Sharing Private Sites in Omeka S

Overview

I had the opportunity to share a private site in Omeka S, so this is a personal note for future reference.

Related Modules

First, I checked the following module.

https://omeka.org/s/modules/Guest/

The above also introduces the Guest Private module, and I asked ChatGPT about how to differentiate between them.

Here is an explanation of the differences between the Guest module and the Guest Private module in Omeka S.

1. Guest Module

• Adds the guest role, allowing users to register as guest users.
• No access to the admin panel.
• Login, logout, registration, password update, etc. are possible via API.
• Only public sites are viewable (private sites and private pages cannot be seen).
• Use case: Register general users on a public site and provide login functionality.

2. Guest Private Module

Adding this module provides two additional roles:

(1) guest_private_site

• Can view public sites + private sites (however, private pages and private resources cannot be seen).
• Use case: When you want to make the entire site private while granting specific users permission to view the site.

(2) guest_private

• Can view public sites + private sites + private pages + private resources.
• Use case: When you want to show specific content, including private resources, only to authorized guest users.

Question: I want to allow only specified users to view a private site

Solution

1. Install the Guest Private module -> The standard Guest module does not allow viewing of private sites, so Guest Private is needed.

2. Assign the guest_private_site or guest_private role to users

   • Site viewing permission only -> guest_private_site
   • Also want to show private pages and resources -> guest_private

3. Site settings

   • Set the site to “private” in Omeka S site settings.
   • General guest users will no longer be able to access it.
   • Only users with guest_private_site or guest_private roles will be able to view it.

Summary

If you want to “allow only specific users to access a private site”, it is best to use guest_private_site or guest_private.

Application

Following the above, I installed the Guest Private module.

https://github.com/Daniel-KM/Omeka-S-module-GuestPrivate

Then, I added a user as shown below. The guest_private_site role is assigned.

As a result, I was able to create an environment where only the private site is accessible and the admin panel is not. This enables building private sites that are viewable only by specified users.

Summary

I hope this serves as a useful reference for using Omeka S.