Howard Miller

You should never-ever right code that says...

if (user_is_authenticated user) {...}

...you should only ever check specific capabilities.

The web service functions that you get from the automatic documentation are all there is (even though there are lots).

Yes, if you need something extra the "correct" path is to create new local plugin that exposes the required functions. It's often not especially difficult.

IF this is possible (and I'm not 100% sure) you're going to have to create a new role and assign appropriate capabilities to enable what you need. See Roles_and_permissions.

Unless somebody has done *exactly* what you want to do, then this usually comes down to some guesswork and experimentation.

Consider that roles often result in Moodle operating in ways that have never been tested before, so don't be completely surprised if anything weird happens.

Your Moodle Partner who is providing you with (and support for...) Workplace?

You can do a migration and an upgrade at the same time if you're brave. The worst that can happen is annoyance. Presumably, you still have the original site, so you're no worse off. It's a better position that an upgrade going wrong having not taken backups