Question

I'm having some problems with allowtopicview.

• In short I have a publicly accessible twiki which requires authentication and uses SessionPlugin. *& all of my files statements in .htaccess are require-valid user
• I cp'd view to viewauth
• removed view from the .htaccess file

• this works fine.

• I updated TWikiGroups with the PrivateGroups which has
• a set GROUP = EricAiken, TracyCrain
• I created a TWikiWeb called Private and set the ALLOWWEBVIEW =

   Main.PrivateGroup 

• This works fine.

• I created a topic in the Private TWiki and put the
• set ALLOWTOPICVIEW = Main.EricAiken
• set NOSEARCHALL = on

• The intent is, this is viewable only by me., However TracyCrain can view this file.

• any suggestions?

Environment

-- EricAiken - 02 Mar 2004

Answer

It looks like the Private Group access control at the web level is overriding the topic view setting/access control. Vaguely remember something in TWiki documentation about this. Perhaps if you work with the Preferences Control Settings in your TWikiPreferences topic that might help. Other CODEV type people will no doubt have better suggestions. And lastly is Tracy Crain a member of the Super Admin group or TWiki Admin group - if so she will have view access privileges anywhere on the twiki. I'm sure you would have thought of that already though. Sorry for stating the obvious.

-- SueLocke - 19 May 2005

Another datapoint, in case the above doesn't help. I had something similar... I was using ALLOWTOPICVIEW and ALLOWTOPICCHANGE in a couple topics in a public web. While I was able to view/change OK; no one else could. Realizing that I was in the Admin group and could do view/change anything; I created a bogus user to test with. I added this guy to the ALLOW variables and could edit/view. But my real users could not, no matter if they were defined in the group added to the ALLOW settings or individually. Hmmmm sez I....

Long story short, I use convenience variables for people's names; for example, %FZ% would expand to FrankZappa (makes editing topics easier). I have these variables set in TWikiPreferences. I used these variables in the group definition. I was also using them in the ALLOW settings. BUT... apparently they don't get expanded before the authorization takes place. So, FrankZappa is getting compared to Main.%FZ% (so say the logs), and it fails.

I replaced the variables with UserName in the group definition (as well as where non group members are allowed ALLOW access) and all appears to be OK.

-- SteveAnthony - 16 Aug 2005