– default permissions settings for actions for a group
• Level 2: Component Options – can override the permissions of Level 1
• Level 3: Category – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2– available for components with categories (Articles, Banners, etc...)
• Level 4: Item – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2 & Level 3– only available for articles in Joomla 1.6 core
Permission Hierarchy Levels• Level 1: Global configuration
– default permissions settings for actions for a group
• Level 2: Component Options – can override the permissions of Level 1
• Level 3: Category – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2– available for components with categories (Articles, Banners, etc...)
• Level 4: Item – can override the permissions of Level 1 & Level 2 & Level 3– only available for articles in Joomla 1.6 core
• Override permissions of higher levels only works if permission setting is not ‘Denied’!
Inheriting example for ‘Create’ action
• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/5-commentary/84-introducing-the-new-permissions-in-joomla-16.html
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/5-commentary/84-introducing-the-new-permissions-in-joomla-16.html
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Inheriting example for ‘Create’ action
• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/5-commentary/84-introducing-the-new-permissions-in-joomla-16.html
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Inheriting example for ‘Create’ action
• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/5-commentary/84-introducing-the-new-permissions-in-joomla-16.html
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Inheriting example for ‘Create’ action
Available Permissions and Levelsfor a Group of Users
Action: Edit State
Many permission screens....
ACL Manager for Joomla! 1.6
ACL Manager for Joomla! 1.6
ACL Managerfor Joomla! 1.6
ACL Manager for Joomla! 1.6
ACL Manager for Joomla! 1.6
Debug Permissions
Debug Permissions
• Turn on the ‘Debug System’ in the Global Configuration
• Go to ‘User Manager’ or ‘Groups’
• Click on ‘Debug Permission Report’ next to the User or User Group
Debug Permissions
• Need to turn ‘Debug System’ on...
Debug Permissions
So, what about the database?
Database: #__assets
Plan your ACL implementation
Describe the problem
• Most of the website is public available, specific content only for a group of users (e.g. teachers & students)
• A teacher can see content specifically for teachers, all student content and all public content
• Students can see content specifically for students and all public content
Viewing or action problem?
• Define the problem, is it a viewing problem or action problem (create/delete/edit/etc..)? Or both?
• Viewing: define the Viewing Access Levels
• Action: define the permissions for all actions
Think ahead! Maintenance?
• Structure your content properly to handle the permissions
• Make usage of parent categories with nested categories with same permissions
• No need to set permissions per article
Some Notes
User in multiple groups
• The Netherlands– Allowed on edit ‘The Netherlands’ category– Denied on edit ‘Belgium’ category
• Belgium– Allowed on edit ‘Belgium’ category– Denied on edit ‘The Netherlands’ category
• User in The Netherlands & Belgium group– Denied on edit ‘The Netherlands’ category– Denied on edit ‘Belgium’ category– Denied always win (again)– Solution: don’t use denied but not set/inherited (=soft deny)
What if I locked myself out? :-)
What if I locked myself out? :-)• No need to access your database
• Open your configuration.php and add:– public $root_user = 'username';
• You can login again and perform all actions
• Great for playing around with the new ACL
• Don’t forget to remove the $root_user line!
Practical ACL Tips
ACL Tips
• Write down your ACL requirements for a website before implementing
• Joomla 1.5 User Groups are for backward compatibility in Joomla 1.6, you may remove them!
• Use multi-nested Groups only if needed / know what you are doing(so inheriting value only between levels, not groups as well)
ACL Tips
• Assign User Group with backend access to a Viewing Access Level
• Keep flexible for lower permission levels/groups: Avoid the ‘Denied’ permission setting as long as possible
• Idea: Make a Group for each Action so you can assign actions directly to a user
Joomla! ACL, what’s next?
Main suggestions
• View as action
• END user friendly interface
• Easy overview of your entire website
• Changes directly visible (no page reload)
• ...
Joomla! ACL:Good start, it is working but needs improvements for wide adoption by
the Joomla community
Resources• http://www.yireo.com/tutorials/joomla/joomla-administration/402-joomla-16-
acls-1-marketing-group• http://community.joomla.org/blogs/community/1252-16-acl.html• http://docs.joomla.org/ACL_Tutorial_for_Joomla_1.6• http://docs.joomla.org/Access_Control_System_In_Joomla_1.6• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/5-commentary/84-introducing-the-new-
permissions-in-joomla-16.html• http://www.theartofjoomla.com/home/38-talks/101-the-joomla-16-video-
access-controls.html• http://www.aclmanager.net