Option for Admin to temporarily view forum as a different user

[Ludachris]

As an admin, it's not always easy to troubleshoot issues with how the forum is displaying buttons and content to various usergroups in certain parts of the site without logging out and logging in to an account with specific usergroup permissions. Even analyzing permissions in the ACP doesn't help sometimes. It would be nice to have a front-end option to temporarily view the site using a specified username, to help see what that user sees in all the public areas of the site (not conversations, for example). Maybe have a sticky bar at the top or bottom that allows the admin to get out of that mode when they're done.

There is an add-on that allows you to do this, but I'm hoping this request gets consideration as core functionality.

 

[Alvin63]

Could you just set up a spare standard account and then log out and log into the spare standard account?

 

[Ludachris]

Could you just set up a spare standard account and then log out and log into the spare standard account?

Yep, that's what I've always done. But you have to go and ensure all the permissions match the user in question exactly each time, and that changes for each user you're troubleshooting for. That whole process becomes pretty tedious, and sometimes you get the permissions wrong, hence the suggestion.

 

[Hoffi]

This function is called "impersonating" and is a common functionality in many professional softwares. Votes Up.