Voxel Messenger Admin
The {CODICTS} Voxel Messenger Admin plugin gives authorized users read-only access to all direct messages exchanged on your site. Designed for site administrators, moderators, and support staff running the Voxel Theme, it lets you monitor conversations without participating in them — reply fields, delete buttons, and action menus are all hidden when admin mode is active.
Requirements
Important: This plugin requires a Voxel child theme to be active — not the parent Voxel theme directly. The plugin installs modified template files into the child theme to enable its functionality. If no child theme is detected, the plugin will display an admin notice and will not load.
Installation & Activation
Start by downloading the plugin from the Downloads page on your dashboard on the CoDicts website.
After downloading, install and activate the plugin in WordPress by navigating to “Plugins” > “Add New” > “Upload Plugin” and selecting the downloaded zip file. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”.
On activation, the plugin automatically installs modified template files into your active Voxel child theme. These template files are what enable the admin messenger functionality.
Once activated, navigate to “Messenger Admin” in the WordPress admin sidebar to configure who has access.
Note: When you deactivate or uninstall the plugin, the template files are automatically removed from your child theme. If you switch to a different child theme, the files are cleaned up from the old theme automatically.
Settings
Navigate to “Messenger Admin” in the WordPress admin sidebar to configure access.
Enable for User Roles
Select which WordPress user roles should have access to the admin messenger view. All registered roles are displayed as checkboxes (e.g., Administrator, Editor, Subscriber). Check the roles you want to grant access to.
User Accounts
Grant access to specific individual users regardless of their role. Use the searchable dropdown to find users by name or email, then select them. You can add multiple users.
Click “Submit” to save your settings. Users with enabled roles or individually selected users will now see the admin messenger toggle on their inbox page.
Using the Admin Messenger
Step 1: Go to Your Inbox
Navigate to the page on your site that contains the Voxel inbox (the page with the Voxel Messages widget).
Step 2: Enable Admin Mode
If you have access, you will see an “Enable Messenger Admin” button above the inbox. Click it to activate admin mode. The page will reload.
Step 3: Browse All Conversations
With admin mode enabled, your inbox now shows all conversations on the site — not just your own. Each conversation in the list shows a “Sent to” label so you can identify the participants.
Step 4: Read Individual Chats
Click on any conversation to read the full message thread. Each message displays a “Sent by / to” label alongside the timestamp, showing exactly who sent the message and who received it.
Step 5: Disable Admin Mode
When you’re done, click the “Disable Messenger Admin” button to return to your normal inbox view.
Tip: Admin mode is read-only. The reply field, delete buttons, compose button, and message action menus are all hidden. You can read any conversation but cannot send messages, delete messages, or start new conversations while admin mode is active.
Read-Only Mode
When admin mode is active, the following UI elements are hidden to enforce a read-only experience:
| Hidden Element | Why |
|---|---|
| Reply / message input area | Prevents sending messages as an admin viewer. |
| New message / compose button | Prevents starting new conversations. |
| Message action menus | Prevents deleting or hiding messages. |
Additionally, reading a conversation in admin mode does not mark messages as “seen” for the actual participants. The natural state of conversations is preserved — users won’t know their messages were viewed by an admin.
Sent-To Indicators
Since you’re viewing conversations you’re not part of, the plugin adds labels to help you understand who is talking to whom.
In the Inbox List
Each conversation shows the timestamp followed by a label like:
2 hours ago (Sent to: John Smith)Inside a Chat
Each individual message shows:
Jan 15, 2026 3:42 PM (Sent by: Jane Doe to John Smith)This makes it easy to follow the direction of each message in the conversation.
URL Parameter Toggle
You can also enable or disable admin mode via URL parameters — useful for bookmarks or linking from external tools.
| URL | Effect |
|---|---|
?cma_enabled=1 | Enables admin messenger mode. |
?cma_enabled=0 | Disables admin messenger mode. |
Example
https://yoursite.com/inbox/?cma_enabled=1After processing, the parameter is automatically stripped from the URL for a clean address bar. Your admin mode preference is saved and persists until you change it.
Search Prefill
You can pre-populate the inbox search field using a URL parameter. This is useful for jumping directly to a specific user’s conversations.
https://yoursite.com/inbox/?search=JohnWhen the inbox loads, the search field is automatically filled with the provided term and results are filtered accordingly.
Tip: Combine search prefill with admin mode for quick access:
?cma_enabled=1&search=John
Template Files & Updates
The plugin works by installing modified Voxel template files into your child theme. These files are managed automatically:
On activation: Template files are installed into your child theme.
On plugin update: Template files are automatically updated to the latest version on the next page load.
On deactivation/uninstall: Template files are removed from your child theme.
On theme switch: Template files are cleaned up from the old child theme.
Important: After a major Voxel Theme update, the template overrides may need to be updated for compatibility. If you experience issues after updating Voxel, check for a plugin update from CoDicts. You can also try deactivating and reactivating the plugin to force a template reinstall.
Filters for Developers
The plugin provides a filter to customize the number of search results returned per page in the admin messenger view:
add_filter('codicts-messenger-admin::search_chats_per_page', function($per_page) {
return 20; // Default is 10
});Troubleshooting
“Voxel Theme Not Detected” Error
Ensure the Voxel Theme is installed and that a Voxel child theme is set as the active theme. The plugin cannot work with the parent Voxel theme directly — it must be a child theme.
Admin Messenger Button Not Appearing
The toggle button only appears on the page that contains the Voxel Messages widget (your inbox page). Make sure the current user has one of the enabled roles or is individually selected in the plugin settings. Check the browser console for any JavaScript errors that might prevent the button from rendering.
Messages Not Showing After Enabling
The template files may not be properly installed in your child theme. Check that these two files exist:
{your-child-theme}/app/modules/direct-messages/chat.php
{your-child-theme}/app/modules/direct-messages/controllers/frontend/inbox-controller.phpIf the files are missing, deactivate and reactivate the plugin to force a template reinstall.
Template Files Out of Date After Plugin Update
The plugin automatically checks and updates template files on every page load. If issues persist after updating the plugin, deactivate and reactivate it to force a fresh template install.
Plugin Breaks After a Voxel Theme Update
Major Voxel theme updates can sometimes change the internal template structure, which may cause conflicts with the plugin’s template overrides. If this happens, check for a plugin update from CoDicts first. If no update is available yet, deactivate the plugin temporarily until a compatible version is released.
“Sent To” Labels Not Showing
Make sure admin mode is actually enabled — click the toggle button or use ?cma_enabled=1 in the URL. The labels are generated by the template files, so also verify the template files are properly installed in your child theme (see above).
For further support, visit codicts.com or contact us at support@codicts.com.