Users (USER)

The Users page of the Administration perspective lists all Users of a Client and displays all relevant User information. Right-clicking a User opens a context-menu which provides all functions available such as adding, deleting, renaming Users, etc. On Client 0, this page lists all Users defined on all Clients in the system and, in addition to the tasks available for all Clients, allows you to move Users from Client 0 to another Client.

Tip: You may need to work with many objects, lists and monitors simultaneously. To make your work easier, you can open them in different browser windows and arrange them side by side on your screen. For more information about this and other useful functions, see Opening and Arranging Multiple Views.

Object Definition

  • Object class: System object
  • Object type/Short name: USER

This page includes the following:

Overview

To access the Automation Engine system you must define at least one User. Single Users are created as User objects.

The first User of a new Client must be defined in system Client 0; then it must be assigned to the already existing Client. To move the User to the target Client you can use the Duplicateand Move functions from the context menu. If this User has the required privileges, all further Users can then be created in the numbered non-system Client.

Username conventions: Usernames consist of the name of the Users and their departments separated by a slash. A maximum of 200 characters is allowed for this combination. 

Users in Client 0

By default, the Client 0 contains the following User object/password combination:

  • User object: UC/UC
  • Password : UC

In Client 0 you can add, edit, disable, rename, delete and duplicate the Users defined in any Client in your system. You can select just one User or you can select multiple Users and perform these actions in bulk.

Notes:

  • Do not delete or rename this User. Without this User, you cannot administrate or operate the system.
  • Change the password for this User immediately after the installation.
  • You can define new Client objects and initial User objects for these Clients after logging in with the "UC/UC" User credentials.

Users in Clients 0001 to 9999

If you have created a local User and assigned the required authorization to it in a numbered non-system Client, you can use this local User to add further Users in the Client.

Provided you have the necessary rights, you can add, edit, disable, rename, delete and duplicate the Users defined in your Client. You can select just one User or you can select multiple Users and perform these actions in bulk.

Defining User Objects

The steps for defining Users are the same as for any other object. This section describes the settings that are specific to only User objects.

A User definition is made up of the following pages:

Carry out the following steps to define the User settings in the User object.

General Settings

  1. (Optional) Use the rename function to change the Name field that is populated with the entry you made when you added the object. For more information, see Renaming Objects and Folders.

  2. A new User is active by default which means that this User is allowed to log in. If you uncheck this option, the User is set to inactive and is not allowed to log in.

    Notes:

    • If a User enters a wrong password multiple times, the User will be locked and the User cannot log in anymore. In this case, the administrator can unlock this User.

    • If a User with running tasks is deactivated, the tasks associated with that User object continue running.

  3. The administrator or the LDAP Sync tool can activate the User is locked option to disable the User. This option is useful in the context of LDAP connections where the user in Automation Engine is synced regarding the state with the LDAP server.

  4. You can select the LDAP connection option only when LDAP is configured for the Automation Engine. This means that the User login will be authenticated by a directory service such as the Microsoft Active Directory, rather than by the system.

    If you activate this option, most of the fields on the page are disabled because data is retrieved from the User definition in the other directory service. The only ones that you can still specify here are the User Status options and Email 2.

    Activating LDAP connection also activates the Synchronize data with LDAP now button. Click it to fill the fields with the User data from the directory service. The values that are retrieved from the LDAP settings will be grayed out and the fields disabled.

    Note: You can also activate the LDAP connection directly from the User list. Select one or more Users, right-click and select Activate LDAP Connection from the context menu. If you do so in Client 0, you can activate it for User from different Clients in a go.

  5. The Distinguished Name (DN) field is only available if the LDAP connection is activated.

    For an Oracle Directory server as LDAP server you have to define at least one User in this field. Additional Users may be synchronized.

    The parameter VALUE in the UC_LDAP_EXAMPLE System variable will be ignored.

  6. The User First/Last Name are displayed in various areas of the User Interface.
  7. (Optional) Enter the E-Mail 1/E-Mail 2 addresses. The User can be alerted this way via an e-mail SNMP connection.

    Notes

    • Each email field is limited to 50 characters.
    • Email 1 is the email address to which the information is primarily sent. Email 2 can optionally be used as a cc address.

Password Policy

By default, the password of new Users is always pass. It must be changed either immediately or with the next logon of the User.

The criteria to be adhered to when specifying a password are defined by the system administrator in the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS variable (see UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS - Various Client Settings). In addition to the required password structure, this variable also determines the intervals in which passwords must be changed, the number of failed login attempts that is allowed, the default password for new Users, etc.

  1. Activate Change Password to assign the User a new password. This activates the password input fields.
  2. Enter the new password twice, once in Password and then again in Confirm password.
  3. Alternatively, activate User must change password at next login. The User will have to login first using the assigned password and change it after that.
  4. Activate Password never expires if your company's policy does not require regular password changes.

Tip: Avoid special national language characters (umlauts (ä), accents (è), special letters (ß), etc.) if Users are in various international locations. Not all keyboards in all countries support such characters.

Advanced Settings

In this section you can limit the times and days that this User can log in suing a Calendar object.

  1. In Logon allowed from to specify the period of time in hours and minutes within which the User can logon to the system. Outside this time, any logon attempt will be denied.
  2. Select the Calendar and a Calendar Event that contains the dates on which the User will be able to logon to the system. Logon attempts outside these dates will be denied.
  3. Select the Time Zone that will be applied to this User. If you leave this option empty, the Client's predefined Time Zone is used.
  4. Optionally, in Default Login select the Login object that contains the necessary information for the agent.

User Session Settings

  1. In Max. parallel sessions select the maximum number of parallel logins you will allow for this User.

    Selecting 0 enables unlimited parallel access.

  2. In Min. activity refresh select the minimum time interval (in seconds) for refreshing the following views in the Process Monitoring perspective:

    • The list of Tasks.

    • The Schedule Monitor.

    • The Workflow Monitor.

    Process Monitoring users can customize these intervals on the User and session Settings dialog. The value that you enter here affects the default value that is displayed in the User and session Settings dialog as follows:

    Min. activity refresh

    • Lower than 90 seconds

    • 90 seconds

    • Greater than 90 seconds

    Default option (Settings dialog)

    • 90 seconds

    • 90 seconds

    • Taken over from Min. activity refresh

    User Defined option (Settings dialog)

    • Taken over from Min. activity refresh

    • 90 seconds

    • Taken over from Min. activity refresh

    For more information, see The Task List.

    Notes:

    • By default, this value is 90 seconds, the minimum value is 10 seconds.

    • If the User clicks the Refresh button between the defined intervals, the system will ignore the new refresh request and finish processing the previous one. This prevents the system from getting jammed up with multiple refresh requests in rapid succession.

  3. Switch to the User Group page, where you can assign the current User to one or more User groups. This will determine the User's rights to objects and privileges. For more information, see Assigning the User to User Groups.

  4. If you'd rather define the Authorizations and Privileges in the User Object itself and not via a User Group, open the Automation Engine sub pages:

    1. On the Authorizations page you grant or deny rights to access and/or work with Automation Engine objects, files, execution data, reports, etc. For more information, see Granting Automation Engine Authorizations for a detailed description.

    2. On the Privileges page you grant or deny rights to functions. For more information, see Granting Automation Engine Privileges for a detailed description.

  5. Save your changes.

Next Steps

Assign authorizations and permissions to the User object. You have the following possibilities:

  • Assign the User to a User Group that already contains the necessary definitions (recommended)
  • Assign authorizations and permissions to the User object on an individual basis

Working with the Users List

The Users list displays all the Users available in the Client that you are logged into. In Client 0, the list displays all the Users defined in the system.

The list displays the following columns by default:

  • Username

    Name of the User formed by the name and the corresponding department separated by a slash: Name/Department

  • Client (only in Client 0)

    Client in which the User is located

  • Client Title (only in Client 0)

    The Client's title as defined in the Client object (optional)

  • Last name

  • First name

  • Email1

The following columns are also available:

  • Email2

  • LDAP connection

    Indicates whether the User has specified the LDAP connection

  • Time zone

    Time zone as specified in the User object

  • Last

    Date and time of the User's last login

  • Archive Key 1 and 2

    Archive keywords as defined in the User object

  • Active

  • Locked

For more information, see Main Page Tables.

Click the refresh icon at the top right-hand corner of your environment to refresh the current view.

You can export the data as a .CSV file, see Exporting Tables to CSV.

Searching for Users

You have various ways of searching for Users from the Users list:

  • Using the global search

    The global search lets you find Users in the Client that you are currently logged into. This is true also if you are logged into Client 0.

    For more information, see Global Search.

  • Using the Search User box in the toolbar

    This box lets you search for specific Users in the current list. Type the text or part of the text you are looking for. The Users list restricts the hits to the Users that meet your search criteria.

    Note: For this type of search you can use the Username, the First name, the Last name, and, in Client 0, the Client and Client Title.

  • Using filters

    The filter function also lets you customize the content of the User list, but in this case using additional filter criteria. You can search for Active and/or Inactive Users as well as for Locked and/or Not locked Users. Client 0 also allows to filter the data of a certain Client.

    1. Click Filter to open the filter pane.
    2. Click Active to open this section and select Active or Inactive to see the corresponding Users.
    3. Click Locked to open this section and select Locked or Not Locked to see the corresponding Users.
    4. In Client 0, click Client to see the Clients available and select the relevant Client or Clients.
    5. At the bottom of the filter pane, click Filter to apply your filter criteria or Reset to go back to default (unchecked).

    Important! In Client 0, the Search User filter also searches for Users in Clients other than 0.

    • Tip: You can share filtered lists with other users. You can also bookmark the filtered list to be able to access it quickly next time. For more information, see Bookmarking and Sharing Links.

Managing Users

To Duplicate a User

This function allows you to duplicate an existing User which is particularly useful when creating Users with the same authorizations and privileges.

  1. Select a User and do one of the following:

    • Right-click and select Duplicate  
    • Click Duplicate in the toolbar

  2. On the Duplicate User dialog, define a new Username by entering a new name and department.

  3. Click OK.

    The new User is now available on the Users list and has the same setup and rights assigned to the original User.

Important! In Client 0, this function is only available for Client 0 Users. It is no possible to duplicate Users from other Clients available in the Users list.

To Rename a User

This function allows you to edit the name of an existing User.

  1. Select a User and do one of the following:

    • Right-click and select Rename  
    • Click Rename in the toolbar

  2. On the Rename User dialog define a new Username by entering a new name and department.

  3. Click Rename.

Refresh the Users list to see the User listed with the new name.

(Client 0 only) To Move Users

When setting up a system, you can create your Users in Client 0 and then move them to their corresponding Clients. You can do so either individually or in bulk.

Important! This function is only available in Client 0 and for Client 0 Users. It is not possible to move Users from other Clients.

  1. Select one or more Users and do one of the following:

    • Right-click and select Move User  
    • Click Move User in the toolbar

    If you are moving a single User, the User is displayed in a dialog box. If you are moving multiple Users, the dialog only shows the number of Users that you are moving.

  2. Open the Client dropdown list and select the relevant Client.
  3. Click Move.

To Activate or Deactivate Users

This function allows you to activate or deactivate one or more Users. This option is particularly useful if you want to temporarily set a User to inactive without having to delete it and redefining it at a later point.

You cannot deactivate your own User object. If you have the necessary privileges, you can deactivate other Users. This prevents that you unintentionally block yourself from being able to log in to the system.

  1. Select one or more Users and do one of the following:

    • Right-click and select Activate/Deactivate  
    • Click Activate or Deactivate in the toolbar

  2. Confirm your action if you are deactivating more than one User. The system displays the number of Users you are about to deactivate.

  3. Click Deactivate.

Note: In Client 0, you can select and activate and/or deactivate Users from different Clients at the same time.

To Activate or Deactivate the LDAP Connection

If LDAP is configured for the Automation Engine, you can activate the LDAP connection for Users. This means that the User login will be authenticated by a directory service, such as the Microsoft Active Directory, rather than by the system.

  1. Select and right-click one or more Users.

  2. Select Activate/Deactivate LDAP Connection.

    Important! Make sure the Users selected have the same LDAP connection status, otherwise this option is not available.

  3. Confirm your action:

    • If you have selected more than one User, the dialog indicates the number of Users you have selected.
    • if you have selected only one, the dialog displays the name of the User selected.
  4. Click Activate/Deactivate.

Note: In Client 0, you can select and activate/deactivate the LDAP connection for Users from different Clients at the same time.

Tip: Alternatively, activate/deactivate this option in the User definition.

To Delete Users

This function lets you remove Users.

  1. Select one or more Users and do one of the following:
    • Right-click and select Delete
    • Click Delete in the toolbar
  2. Confirm your action:
    • If you have selected more than one User, the dialog indicates the number of Users you are about to delete.
    • if you have selected only one, the dialog displays the name of the User you are about to delete.
  3. Click Delete.

See also: