permissions

Drupal is all about two things, content and management. Ok, so that was a cheesy one about Drupal being a CMS. But,the biggest advantage Drupal has, as I see it, over many other CMS's is both its flexibility and the number of contributions made to extend what it can do. Quite literly, there are new modules every week (RSS feed) which make Drupal do things you probably want it to do.

Herein lies the problem. Knowing what modules do, which ones to use and how to find them. If your goal is simply to allow other users to contribute content to your site with a degree of control over who can contribute, how they contribute and what the process is, then this video will get you started.

One of the most time-consuming tasks for any new Drupal site is setting up and testing what users can and can't do. This is the realm of user permissions and role permissions. I'm guessing you've visited the checkbox maze - as I like to call it.

One of the most frustrating aspects of Drupal's Permissions screen is this; with any number of roles beyond a few, and with a large collection of modules, the task of permissions management becomes quite hazardous. The potential for "accidentally" checking one little box which gives the wrong role the wrong access and allows the wrong user to do the wrong things, it's no wonder managing Drupal permissions can become unnerving.

Enter my solution to this problem. A collection of modules which extend the level of control, make it easier to focus on the permissions that matter (relative to what you're setting up at the time), and remove the visual clutter from this extensive web page.

The Situation - You've just started your new Drupal site, and you're wondering how you'll manage those thousands (hopefully hundreds of thousands) of users and what they can and can't do.

You've entered the realm of Permissions. You click on the link titled Permissions, in the Users area, and I'd like to welcome you to the "Checkbox Maze Game". You proceed to create all your roles according to the people who will be using your site. This includes your Assistant, your Junior Admin, some Moderators and various other roles. But wait...!!! Stop! Don't check that box!