Simple Role Editor

Edit user roles and their capabilities with a simple visual interface. Add or remove permissions from existing roles, create custom roles for your specific needs, and reset roles if something goes wrong - all without touching code.

Use Cases#

• Remove the ability for Authors to delete their published posts
• Let Editors access the theme customizer without full admin access
• Create a “Support Staff” role with specific capabilities for your team
• Give Contributors the ability to upload media files
• Lock down Subscriber capabilities for tighter security

How It Works#

1. Select a role from the dropdown
2. Check or uncheck capabilities to add or remove them
3. Save the changes
4. All users with that role immediately gain or lose those capabilities

Where to Find It#

Go to Switchboard → User Management and find the Simple Role Editor module. Click the settings icon to open the role editor interface.

The Role Editor Interface#

Role Selector#

At the top, a dropdown lets you pick which role to edit. The dropdown shows each role’s name and how many users currently have that role.

Capability Search#

Use the search box to quickly find specific capabilities. Helpful when you’re looking for something specific among dozens of capabilities.

Capabilities List#

A table showing all available capabilities:

• Enabled capabilities appear at the top with a blue highlight
• Disabled capabilities appear below
• Check a box to enable, uncheck to disable

The counter shows “X of Y capabilities enabled” for the selected role.

Managing Roles#

Editing an Existing Role#

1. Select the role from the dropdown
2. Find the capability you want to change (use search if needed)
3. Check the box to enable, uncheck to disable
4. Click Save Settings at the bottom

Creating a New Role#

1. Click Create New Role button (top right)
2. Enter a Role ID (slug) - lowercase letters, numbers, underscores only
3. Enter a Display Name - what users will see
4. Optionally, choose a role to copy capabilities from
5. Click Create Role

Resetting a Role#

Click Reset to Default to restore a WordPress default role (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to its original capabilities. This is useful if you’ve made changes and want to start fresh.

Deleting a Custom Role#

Custom roles (ones you’ve created) show a delete button next to the dropdown. Click it to remove the role. You can’t delete default WordPress roles or roles that have users assigned.

Common Capability Changes#

Let Authors Upload Media#

Enable: upload_files

Let Editors Manage Users#

Enable: list_users, edit_users

Prevent Authors from Deleting Posts#

Disable: delete_posts, delete_published_posts

Give Contributors Publishing Rights#

Enable: publish_posts

Let Subscribers Edit Their Profile#

Already enabled by default (read), but you might add edit_posts for limited content access.

WordPress Default Capabilities#

Administrator (all capabilities including):#

• manage_options - Access Settings menus
• install_plugins, activate_plugins - Plugin management
• switch_themes, edit_themes - Theme management
• edit_users, create_users, delete_users - User management

Editor:#

• moderate_comments - Approve/reject comments
• manage_categories - Create/edit categories
• edit_others_posts - Edit any user’s posts
• publish_posts, edit_published_posts - Full post control
• unfiltered_html - Use any HTML in posts

Author:#

• upload_files - Use media library
• edit_published_posts - Edit own published posts
• publish_posts - Publish own posts
• delete_posts - Delete own posts

Contributor:#

• edit_posts - Create and edit own drafts
• delete_posts - Delete own drafts
• Cannot publish or upload files

Subscriber:#

• read - Read content (required for login)

Safety Features#

Warning Banner#

A red warning appears at the top reminding you that incorrect capability changes can break your site. Always test changes carefully.

Can’t Lock Yourself Out#

Be careful not to remove manage_options from all Administrator accounts - you could lock yourself out of Switchboard settings.

Reset Option#

If you mess up a default role, the Reset button restores original capabilities.

FAQ#