So if you install the plugin on a site with existing users and you enable moderated registration, all the existing users need to be activated. There are two approaches to this to avoid resetting and emailing new passwords.
First would be to include the password field as part of the registration form. This field, although now included as a default field on install, is not a default enabled field. When users choose their own passwords at registration, a password is not set when the user is activated.
So this method has two possibilities – enable that field and use it as part of the registration process. Or, enable the field, activate all the existing users, then remove the password field – that way you kind of trick the plugin into thinking it does not need to set passwords for the users you are activating.
The other possibility which is cleaner (in my opinion) but requires a larger skill set, is to update the users directly in the database. For each user ID, set a user meta in the wp_usermeta table with the meta_key “active” and meta_value “1”.
Thanks. I the DB approach is probably faster. However, I have basic knowledge of mySQL using phpmyadmin. What’s the fastest way to batch add meta_key and meta_value to all the users at once through phpmyadmin instead of one by one? Thanks!
