Managing User Accounts and Groups

 

User accounts in JMap are used for security and collaboration purposes. For security, user accounts are used for limiting access to JMap resources to authorized persons only. For collaboration needs, user accounts are useful to identify users when sending emails with embedded map images or when creating and sharing map contexts or personal layers.

JMap also supports the concept of user groups. Instead of giving permissions to users directly, you can give permissions to groups and all users that are members of the groups will inherit the permissions. Using groups can ease the user management process. Groups can also be used as destination lists for sending emails and map contexts.

Two users and one special group always exist in JMap: administrator, anonymous and everyone.

Special users and groups

Administrator

The administrator user allows you to access JMap Admin following a new installation (this user has administration rights in JMap). This user's password field is left blank, therefore, it is highly recommended to add a password as soon as possible. Read below for more information. The administrator user always exists in JMap and cannot be deleted.

Anonymous

The anonymous user allows users who are not authenticated to access certain resources. It can be used to configure access to a project without authentication, for instance. The anonymous user always exists in JMap and cannot be deleted. In addition, this user's password (blank) cannot be modified.

Everyone

The everyone group is used to give all users access to a resource, provided they are authenticated. The everyone user is not displayed in the list of JMap groups. It is only visible in interfaces that allow you to define permissions, where applicable.

Creating users and groups

You can create a new user or group by pressing Create from the Users / Groups section. This will bring you to the new user or group configuration section. Note that you can only create users and groups if you are using the JMap account database or an external database that is not in read-only mode.

Users

User name

Enter a unique user name (login name) for the new user. You will not be able to save it if the name already exists.

Password

Enter a password for the new user. The password can be empty but this is not recommended.

Confirm password

Enter the password a second time to confirm.

Full name

Enter the full name (first name and last name) for the new user. This is optional.

Email

Enter the email address of the new user. It is used when sending maps to users. This is optional.

Hidden

Select this option if you want the new user to be hidden from user directories.

 

Groups

Group name

Enter a unique group name for the new group. You will not be able to save it if the name already exists.

Modifying users and groups

You can modify an existing user or group by clicking on it in the list and pressing Edit. Note that once a user is created, its user name cannot be modified. To add users to a group, press Add... and a list of available users will be displayed. Select the users to add to the group and press Add. To remove users from a group, select the users to remove and press Remove.

Deleting users and groups

You can delete a user or group by selecting it in the list and pressing Delete.