Permissions problems after migration from 1.9 to 3.2

Sometimes the ACL permissions do not seem to be working after migration from 1.9 series.  This may also occur if you need to re-install.

Most times the ACL problem does not occur but when it does the symptom is that the ACL permissions are not cascading correctly through the categories. It appears to be related to the sequence in which  categories and downloads were created or deleted.

The following is a simple procedure to set the Joomla! ACL permissions back to a known state after migrating. The ACL permissions control which User Groups are able to Download, Edit and Create new Downloads and so on. It may also occur if for some reason you have to uninstall and then re-install jDownloads 3.2 or 2.5 series.  This situation occurs if you retain the existing database and files

This procedure will not help with Joomla! system errors such as 
Error message: 403  forbidden You don't have permission to access /administrator/index.php on this server.
The source of these problems is much more diverse!

Attention!This note only affects users with Joomla! 3.4 and older releases of jDownloads.    Prior to jD3.2.28 this procedure didi not work with Joomla! 3.4 because a new 'Save Shield' has been included in the Joomla! core. A solution for jDownloads has been found and is included in jD3.2.28 and later.  You need to update to the latest jD release.  Colin 26 March 2015.

There are three simple steps to resolve the problem:

  1. Use the Option button on the jD Control page to change the permissions for all User Groups that are to be used for either Downloading or Uploading
  2. Use jDownloads Tools to take a database backup.
  3. Use jDownloads Tools to restore the database.

1.Use the Options button

  Go to the jDownloads Control Panel and click on the Options button on the tool bar

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Setting the Permissions

Set the permission2 required for each user group that is to have either Download permission or the desired combination of Create, Delete, edit, Edit Own and Download permissions for 'Uploader' user groups. Do a Save after setting all the required actions to Allowed for each user group.  This is to be able to check the actual computed permissions as they do not change instantly.

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Do a final Save & Close - just in case you missed one of the earlier 'Saves'.

  
2 Taking Database Backup

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This will create a file called something like "backup_jdownloads_v3.2.29_date_2015-03-26_12_42_11_.txt" that is downloaded to you PC.  Save the file in a suitable location as it will be needed in the next step.  The 'Saving' process is relatively short.

  

Restoring the Database

The actual work in setting the 'Permission' is done during this restoration, so restoring takes much longer than saving.

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First browse for the backup

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After browsing migration08

After completion of 'Restore'. migration09

The Monitoring log should look something like the one opposite.      migration10

  

 The Permission will now be set such that they are Publically downloadable.  More importantly they are now set to be able  to cascade downwards. If you are using a more complex scheme then you will need to change the permissions in the Options to Inherited and then set them on the top level categories.

 It is suggested you look at article Access Controls and User Group Permissions to set up a more sophisticated 'download scheme' if it is required.

 Colin Mercer 26 March 2015 V2

 

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