Admin roles and permissions

Admin mode

Turning on Admin mode allows administrators to view the intranet with their administrator role access permissions on. An administrator with Admin mode turned off sees the intranet with their normal security permissions in place.

When a super admin enters Admin mode, they can view the intranet without any security restrictions in place. Super admins in Admin mode can see everything on the intranet, including pages that are private, posts that are set to be published in the future, and inactive user profiles.

Not all administrator roles have access to Admin mode. An administrator role can have access to the Admin panel without having access to Admin mode.

There are two Admin mode access permissions. One allows administrators to view and edit all content on the site (excluding forms). The other allows administrators to view and edit all forms on the intranet. What administrators can see in Admin mode depends on what access permissions they have been given.

Turn Admin mode on or off

Only administrators with access to Admin mode will find an Admin mode toggle in their profile menu. When Admin mode is turned on, admins can view the intranet according to their administrator permissions.

1. Click on your name or profile photo in the top right.
2. In the menu that opens, find Admin mode. The toggle next to it will show whether Admin mode is currently ON or OFF.
   
   
    
3. Click the toggle to turn Admin mode ON or OFF.

Admin mode icon

Administrator roles that have permission to view and edit all site content or all forms will have the option to enter Admin mode from their profile menu in the top right. When Admin mode is turned on, your profile photo on the right of the App toolbar displays with a colored border and tool icon to remind you that Admin mode is on.

App toolbar with Admin mode OFF and ON

Admin panel

Admin roles that have permission to view at least one admin page can access the Admin panel. To get to the Admin panel, click on your name or profile photo on the top right of any page. In the menu that opens, click Admin panel. You do not need to have Admin mode turned on to access the admin panel.

The Admin panel is where administrators can make behind-the-scenes changes that affect the look and function of the intranet and its users.

Admin panel search

If you're looking for a particular admin page or feature, type it into the Admin panel search box. The search will bring up a dropdown list of admin pages you can access that match your query. For easy reference, the search will also highlight the titles of admin pages that match your query.

In-app product announcements and notifications

Admin users will see a hand-wave icon between the search bar and their profile photo on the top right of the intranet. Click on this icon to open a menu with announcements about the latest feature releases in ThoughtFarmer. The announcements include links to find out more about the new features. When there is a new announcement, a notification badge will appear on the icon.

Admin roles

ThoughtFarmer has flexible administrator roles, giving you control over who can access what information. Different admin roles allow you to fine-tune permissions for different types of admins on the intranet. You can assign different permissions to IT administrators, HR managers, content editors and more according to your access and security needs.

There are three default admin roles:

Super admin

Super admins have full access to all administrative functions. They can see all intranet content and forms when they have admin mode turned on, and they can access all screens on the admin panel. This role cannot be deleted and its permissions cannot be edited. Super admins are the only ones who can access the Administrator roles admin screen, create and edit administrator roles, and assign users as admins.

When upgrading from a ThoughtFarmer version <11, all admins will automatically become super admins, as all admins previously had super admin permissions. There must be at least one super admin.

Content admin

By default, content admins can view and edit all site content and forms when in Admin mode. They can also access content-related admin pages, but not IT-related admin pages. This role can be edited and deleted, so the permissions on your intranet may be different than the defaults.

IT admin

By default, IT admins can access IT-related admin pages, but not content-related admin pages. They do not have access to Admin mode, so they cannot view site content and forms beyond what their user permissions allow. This role can be edited and deleted, so the permissions on your intranet may be different than the defaults.

Add admin role

Only super admins can create new administrator roles and edit the permissions of existing administrator roles. Other admins are not able to see the Administrator roles admin page.

Access permissions

Three access permission toggles control what the admin role is allowed to access. At least one access permission must be turned on.

• Allow this admin role to view and edit all site content when in Admin mode
• Allow this admin role to view and edit all forms when in Admin mode
• Allow this admin role to access the Admin panel.

Permissions to view and edit all site content or all forms only apply when an admin has Admin mode turned on. If Admin mode is off, admins will see the intranet with their normal user permissions applied.

Once Admin panel access is turned on, you can give an admin role access to specific admin pages by selecting the corresponding checkboxes.

Permission to create forms

Admin permission to view and edit forms is controlled by the access permission toggle selected when editing an administrator role. However, permission to create forms is controlled by a setting on the Admin panel: Content section > Forms page. By default, only Super admins are permitted to create forms. Visit the Forms admin page to change permissions for who can create forms. To learn more, see FormFlow admin.

Add new admin role

By default, there are three admin roles: super admins, content admins and IT admins. You can add new admin roles as needed for your organization. For instance, you could add a design admin role that has access to the Theme admin page for making adjustments to the look and feel of the intranet.

1. Go to the Admin panel: Users & security section > Administrator roles page.
2. Click Add role.
3. In the Role name field, enter a name that describes the admin role you are creating.
   
   
   
   
4. (optional) In the Role description field, enter a description of the role that will appear with the Role name on the Administrator roles and User management screens. (For example, the role description could describe the permissions that the admin role has.)
5. Turn on Access toggles for the permissions you want the new admin role to have. You must turn on at least one of the three toggles:
   • Allow this admin role to view and edit all site content when in Admin mode
   • Allow this admin role to view and edit all forms when in Admin mode
   • Allow this admin role to access the Admin panel.
6. If you allow access to the Admin panel, the Admin panel section will appear on the page. Select checkboxes to give the admin role access to specific admin screens. To select certain admin screens, you must give the admin role permission to view and edit all content or all forms using the Access toggles.
   
   
   
   
7. Click Save when you are done.

Add/edit users

1. Go to the Admin panel: Users & security section > Administrator roles page.
2. Click Add/edit users beside the administrator role you want to edit. The Users pop-up window will appear.
3. In the Add people field, start typing the name of a user you want to add. Click the name of the user when it appears in the dropdown menu. Repeat to add more names. Click Add.
4. To remove a user from the admin role, click the X to the right of their name.
5. Click Save. The user count and profile photos for the admin role will update to reflect the changes.

Edit admin role

You can edit the permissions for existing admin roles. The changes you make will apply to all users who have been assigned that admin role.

1. Go to the Admin panel: Users & security section > Administrator roles page.
2. Hover over the admin role that you want to edit and click the edit icon on the right of it.
3. Edit the admin role as desired:
   • Make changes to the Role name or description.
   • Turn toggles on or off to change access to all site content, forms and the admin panel.
   • Select or deselect checkboxes to change access to specific admin screens.
4. Click Save.

Delete admin role

Deleting an admin role will remove all users from the role and delete the role from the administrator roles page.

1. Go to the Admin panel: Users & security section > Administrator roles page.
2. Hover over the admin role that you want to delete and click the garbage can icon on the right of it.
3. In the Delete role window, click Delete to confirm. Users will be removed from the role and the role will be deleted from the administrator roles page.

Learn more:

Discover our administrator documentation with one of these topics:

• Customize your theme
• Content templates
• User management