====== Album Permission Status ======

Administrators can forbid access to albums for users using //permissions//. Albums can be //public// or //private//. Permissions can only be set for private albums.

Prior to Piwigo 2.2, //albums// were known as //categories//. This is just a change of name and the concept and functionality remains exactly the same.

=== Editing permission status ===

The first step is to make the desired albums private. You have two ways of switching the album from public to private:

  - by editing a single album: [Administration > Albums > Manage > edit]
  - by setting options to your whole album tree: [Administration > Albums > Public/Private]

=== Default status ===

At creation an album can be public or private depending on configuration and parent album:

  * status = ''$conf['newcat_default_status']'' if the parent album is //public//. This configuration parameter must be set in the ''include/config.inc.php'' file.
  * status = //private// if the parent album is //private//

=== Status modification rules ===

When editing album access status, automatic rules are applied :

  * if status goes from //public// to //private//, all child albums become //private//
  * if status goes from //private// to //public//, all parent albums become //public//. We are not talking about cousins, but parents to the root of albums.

=== Example ===

Let's have an example, shown in next screenshots. At beginning, all albums (categories on screenshots) are public:

{{en:user_documentation: permissions_example_1.png |At beginning, all albums are public}}

Then you decide to set {animals >> cat} (the selected album above) to //private//

{{en:user_documentation: permissions_example_2.png |All children albums become private}}

All children albums become //private// automatically. Then, you decide that {animals >> cat >> 8 weeks} must in fact be //public// :

{{en:user_documentation: permissions_example_3.png |All parent albums become public}}

All parent albums become //public// automatically. The parent albums of {animals >> cat >> 8 weeks} are {animals >> cat} (previously //private//) and {animals} (which was already //public//)

==== Users permissions ====

Permissions are managed by group or by user. For a private album, permissions tell whether the user (or users belonging to the group) can view the album.

=== Administration screens ===

Two screens let you modify permissions :

  * [Administration > Users > Manage] : for a given user, click on the //permissions// icon, you will then see the list of all private albums separated in two boxes: authorized on the left and forbidden on the right.

  * [Administration > Users > Groups] : for a give group, click on the //permissions// icon, you will then see the list all private albums the same way as for users.

=== Permissions Rules ===

Here follows a list a rules used:

  * for a group or a user, forbidding an album makes all child albums forbidden
  * for a group or a user, authorizing an album makes all parent albums authorized 
  * for a group, authorizing an album makes this album authorized to all members of the group (same effect for parent albums thanks to previous rule)
  * a user can reach a private album if he's authorized to **or** if he belongs to any group authorized to reach the album
  * denying a user from a group makes the user lose all authorizations won by belonging to this group
  * a new user has no permission