Admin Bar User Switching
Extends the excellent User Switching plugin by John Blackbourn by adding a User Switching to the admin bar for quick and easy user switching.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.8★ from 12
- Active installs
- 2k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 24 May 2022
- Added
- Nov 2014
- Requires WP
- 3.1
- Tested up to
- WP 6.0.14
- Requires PHP
- 5.6
- Downloads
- 50,416
Our analysis
AI-assistedAdmin Bar User Switching is a WordPress plugin that adds a 'Switch to User' option in the admin bar. This feature allows you to search for users and switch to their accounts, which is particularly useful for developers and site builders working with clients. The plugin also supports keyboard navigation for ease of use, allowing you to switch users quickly without relying solely on the mouse.
Designed for those who need to view a site from a client's perspective, this plugin enhances the admin experience by providing a straightforward way to switch user accounts directly from the admin bar.
Best for: This plugin suits developers and site builders who need to test sites from a client's perspective.
What it does well
- ✓Provides a 'Switch to User' option in the admin bar
- ✓Includes a search box for quick user lookup
- ✓Supports keyboard navigation out of the box
- ✓Useful for developers working on client sites
Where it falls short
- •Limited information on additional features
- •Requires custom coding to set a keyboard shortcut
Verdict
Admin Bar User Switching offers a practical solution for user account management in WordPress. It is particularly beneficial for those who frequently switch between user roles while developing or managing client sites.
From the developer
Saad Iqbal's own description of Admin Bar User Switching, lightly tidied.
This plugin was originally developed by Mark Wilkinson.
An admin bar “Switch to User” option is provided which on hover provides a search box where you can query a user to switch to. The results are links to switch to that user. This plugin is great for when you are building sites for clients and it is beneficial to see the site as your logged in client see’s it.
And there is an optional mode where you can use a custom keyboard combination, say ‘su’, and it activates the form where you search for users, and then you can use keyboard arrows to navigate the list of results, and the return key to switch to the selected user. The same combo can be used to focus the ‘Switch Off’ link, following a return to simulate a click.
To activate this feature and set the custom keyboard combination, aka magic word, you need to use the abus_ajax_args and add a ‘magicWord’ variable.
Note that keyboard navigation is not dependant on the custom keyboard combination, and can be used out of the box.