JoomHelpDesk - Users & Permissions Guide

JoomHelpDesk provides a layered permission system that controls who can view, open, reply to, and manage support tickets. This guide covers every aspect of user management, roles, ticket groups, handler assignment, and Joomla ACL integration so you can configure your helpdesk with confidence.

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Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. User Roles
3. Managing Users
4. Ticket Groups
5. Handler Assignment & Ownership
6. Joomla ACL Integration
7. Per-Product Permissions
8. Handler-Specific Settings
9. User Display Settings

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1. Overview

JoomHelpDesk has three layers of access control that work together:

• Joomla ACL -- Standard Joomla user groups and access levels determine who can reach the helpdesk and what core actions they can perform (view, create, edit, delete).
• JoomHelpDesk Permissions -- A dedicated permission system built on top of Joomla ACL that defines handler capabilities, ticket-level actions, and product/department/category visibility. These are configured from Components > JoomHelpDesk > Permissions in the Joomla admin panel.
• Ticket Groups -- An additional grouping mechanism that lets you organize handlers into teams, control which products each team sees, and set group-level defaults for email notifications and ticket visibility.

All three layers are evaluated together. A user must pass Joomla ACL checks, JoomHelpDesk permission checks, and ticket group restrictions before they can perform an action.

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2. User Roles

JoomHelpDesk recognizes three functional roles. These are not separate Joomla user groups; they are determined by permission settings within the component.

Customer (Regular User)

A customer is any registered Joomla user who has access to the helpdesk frontend but is not designated as a handler or admin.

Customers can:

• View their own tickets
• Open new tickets (if allowed by access level settings)
• Reply to their own tickets
• Close or reopen their own tickets (if enabled in settings)

Customers cannot see other users' tickets or access the support admin panel.

Support Handler / Agent

A handler is a user who has the Ticket Handler permission set to Allowed in the JoomHelpDesk Permissions screen (under the Support Admin section). This is the key permission that elevates a user from a regular customer to a support agent.

Handlers can:

• View tickets from other users (depending on their visibility permissions)
• Reply to, forward, and manage tickets
• Be assigned tickets automatically or manually
• Access the support admin panel on the frontend

The exact actions a handler can take are controlled by granular ticket permissions (reply, forward, change user, edit fields, edit ticket, close) that can be set separately for their own tickets, CC'd tickets, other handlers' tickets, and unassigned tickets.

Admin / Manager

An admin is a handler who also has the Is Admin flag set within a ticket group, or a Joomla Super User, or a user with the core.admin permission for the component.

Admins can:

• Perform all handler actions
• Manage ticket group membership
• Access all configuration areas
• Open tickets on behalf of other users (if permitted)
• Delete tickets (if the delete setting is enabled)

A user's admin status within a ticket group is set by toggling the Is Admin column in the group's member list (described in section 4).

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3. Managing Users

Accessing the User List

Navigate to Administrator > Components > JoomHelpDesk > Ticket Groups, then click on a group's member count link to see the users in that group. This takes you to the Members view for that group.

The Members List

The members list displays all users assigned to the selected ticket group. Each row shows:

Column	Description
Username	The Joomla username. Sortable.
Name	The user's full name. Sortable.
Email	The user's email address. Sortable.
Is Admin	Whether the user is an admin of this group. Click to toggle between Yes and No.
All Email	Whether the user receives email notifications for all tickets in this group. Click to toggle.
All See	The user's ticket visibility permission within this group. Click the edit icon to change.

You can filter the list by searching for a username, name, or email. You can also filter by group using the group dropdown.

Adding Users to a Group

1. Open the members list for the desired ticket group.
2. Click the New button in the toolbar.
3. A popup window appears showing available Joomla users who are not yet in this group.
4. Select the users you want to add and confirm.

The new members inherit the group's default All See permission. You can override it per user afterward.

User-Level Ticket Visibility (All See)

Each user within a group has an All See permission that determines what they can do with other users' tickets. Click the edit icon next to the current value to change it. The options are:

Value	Meaning
Inherited	Uses the group's default setting (shown in parentheses).
None	The user cannot see other users' tickets at all.
View	The user can see all tickets in the group but cannot reply to them.
View & Reply	The user can see and reply to all tickets in the group.
View, Reply & Close	The user can see, reply to, and close all tickets in the group.

Toggling Is Admin

Click the Yes/No link in the Is Admin column to toggle a user's admin status within the group. Group admins can manage group membership without needing global component admin permissions.

Toggling All Email

Click the Yes/No link in the All Email column to toggle whether the user receives email notifications for every ticket in the group, regardless of whether the ticket is assigned to them.

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4. Ticket Groups

Ticket groups let you organize your support handlers into teams and control which products each team can access. They are especially useful when you have multiple product lines, departments, or support tiers.

Accessing Ticket Groups

Navigate to Administrator > Components > JoomHelpDesk > Ticket Groups. This displays a list of all groups.

The Groups List

Each row in the list shows:

Column	Description
Name	The group's name. Click to edit the group. Sortable.
Description	A short description of the group's purpose. Sortable.
Member Count	How many users are in the group. Click to manage group members.
All Email	Group-level default for email notifications (Yes/No).
All See	Group-level default ticket visibility for members.
Products	Which products this group has access to. Shows "All" or lists the first few product names.

Creating a Ticket Group

1. Go to Components > JoomHelpDesk > Ticket Groups.
2. Click New in the toolbar.
3. Fill in the group details:

Field	Description
Name	A descriptive name for the group (e.g., "Sales Support", "Technical Team").
Description	An optional description explaining the group's purpose.
All See	The default ticket visibility for members of this group. Options: None, View, View & Reply, View Reply & Close. Individual members can override this with their own setting.
All Email	Check this box if all members should receive email notifications for every ticket in the group by default. Individual members can override this.
CC Exclude	Check this box to exclude this group's members from CC notifications on tickets.
Products	Choose whether the group sees all products or only specific ones. If "Show all products on ticket open" is unchecked, a product selection list appears where you can pick individual products.

1. Click Save or Save & Close.

Assigning Users to Groups

After creating a group, click the member count link in the groups list (or save the group and navigate to its members). From the members view, click New to add Joomla users to the group.

A single user can belong to multiple ticket groups. Their effective permissions are the combination of all group memberships plus their individual overrides.

How Groups Restrict Product Visibility

When a group's Products setting is configured to show only specific products (rather than "All"), members of that group will only see tickets for the selected products. This applies both to the ticket list in the support admin panel and to the products available when opening a new ticket on behalf of a user.

This is separate from the Joomla ACL product/department/category view permissions described in section 6, and both must allow access for the user to see a given product.

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5. Handler Assignment & Ownership

JoomHelpDesk provides several settings to control how tickets are assigned to handlers. These are found under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > Handler in the Ticket Ownership Settings section.

Auto-Assign Tickets to Handler (support_autoassign)

This setting determines when (or if) a ticket is automatically assigned to a handler. Options:

Value	Behavior
Don't assign tickets	Tickets remain unassigned until a handler manually claims or is assigned one.
Auto assign on create	When a ticket is created, the system automatically assigns it to an available handler based on product/department assignment permissions.
Assign ticket on handler open	The ticket is assigned to the first handler who opens it to view it.
Assign ticket on handler reply	The ticket is assigned to the first handler who replies to it.

Handler Fallback (support_handler_fallback)

Enter a Joomla user ID. If automatic assignment cannot find a suitable handler for a ticket (for example, all handlers for the relevant product are out of office or have the "don't auto assign" permission set), the system falls back to this user. Leave blank for no fallback.

Take Ownership on Reply (support_assign_reply)

When enabled, if a handler replies to a ticket that is assigned to someone else, ownership of the ticket transfers to the replying handler. This is useful in teams where whoever responds most recently is considered the active handler.

Choose Handler (support_choose_handler)

Controls whether a handler can be manually selected when creating or managing a ticket. Options:

Value	Behavior
Disabled	No handler selection is shown. Assignment is controlled entirely by auto-assign or manual reassignment.
Create for user	A handler dropdown appears only when a handler/admin opens a ticket on behalf of a user.
All users	A handler dropdown appears for all users when opening a ticket, including regular customers.
Admins only	A handler dropdown appears only for handlers and admins.

Assign When Opening for User (support_assign_for_user)

When enabled, if a handler opens a ticket on behalf of a customer, the handler is automatically assigned as the ticket handler. This ensures the handler who creates the ticket takes initial responsibility.

Forward Handler Behavior (forward_product_handler)

When a ticket is forwarded to a different product/department, this setting controls what happens to the handler assignment:

Value	Behavior
Unchanged	The handler stays the same after forwarding.
Auto assign	The system re-runs auto-assignment for the new product/department.
Unassigned	The handler is removed and the ticket becomes unassigned.

A separate setting (forward_handler_handler) controls the same behavior when a ticket is forwarded to a specific handler.

Don't CC Handler (suport_dont_cc_handler)

When enabled, the assigned handler is not added to the CC list of the ticket. This prevents duplicate notifications if the handler is already receiving notifications through their assignment.

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6. Joomla ACL Integration

JoomHelpDesk integrates with the standard Joomla ACL system at multiple levels. Permissions are configured in two places: the standard Joomla component permissions and the dedicated JoomHelpDesk Permissions screen.

Access Levels

Two settings under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > Open Ticket control which Joomla access levels can interact with the helpdesk:

Setting	Key	Purpose
Support Access Level	support_access_level	The Joomla access level required to view the helpdesk and see tickets. Select any Joomla view level (Public, Registered, Special, or any custom level you have created). Handlers bypass this check automatically.
Support Open Access Level	support_open_access_level	The Joomla access level required to open new tickets. This can be different from the view access level, allowing you to let some users view tickets but not create them. Handlers bypass this check automatically.

These settings work with Joomla's built-in access level system. If a user's Joomla user groups do not include the required access level, they cannot access the helpdesk (even if they are in a ticket group).

Component-Level Permissions (access.xml)

JoomHelpDesk defines several permission sections in its access.xml file. These integrate with Joomla's standard permission editor (accessible through Options in the component toolbar or through the dedicated Permissions view).

Component Section

Standard Joomla component permissions:

Permission	Key	Description
View Content	joomhelpdesk.view	Can view FAQs, knowledge base, glossary, and announcements on the frontend.
Configure ACL & Options	core.admin	Full administrative access to the component.
Access Administration	core.manage	Can access the component in the Joomla admin backend.
Create	core.create	Can create new content items.
Delete	core.delete	Can delete content items.
Edit	core.edit	Can edit any content item.
Edit State	core.edit.state	Can change the published/unpublished state of items.
Edit Own	core.edit.own	Can edit content items they created.

Support User Section

Controls basic ticket access for regular customers:

Permission	Key	Description
Can view own support tickets	joomhelpdesk.ticket.view	Allows the user to see their own submitted tickets. Should typically be set to Allowed for all registered users.
Can open support ticket	joomhelpdesk.ticket.open	Allows the user to create new support tickets. Combined with the open access level setting.

Support Admin Section

The main handler/agent permissions. These are set per Joomla user group:

Permission	Key	Description
Ticket Handler	joomhelpdesk.handler	The key permission. Setting this to Allowed makes users in this group support handlers.
Manage unassigned tickets	joomhelpdesk.handler.seeunassigned	Can view and manage tickets that are not assigned to any handler.
Manage other handlers' tickets	joomhelpdesk.handler.seeothers	Can view and manage tickets assigned to other handlers.
Don't auto-assign tickets	joomhelpdesk.handler.dontassign	If Allowed, this user is excluded from automatic ticket assignment. Useful for supervisors or managers who should not receive tickets directly.
Can view tickets for all products	joomhelpdesk.handler.view.products	If Allowed, the handler can see tickets across all products. If Not Allowed, only the products specified in the View > Products tab apply.
Can view tickets for all departments	joomhelpdesk.handler.view.departments	Same as above but for departments.
Can view tickets for all categories	joomhelpdesk.handler.view.categories	Same as above but for categories.
Assign tickets based on separate permissions	joomhelpdesk.handler.assign.separate	If set, auto-assignment uses the Assign tab's product/department/category settings instead of the View tab settings.
Assigned tickets for all products	joomhelpdesk.handler.assign.products	If Allowed, the handler can be assigned tickets for any product.
Assigned tickets for all departments	joomhelpdesk.handler.assign.departments	Same as above but for departments.
Assigned tickets for all categories	joomhelpdesk.handler.assign.categories	Same as above but for categories.

Misc Permissions Section

Additional handler capabilities:

Permission	Key	Description
Restrict general permissions	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.restrict	If Allowed, the actions below are enforced. If Not Allowed, the handler has full access to these capabilities without restriction.
Manage out of office	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.ooo	Can manage other users' out of office status.
Delete tickets	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.delete	Can delete tickets entirely.
Open for user	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.opennew	Can open new tickets on behalf of other users.
Accept emails as tickets	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.emails	Can accept incoming emails as new tickets and access the Emails tab.
Manage canned replies and signatures	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.canned	Can manage saved reply templates and email signatures.
Access List Handlers	joomhelpdesk.misc_admin.listhandlers	Can access the handler list/status view.

Ticket Permissions Section

Granular control over what a handler can do on a ticket. These are configured in four sub-tabs that allow different settings depending on the ticket's relationship to the handler:

• My Tickets -- Actions the handler can take on tickets assigned to them.
• CC'd Tickets -- Actions on tickets where the handler is CC'd. If not restricted, My Tickets permissions apply.
• Other Tickets -- Actions on tickets assigned to other handlers. If not restricted, My Tickets permissions apply.
• Unassigned Tickets -- Actions on tickets with no handler. If not restricted, My Tickets permissions apply.

Each sub-tab has the same set of permissions:

Permission	Description
Restrict ticket permissions	If Allowed, the individual permissions below are enforced. If Not Allowed, the handler has full access.
Can reply to ticket	Whether the Reply button appears on the ticket.
Can forward ticket	Whether the handler can forward the ticket to another product or department.
Can change user	Whether the handler can reassign the ticket to a different customer.
Edit custom fields	Whether the handler can modify custom field values on the ticket.
Edit ticket	Whether the handler can edit the ticket title and existing messages.
Edit misc	Whether the handler can edit tags, time tracking, and other miscellaneous ticket data.
Close ticket	Whether the handler can set the ticket status to closed.

View Tab (Product/Department/Category Assignment)

The View tab in the Permissions screen lets you specify which products, departments, and categories a handler can see tickets for. This only applies when:

• Ticket Handler is set to Allowed, AND
• Can view tickets for all [products/departments/categories] is set to Not Allowed

When these conditions are met, you configure per-item permissions using the standard Joomla ACL grid (Allowed / Not Allowed per user group).

Assign Tab

Similar to the View tab, the Assign tab controls which products, departments, and categories a handler can be assigned tickets for. This only applies when:

• Ticket Handler is set to Allowed
• Don't auto-assign tickets is set to Not Allowed
• Assigned tickets for all [products/departments/categories] is set to Not Allowed
• (Optionally) Assign tickets based on separate permissions is set to Allowed

If separate assignment permissions are not enabled, the View tab settings are used for both viewing and assignment.

Reports Section

Permission	Key	Description
View reports	joomhelpdesk.reports	Can access the reports section.
View all reports	joomhelpdesk.reports.all	Can view all available reports. Per-report permissions can also be configured.

Moderation Section

Permission	Key	Description
Can moderate comments	joomhelpdesk.mod.all	Can moderate comments on knowledge base articles, announcements, and other content types.

Groups Section

Permission	Key	Description
Manage ticket groups	joomhelpdesk.groups	Can manage all ticket groups, their members, and their settings. Users without this permission can still manage individual groups where they are marked as a group admin.

Permission Info (List Handlers)

The List Handlers view (accessible from the Support Admin section or via the Permissions > List Handlers option) shows a summary of all active handlers and their current status. It displays:

• Username, name, and email
• Open ticket count
• Ticket count filtered by a selectable status
• Availability status (Available or Unavailable based on out-of-office setting)

You can filter this view by product, department, category, and status to see which handlers are available for specific areas.

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7. Per-Product Permissions

JoomHelpDesk lets you restrict which products users see when opening tickets, using a combination of ticket groups and settings.

Restrict to Group Products on Ticket Open (support_restrict_prod)

Found under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > Open Ticket.

When enabled, users who belong to a ticket group will only see the products assigned to their group when opening a new ticket. If the user belongs to multiple groups, they see the combined set of products from all their groups. Users not in any group see all products.

This setting affects the ticket opening form on the frontend.

Restrict Product View for Users (support_restrict_prod_view)

Found under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > User.

When enabled, users are restricted to viewing only tickets for products assigned to their ticket group(s). This extends the product restriction from just the ticket opening form to the ticket list view as well.

Handler-Level Product Restrictions

Handlers have their own product/department/category visibility controlled through the Joomla ACL permissions described in section 6 (the View tab). These are independent of ticket group product restrictions and apply specifically to which tickets the handler can see in the support admin panel.

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8. Handler-Specific Settings

These settings are found under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > Handler and control various handler behaviors.

Allow Deleting Tickets (support_delete)

When enabled, handlers with the appropriate Joomla ACL permission (Misc Permissions > Delete Tickets) can permanently delete tickets. When disabled, no handler can delete tickets regardless of their permissions.

This is a global on/off switch. The per-user-group permission in the Misc Permissions section provides finer control over which handlers can delete.

Hide Super Users (support_hide_super_users)

When enabled, Joomla Super Users are hidden from various handler-related lists and dropdowns on the frontend. This is useful when Super Users are site administrators who do not participate in support but would otherwise appear in handler selection menus.

No Admin for User Open (support_no_admin_for_user_open)

When enabled, the support admin interface is not shown to users when a handler opens a ticket on their behalf. This keeps the admin panel hidden from the customer's view of the ticket.

Allow Edit Without Audit (allow_edit_no_audit)

When enabled, handlers can edit ticket messages and details without the changes being recorded in the ticket audit trail. When disabled, all edits are logged for accountability.

Use this setting with caution. Disabling the audit trail for edits means there is no record of what was changed, which can be problematic in regulated environments.

Ticket Lock Timeout (support_lock_time)

Enter a duration (in minutes) for how long a ticket remains locked to a handler after they open it. While locked, other handlers see a notification that the ticket is being worked on. This prevents two handlers from responding to the same ticket simultaneously.

Update Status on Draft (support_update_satatus_on_draft)

When enabled, the ticket status is updated even when a handler saves a reply as a draft (rather than sending it). When disabled, status changes only take effect when a reply is actually sent.

Admin Refresh Interval (support_admin_refresh)

Enter a number of seconds. The support admin ticket list will automatically refresh at this interval to show new tickets. Set to 0 or leave blank to disable auto-refresh.

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9. User Display Settings

These settings control what customers (regular users) see when viewing their tickets. They are found under Components > JoomHelpDesk > Settings > Support > User.

User Ticket Actions

Setting	Key	Description
User Can Close Tickets	support_user_can_close	Allows customers to close their own tickets.
User Can Reopen Tickets	support_user_can_reopen	Allows customers to reopen tickets that have been closed.
User Can Change Status	support_user_can_change_status	Allows customers to change the status of their own tickets (beyond just open/closed).
Show Close on Reply	support_user_show_close_reply	Shows a "Close ticket" option alongside the reply form, letting users close and reply in one action.

Hide Ticket Detail Elements (user_hide_*)

You can selectively hide ticket detail elements from the customer's view. Each element is controlled by a checkbox:

Setting	Key	What It Hides
Hide All Details	user_hide_all_details	Hides the entire ticket details sidebar/section.
Hide Title	user_hide_title	Hides the ticket title field.
Hide ID	user_hide_id	Hides the ticket reference/ID number.
Hide User	user_hide_user	Hides the user/customer name on the ticket.
Hide CC	user_hide_cc	Hides the included/CC'd users list.
Hide Product	user_hide_product	Hides which product the ticket is filed under.
Hide Department	user_hide_department	Hides the department assignment.
Hide Category	user_hide_category	Hides the category assignment.
Hide Updated	user_hide_updated	Hides the "last updated" timestamp.
Hide Handler	user_hide_handler	Hides the name of the assigned handler.
Hide Status	user_hide_status	Hides the current ticket status.
Hide Priority	user_hide_priority	Hides the ticket priority level.
Hide Custom Fields	user_hide_custom	Hides all custom field values from the ticket detail view.
Hide Print	user_hide_print	Hides the print button.
Hide Message Key	user_hide_key	Hides the message key/identifier on individual messages.

These settings only affect the customer-facing view. Handlers and admins always see the full ticket details in the support admin panel.

Simple User List Options

Setting	Key	Description
Simple User List Tabs	support_simple_userlist_tabs	When enabled, the customer's ticket list shows tabs for filtering by ticket status (e.g., Open, Closed, All).
Simple User List Search	support_simple_userlist_search	When enabled, a search box appears in the customer's ticket list, allowing them to search through their tickets.

Reply Display Options

Setting	Key	Description
Always Show Reply Form	support_user_show_reply_always	When enabled, the reply form is always visible on the ticket page instead of requiring the user to click a Reply button first.
Reply Under Messages	support_user_reply_under	When enabled, the reply form appears below the message thread instead of above it.
Reverse Message Order	support_user_reverse_messages	When enabled, the most recent messages appear at the top of the thread instead of the bottom.

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Quick Reference: Where to Find Settings

What you want to configure	Where to find it
Who is a handler	Permissions > Support Admin > Ticket Handler
Handler ticket visibility	Permissions > Support Admin > View tabs
Handler ticket actions	Permissions > Support Admin > Ticket Permissions tabs
Handler misc capabilities	Permissions > Support Admin > Misc Permissions tab
Who can access helpdesk	Settings > Support > Open Ticket > Support Access Level
Who can open tickets	Settings > Support > Open Ticket > Support Open Access Level
Auto-assign behavior	Settings > Support > Handler > Ticket Ownership Settings
Ticket deletion	Settings > Support > Handler > Allow deleting
User-facing display	Settings > Support > User > Hide on Ticket Details
Ticket groups	Ticket Groups menu item
Group membership	Ticket Groups > click member count
Per-user group permissions	Members list > All See / Is Admin / All Email columns
Product restrictions	Settings > Support > Open Ticket > Restrict to Groups Products
Reports access	Permissions > Reports
Content moderation	Permissions > Moderation