How to Create a Media Manager User in WordPress
We had a question from a PublishPress user who wanted to create a “Media Manager” user role. Their goal was to restrict the users in this role so they could only access the “Media” area of the WordPress admin. The users would have full rights to modify any file in the media library.
A “Media Manager” user role can be very useful for anyone whose site has photographers or people responsible for uploading files. These users will not be able to edit any content or make any other changes on your site.
Because of the way that media capabilities work in WordPress, this isn't a very straightforward task, so we wrote this tutorial as a guide.
- Install the PublishPress Capabilities Pro plugin.
- Go to “Capabilities” then “Roles” in your WordPress admin menu.
- Click “Copy” under “Author”
- Enter the name for your new role.
- Click “Create Role”.
At this point, any users in the new “Media Manager” role will have limited access to the WordPress admin area. You can see that access in the image below. To complete this guide, we'll need to remove the unwanted menu links.
- Go to “Capabilities” and then “Admin Menus” in your WordPress admin area.
- Select “Media Manager”.
- Place a red X next to all the links you do not want the Media Manager to access. In the image below, I'm blocking access to “Posts” and “Comments”.
Now when you log in again as a user in the Media Manager role, you will only be able to access the Media Library. You will have full access to all the media files.
The process we outlined above will not give the Media Manager access to modify existing files from the Media Library. They will be able to upload images, but they won't be able to modify or delete them. The image below shows how many media fields will be uneditable.
You can grant Media Managers the ability to edit files using PublishPress Capabilities. I've highlighted how to do that in the image below.
- Check the “Media” box in the Type-Specific Capabilities area.
- Check the boxes in the “Media” row.
- You may also want to click the “Deletion” tab and check those boxes for “Media” also. Click here to see who can delete media files in WordPress.
Any users in the “Media Manager” role will only be able to access the “Media” area, but they will have full rights to modify any file in the media library.
Finally, I'll close by saying that media capabilities in WordPress are a little odd, but the PublishPress plugins can help you manage them. Also check out our tutorial on users having issues with editing images and our tutorial on file uploading permission. If you want more advanced options, you can create more customized access to media files or even block access on a file-by-file basis.