So that support can look at your problem directly and fix it, you give it an access of its own to your WordPress website. One click is enough: Give access for 72 hours. Support then works as an administrator of the whole website and may also update plugins, Funnelforms included. The access ends by itself, holds no password of yours and can be ended at any time. Every login is recorded.
Requirements
- Funnelforms Pro. This feature is not included in Funnelforms Free. Free has no Support page; at this place the menu shows Pro features.
- The website is connected with Funnelforms. Without a connection you read "Support can log in once you connect this website with Funnelforms."
- You are an administrator and may create users. Other users do not see this area. A support user itself cannot grant or end accesses.
- The website runs on https. Without https the access can be granted, but support can open WordPress from Funnelforms only once the website runs on https.
Note: Funnelforms Pro 5.0.3 and 5.0.4 still keep support from updating plugins, also as administrator. From 5.0.5 it is allowed. If you run one of these versions, please update Funnelforms once yourself under Plugins before you grant access.
Where do I find it?
Funnelforms → Support, card Access for support
You can also grant the access right with a ticket: in the form "Ask support", tick "Let support log in to look at the problem".
Features at a glance
- Give access for 72 hours: one click, no choice. Support always gets an administrator for the whole website, for 72 hours.
- The grant includes updating plugins, Funnelforms included, as well as pages, the theme and settings.
- A hint on the card when WordPress does not allow updating plugins on your website, with the reason.
- A user of its own for support, never your password.
- A list of running accesses with ticket, "Valid until" and "Last login".
- End now for every access.
- All accesses end when you deactivate the plugin.
- A log of every grant, login and end.
Step-by-step guide
Access with one click
- Open Funnelforms → Support and go to the card Access for support.
- Below the button it says: "Administrator for the whole website: support may also update plugins, Funnelforms included, and change pages and the theme."
- Click Give access for 72 hours.
- You see "Done. Funnelforms support can now log in until …. You can end it here at any time."
Access with a ticket
- Under Funnelforms → Support, open the form "Ask support".
- Tick "Let support log in to look at the problem". Below it says that support gets an administrator login of its own for 72 hours and may also update plugins.
- Send the ticket. The access belongs to the ticket; the list shows "for ticket …".
Ending an access
- Click End now in the row of the access.
Explanations
What is created when you grant access?
The plugin creates a WordPress user of its own named "Funnelforms support" with the role administrator. Its password is random, 64 characters long and known to nobody. The user can log in neither with a password nor with an application password.
What may support do?
Everything an administrator may do: pages and posts, theme and Customizer, settings, users and above all installing, activating and updating plugins, Funnelforms itself included. Support can, for example, install an update that fixes your problem. A support user cannot do two things only: log in with a password, and grant or end support access itself.
When can support still not update plugins?
Sometimes WordPress does not allow updating plugins on a website at all, not even for you. From Funnelforms 5.0.6 the plugin checks this before you grant access and shows a hint on the card and with the ticket:
| Hint | Reason | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| "… updates from WordPress are switched off (DISALLOW_FILE_MODS) …" | Updates are switched off in wp-config.php, often with managed hosts. | Update Funnelforms yourself or ask your host. |
| "… WordPress asks for FTP access to do so …" | WordPress may not write the plugin folder directly. Support gets no FTP details. | Update Funnelforms yourself or ask your host to allow updates without FTP. |
| "On a multisite network only super admins update plugins …" | On a multisite network only a super admin may update plugins. | Grant the access as a super admin. The support user is then a super admin too, until the access ends. |
| "… another plugin or the host takes this right away from administrators." | A security plugin or the host restricts administrators. | Relax the restriction while the access runs, or update Funnelforms yourself. |
You can grant the access anyway; support sees in the Leitstand why it cannot update plugins.
How long does an access run?
72 hours, without a choice. Up to Pro 5.0.7 it was 48 hours; an access that is already running keeps its end. Older accesses that were created for longer are cut by Funnelforms at the next hourly cleanup so that they run at most 72 more hours.
What does Funnelforms learn?
An access ID, the rights, the end, the login address of your website and, from 5.0.6, whether support can update plugins, together with the version of Funnelforms. Funnelforms never gets a password or a link that could log anyone in.
How does support log in?
Support opens WordPress from the Funnelforms Leitstand with a one-time, signed login code, confirmed with a passkey. Your website logs the support user in only when everything checks out:
- The code is signed with a key built into the plugin.
- It names your website and its Funnelforms ID.
- The access is still running.
- The code is at most two minutes old.
- The code was never used before; it works only once.
The login lasts at most eight hours and never past the end of the access.
What happens when the access ends?
Whether you click End now, the time runs out or you deactivate Funnelforms: the support user is deleted (on a multisite network it loses the super admin rights first) and Funnelforms learns of the end. On deactivation all accesses end at once, because without the running plugin the expiry would no longer hold. What the user wrote is assigned to the administrator who granted the access. If the access runs out while support is logged in, support is logged out.
What is logged?
In the log under Funnelforms → Support, card Diagnostics, expandable under Latest admin actions, you find "Support access granted", "Support logged in", "Support access ended" and "Support access ran out". In the list of accesses, "Last login:" shows the time, who at Funnelforms logged in and for which ticket. As long as no login has taken place, it says "Not yet".
Best practices
- Grant the access when support asks you for it or a ticket is open.
- If the card says that support cannot update plugins, update Funnelforms yourself first.
- End the access with End now as soon as the problem is solved.
- After the ticket, check the line "Last login".
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| The Support page is missing. | You use Funnelforms Free, or you lack the right "Change settings". | The support access belongs to Funnelforms Pro. |
| The card "Access for support" is missing. | Your user is not an administrator with the right to create users. | Log in as an administrator. |
| "Support can log in once you connect this website with Funnelforms." | The website is not connected. | Connect it on the Account page. |
| Note "This website does not use https yet …" | The website runs without https. | Switch the website to https; then support can open WordPress. |
| "Funnelforms could not be reached, so the access was not granted." | Funnelforms could not be reached when granting. | Grant the access again later. |
| Support cannot update Funnelforms. | Funnelforms 5.0.3 or 5.0.4, or WordPress does not allow plugin updates on the website (hint on the card). | Update Funnelforms once yourself; with a hint on the card see "When can support still not update plugins?". |
| The access is suddenly gone. | The time ran out, or the plugin was deactivated. | Grant a new access if needed. |
| "This login is not valid. Please open WordPress again from the Leitstand." | The code had expired, was already used or does not match the website. | Ask support to open WordPress again. |
| "Support users cannot log in with a password." | The access works only with the login code. | This is intended; there is no password. |
Tips
Caution: Support works as an administrator of your whole website. Grant the access only if you have a ticket open or support asked you for it.
- If the ticket is not accepted, the plugin removes the access it created for it.
- An access from an older version with the rights "Funnelforms only" keeps running until it ends; it does not allow plugin updates. End it and grant a new one if support should update.
- The box Your support at the top of the page shows whether an access is running.
FAQ
Does support get my password? No. Support logs in with a user of its own whose password nobody knows.
May support update plugins? Yes. The grant includes updating plugins, Funnelforms included. The card shows exceptions before you grant access.
How long can an access run? 72 hours (up to Pro 5.0.7: 48 hours). You can end it earlier with End now.
What happens to the access when I deactivate Funnelforms? All support accesses end at once, and their users are deleted.