Privacy and Access Modes
Two independent settings decide who gets into a linked forum: the privacy mode (how open the forum is) and the access mode (how strict the enrollment check is when more than one course is linked).
Privacy mode
Section titled “Privacy mode”Set per forum on the LearnDash wpForo Settings box of the forum edit screen.
| Privacy mode | Who can read | Who can post | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Paid/closed course: members only. Free/open course: everyone | Members | Resolves at runtime from the course price type |
| Always Private | Members only | Members only | Registered users and guests get no access |
| Public read, members-only posting | Everyone | Members only | Guests and non-members can read but not reply |
| Always Public | Everyone | Everyone | Default wpForo behaviour, no restriction |
How Automatic decides: the plugin reads the LearnDash course price type. A course whose type is closed, buy now (paynow), or recurring (subscribe) is treated as paid, so the forum becomes private. A free or open course keeps the forum public.
When a forum gates several courses with different resolved privacy, the plugin applies the most permissive result: if any linked course resolves to public, the forum is public; if any resolves to public-read, the forum is public-read; only when every link is private is the forum fully private. Admins, moderators and the course author always keep full access.
Access mode (All / Any)
Section titled “Access mode (All / Any)”Set per forum as Post Limit Access. It only matters when a forum is linked to more than one course.
| Access mode | A student gets in when they… |
|---|---|
| All | have access to every linked course |
| Any | have access to at least one linked course |
Default: Any.
Forum View (read-only for non-enrolled users)
Section titled “Forum View (read-only for non-enrolled users)”The Forum View checkbox lets logged-in or logged-out users who are not enrolled read the forum’s topics while the reply form is removed. Leave it unticked to hide restricted topics entirely and show the no-access message instead.
Who always has access
Section titled “Who always has access”Regardless of privacy or access mode, these users are never blocked:
- Administrators (
manage_options). - The author of any linked course.