How does it work?
If a SwitchClient user or a Remote Designer user connects to Switch Server, he must enter a user name and a password. The user name identifies the user to the server and grants him access based on his permissions. For example, if a Remote Designer user has read-only access, he will be able to view all flows and settings, but he will not be able to change anything.
Users or groups?
If several users should have the same permissions (for example because they have the same role), you may consider to group them and define their (access) rights at group (or "role") level. This will save you time, if someting changes. For example, if a new employee with a particular role enters the company, you can simply add the new user to the appropriate group.
Example:
• Group 1: Administrators having access to all Submit points and Checkpoints. Only this group has full access to Remote Designer.
• Group 2: Operators having access to all Submit points and Checkpoints, but with limited access to Remote Designer.
• Group 3: Customers having access to particular Submit points and Checkpoints (so they can only see their own jobs), but with no access to Remote Designer.
With this setup, you have to configure the permissions and access rights only three times, instead of e.g. x times (with x being the number of users).
Note: In case of conflicting permissions, the highest permission level is taken into account. For example, if a user has no access to Remote Designer, but the group(s) he belongs to does have access, he will have access as well.
If you have configured a group, you can define a group manager for that group. Group managers have more rights than the other group members. They can for example view all error messages of all group members, whereas regular group members can only see their own messages.
How to configure users?
There are different ways to set up users:
• You can create new users and groups in Switch.
• You can import users and groups that you exported from a previous Switch version or from a Switch copy installed on another computer.
• You can import existing Active Directory users and user groups from your Active Directory domain.
4.2.1.1 Configuring a user
Note: You can set up new users and groups for use in Switch only, or you can re-use your Active Directory users and user groups. This topic explains how to set up users for use in Switch only.
To configure a user 1.
In the toolbar at the top of the application, click the Users button . 2. Under Users & Groups, select the Users category .
3.
Click the Add user button at the bottom of the pane. A new user (New User <number>) is added to the Users category. 4. Enter the required details:
• User name • Full name • Password
• Email address. The email address is used to send messages to users (if configured as such in a flow).
5. If the user belongs to a group, proceed as follows:
a. Click the plus icon at the bottom of the Member of field. b. Select the group(s) the user belongs to.
To select several user groups in one go, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting them. c. Click OK.
To remove groups from the list as required (for example if you made a mistake, or if the user does no longer belong to the group), select the group(s) concerned and click the minus icon .
6. Assign the appropriate permissions for SwitchClient (as required):
• To allow the user to view error messages, select the View messages checkbox. Note: Regular group members will only be able to see their own messages, whereas group managers will see all messages of all group members.
• To allow the user to view all jobs arriving in all Checkpoints he has access to, select the View all jobs in Checkpoints checkbox.
Note: If this checkbox is cleared (default), the user can only see his own jobs or, if he is a group manager, the jobs of the group he belongs to.
7. To allow the user to view the log messages through a web browser, select the Web browser access checkbox.
8. Configure the access rights for Remote Designer (as required):
• To grant the user the same permissions as if he were working locally, select Full access. • To allow the user to only view data, but not change them, select Read only.
• To not allow the user to launch Switch using Remote Designer, select No access.
4.2.1.2 Configuring a user group
Note:
• You can set up new users and groups for use in Switch only, or you can re-use your Active Directory users and user groups. This topic explains how to set up groups for use in Switch only.
• The Administrators group is available by default and cannot be removed. Members of this group have full access on SwitchClient and Remote Designer. Do not forget to add users to this group (see step 6 of this procedure). Note that only administrators can unlock jobs.
To configure Switch user groups 1.
In the toolbar at the top of the application, click the Users button. 2. Under Users & Groups, select the Groups category.
3.
Click the Add user group button at the bottom of the pane. A new user group (New Group <number>) is added to the Groups category. 4. Enter the group name.
5. Select the group manager(s) (as required):
a. Click at the bottom of the Group manager field. b. Select the user(s) that need(s) group manager rights.
To select several user groups in one go, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting them. c. Click OK.
Tip: Alternatively, you can select a member in the Group members field and drag it to the Group manager field.
• Group managers have more rights than the other group members. Refer to step 7 of this procedure.
• To remove users from the Group manager list as required, select the user(s) concerned and click .
6. To select the group members that belong to the group a. Click at the bottom of the Group members field. b. Select the user(s) belonging to the group.
To select several users in one go, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting them. c. Click OK.
To remove users from the list (for example, if you made a mistake), select the user(s) concerned and click .
7. Assign the appropriate permissions for SwitchClient (as required):
• To allow the members of this group to view error messages, select View messages. Note: Regular group members will only be able to see their own messages, whereas group managers will see all messages of all group members.
• To allow the members of this group to view all jobs arriving in the Checkpoints the group has access to, select View all jobs in Checkpoints.
Note: If this checkbox is cleared (default), the users of this group can only see his own jobs or, if he is a group manager, the jobs of the group he belongs to. 8. To allow the users of the group to view the log messages through a web browser, select the
Web browser access checkbox.
9. Determine whether or not the members of this user group are allowed to launch Switch using Remote Designer:
• To grant the users the same permissions as if they were working locally, select Full access.
• To not allow the user to launch Switch remotely, select No access.
4.2.1.3 Importing users and user groups from Active Directory
An Active Directory domain controller manages and authenticates all users in a company network. If you import Active Directory users and user groups in Switch, the user names and passwords used in Switch will be checked against your Active Directory server and not against the local Switch user database. As a consequence, users can use the name and password they use to log in on their work computers.
Note: You must have configured your Active Directory settings (such as server address, user name and password) in the User Preferences pane. For more information, refer to
Switch preferences: Active Directory settings on page 52. To import users and user groups from LDAP directory
1.
In the toolbar at the top of the application, click the Users button. . 2.
In the Users pane, click the Select AD user or group button at the bottom of the pane.
3. In the dialog that pops up, enter (part of) the AD (user) name or email address. Note: The search function is case-insensitive.
4. Click Search.
5. Select the user or user group you want to use in Switch.
Tip: You can sort the search results alphabetically, by clicking the column headers. 6. Click OK.
• If you selected an Active Directory group, the group name and the group members are displayed in the Groups category in the Switch Users pane. Subgroups (if any) are not preserved; all users are presented in one flat list.
• If you selected an Active Directory user, the user name, full name and email address are displayed in the Users category in the Switch Users pane. Note that these details are read-only.
7. If you selected an Active Directory user, you can optionally add the user to an existing group: a. Click at the bottom of the Member of field.
b. Select the group(s) the user belongs to.
To select several user groups in one go, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting them. c. Click OK.
To remove user groups from the list as required, select the group(s) concerned and click . 8. If you selected an Active Directory user group, you can select a group manager (as required):
a. Click at the bottom of the Group manager field. b. Select the user(s) that need(s) group manager rights.
To select several user groups in one go, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting them. c. Click OK.
Tip: Alternatively, you can select a member in the Group members field and drag it to the Group manager field.
• Group managers have more permissions for SwitchClient than the other group members. Refer to step 9 of this procedure.
• To remove users from the Group manager list as required, select the user(s) concerned and click .
9. Assign the appropriate permissions for SwitchClient:
• To allow the users (or members of the user group) to view error messages, select the View messages checkbox.
Note: Regular group members will only be able to see their own messages, whereas group managers will see all messages of all group members. • To allow the users (or members of the user group) to view all jobs arriving in all
checkpoints they have access to, select View all jobs in checkpoints.
Note: If this checkbox is cleared (default), users can only see their own jobs or, if they are a group manager, the jobs of the group they belong to.
10. Determine whether or not the users (or members of a user group) are allowed to launch Switch using Remote Designer:
• To grant the user the same permissions as if he were working locally, select Full access. • To allow the user to only view data, but not to change them, select Read only.
• To not allow the user to launch Switch using Remote Designer, select No access.
4.2.1.4 Importing users and user groups
If you have installed different copies of Switch, it can be useful to export the user information from one copy and import it into the other. This topic describes how to import user information. To import users and user groups
1.
In the toolbar at the top of the application, click the Import button.
2. In the Import users and groups dialog, select the user information file exported from Switch.
This can be a text file or an XML file. 3. Click Open.
In case of conflicts (for example if a user already exists in Switch), a warning is displayed. You are asked which user (or user group) you want to keep (i.e. the imported user or the one that already exists in Switch).
The imported users and user groups are displayed in the Users and Groups panel in Switch.
4.2.1.5 Exporting users and user groups
If you have installed different copies of Switch, it can be useful to export the user information from one copy and import it into the other. This topic describes how to export user information. To export users and user groups
1.
In the toolbar at the top of the application, click the Export button. 2. In the Export users and groups dialog, type a name for the exported file. 3. Select the preferred file type:
• To save the exported file as an XML file, select: Switch users and groups (*.xml). • To save the exported file as a text file, select Switch users and groups (*.txt). 4. Click Save.