Site roles and permissions

Content is created in the Waterloo Content Management System (WCMS) by first choosing the type of content you wish to build. Access to different Content types is dependent on your role(s) within the WCMS. Role designation as well as the permission settings of each role is determined by the site owner.

The main roles within the WCMS include:

Site owner

• Site owner role is new to WCMS 3.

• Only assignable by WCMS administrators.

• Website leads can request this role to be assigned to others on a site-by-site basis, either permanently or with an expiry date, with the expectation that there be a limited number of users assigned for the role.

• Role has no access to manage content or My Dashboard and must assign themselves a content maintainer role to create/edit content.

• Role can assign content maintainer roles to any site user, including themselves.

• Role takes on any “site config” tasks, which had been previously assigned to the site manager's role.

• Role is responsible for determining which Content types each content maintainer role can access and what level of control they have over each role. Site owners control this information on the Content access page linked in the Site management menu section on My Dashboard. The site owner must assign the site manager role to their profile in order to access this item on My Dashboard.

For more information, please review all about the Site owner role.

Content maintainer roles

Content maintainers should have only one content maintainer role assigned to their profile. The role with the highest level of permissions will override other content maintainer roles, making them unnecessary for the user. For example, if a user has a site manager role then they will have access to all of the site manager permissions. WCMS will not acknowledge if the content editor or content author roles are also applied to the same user since those roles have fewer permissions. The same would be applied to a user with a content editor role. They would not need a content author role applied since that role has fewer permissions.

•  Site manager: Create/edit, delete and publish content. This role has access to redirects, contact and profile order, as well as other specific site management tasks.

•  Content editor: Create/edit and publish content.

•  Content author: Create/edit drafts, content is saved in 'needs review' state. 

Web form roles 

Site owners are able to provide access for both roles and no longer need to submit a ticket to assign the form editor role.

•  Form editor: Create/edit, delete and publish forms and view/download form results.

•  Form results access: View/download form results. 

Miscellaneous roles

• Legacy: Applied for user management purposes. This role has no other purpose and cannot create or edit content.

The following summary shows the default settings for each role’s access to the different Content types. The site owner has authority to change these settings according to the individual's site needs. If you do not have access to a Content type, contact your site owner for permission approval. If you do not know the name of your website's site owner, email wcms@uwaterloo.ca for help.

Summary of Content type access

New to WCMS 3: Home page banner is now called a Banner image. It can be applied to any page and is no longer exclusive to site managers. Site footer and Contact content types are no longer exclusive to site managers. Audience designation is a new permission setting.

Summary of role permissions