Users and Groups

Package: BASIC

1. Users

The “Users” area comprises all functions for managing brainX user accounts.

The following options are available here:

• create new users
• edit user settings
• delete users
• copy users
• import users
• view the login history of users

1.1. User List View

The list view of the users has the following columns:

• Username → Display of the username
• Available roles → Display of all roles that are allowed for the user for the organization switch via “Allowed roles from organizations” (see section User Settings - Account)
• Last name → Last name of the user
• First name → First name of the user
• Status → Status (active/inactive) of the user
• Email → (primary) email address of the user
• Rights management → Display of the rights management setting (Admin, CustomerAdmin, Superuser or no special rights)
• Actions → further actions (Edit, Delete, Copy and Login history) for users

Below the list view there is additionally a display of the booked or the still available Licenses (= number of max. allowed active users).

List view Users and Groups

1.1.1. List View Actions

Four general actions are available in the Users block:

• Search in users
• New user
• Import users
• Expand/collapse block

Right-clicking on a user opens a context menu with the following actions:

• Edit
• Delete
• Copy
• Login history

Right-clicking on a user opens the same context menu as clicking on the actions icon “three dots” in the “Actions” column of the respective user in the List view of the users.

1.1.1.1. Search in Users

The names/terms searched for can be entered in the input field “Search for users”. After pressing the Enter key, the search is started. The list view of the users is reloaded and - if there are hits - restricted to the matching users.

Only fields from the list view are searched:

• Username
• Role
• Last name
• First name
• Email

Upper/lower case is ignored in the search. It is also irrelevant whether the search term is at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the found value.

To clear the search - so that all users are displayed again - the input field “Search for users” must be emptied and the Enter key pressed. All existing users are now listed again.

1.1.1.2. Collapse/Expand Block

Both the block of the list view of the users and the block of the list view of the groups can be collapsed separately.

To the right above the list views - next to the button “Import users” - is the actions icon “Expand/collapse” (icon “angle bracket up/down”).

After clicking the actions icon, the list view of the users is collapsed. Clicking again expands the list view.

1.1.1.3. Edit User

In the “Actions” column, either click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the desired user or right-click on the user. A flyout menu opens with the actions Edit, Delete, Copy and Login history.

After clicking the “Edit” action, the edit view of the user opens. To save changes made, click the “Save” button at the top right at the end.

Alternatively, the username, last name or first name can be clicked to call up the detail view of the user. In the detail view, the user can now also be edited using the “Edit” button.

The password of a user can also be changed this way: In the edit view, the input fields “Password” and “Confirm password” are filled with the new password. The change is applied via the “Save” button at the top right.

The corresponding explanations of the fields, functions and options are explained in detail in the section My Preferences.

1.1.1.4. Delete User

In the “Actions” column, either click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the desired user or right-click on the user. A flyout menu opens with the actions Edit, Delete, Copy and Login history.

After clicking the “Delete” action, the popup “Delete user” opens:

Popup „Delete user"

In the next step, an active user must be selected in order to transfer the user data to this user.

To complete the deletion of the user, the “Confirm” button in the popup must be clicked.

1.1.1.5. Copy User

To be able to create users with similar characteristics more quickly, there is the option of copying an existing user.

In the “Actions” column, either click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the desired user or right-click on the user. A flyout menu opens with the actions Edit, Delete, Copy and Login history.

After clicking the “Copy” action, the create view of the user opens. All information of the underlying user has been adopted. The exception here are the fields “Password” and “Confirm password”, which are not adopted and must be re-entered.

The username must also be reassigned, as identical usernames are not permitted.

To save changes made, click the “Save” button at the top right at the end.

1.1.1.6. Login History

In the login history, all successful logins and logouts of a user are logged.

To view the login history, in the “Actions” column, either click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the desired user or right-click on the user.

The popup “Login history of …” opens:

Popup Login history

The tabular listing shows the following information:

• User IP: Display of the IP address from which the user logged in.
  For data protection reasons, however, only the first two blocks are displayed here.
• logged in: Date and time of the login
• logged out: Date and time of the logout
  A value is only displayed if the user logged out correctly. If the browser was simply closed, or a forced logout was performed due to a session timeout, no value is entered here.
• Status: The status shows whether a user has logged in or out.

The following fields are only filled for the Brainformatik user serviceuser and serve to trace when and for what reason a Brainformatik employee logged in:

• Reason for access: Display of the reason why the Brainformatik user serviceuser logged in (e.g. Project management).
• Brainformatik employee: Display of a number by which the logged-in Brainformatik employee can be identified.

1.2. User Detail View

The detail view of a user can be called up from the list view as follows:

• Click the username
• Click the last name
• Click the first name

The settings items of users are explained in detail in the section My Preferences.

1.3. New User

New users are created using the “New user” button. After clicking the button, the create view of the user opens.

The fields are described in detail in the subsections User Settings, Basic Settings, Additional Settings and Tag Settings of the section My Preferences.

When creating a new user, at least all mandatory fields must be filled in:

• Last name
• Email
• Username
• Role
• Password
• Confirm password
• Status
• Language

All other fields are optional and can also be edited later by the user themselves. The corresponding explanations of the fields, functions and options are explained in detail in the section My Preferences.

1.4. Import Users

As a rule, new or additional brainX users are created manually by the administrator in the “Global Settings - Users and Groups” area. However, new brainX users can also be created by a CSV import.

The CSV file must contain all mandatory fields:

• Last name
• Email
• Username
• Role
• Password
• Confirm password
• Status
• Language

The names of the fields are in the first line of the CSV file, whereby it must be noted here that these correspond to the field names in brainX. When importing field values that are in picklists (e.g. field “Language”), exactly the spelling of the picklist value must be used here.

Values for fields of the type switch/checkbox are entered in the CSV file with “yes” (alternatively “1”) or “no” (alternatively “0”). The values are to be used without the double quotation marks (see example CSV file).

1.5. License Display

Below the list view is the display of the booked or the still available licenses.

1.6. Change User Status

To temporarily deactivate users, the status of the user can be set to “inactive”. Users with the status “inactive” can accordingly no longer log in to brainX.

2. Groups

Groups are seen in brainX as organisational units. Thus, each member of the group can view, edit and delete an assigned record.

Which actions are possible per user is defined via the corresponding specification of the Profile from the respective module.

For groups, custom access rules can also be created in the Global rights assignment.

2.1. Group List View

The list view of the users has the following columns:

• No. → internal number of the group
• Group → Name of the group
• Description → Short description of the group
• Actions → further actions (Edit, Delete and Calendar shares) for groups

List view Users and Groups

2.1.1. List View Actions

Three general actions are available in the Groups block:

• Search in groups
• New group
• Expand/collapse block

2.1.1.1. Search in Groups

The names/terms searched for can be entered in the input field “Search for groups”. After pressing the Enter key, the search is started. The list view of the groups is reloaded and - if there are hits - restricted to the matching groups.

Only fields from the list view are searched:

• Group
• Description

Upper/lower case is ignored in the search. It is also irrelevant whether the search term is at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the found value.

To clear the search - so that all groups are displayed again - the input field “Search for groups” must be emptied and the Enter key pressed. All existing groups are now listed again.

2.1.1.2. Collapse/Expand Block

Both the block of the list view of the users and the block of the list view of the groups can be collapsed separately.

To the right above the list views - next to the button “New group” - is the actions icon “Expand/collapse” (icon “angle bracket up/down”).

After clicking the actions icon, the list view of the groups is collapsed. Clicking again expands the list view.

2.1.1.3. Edit Group

In the “Actions” column, click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the group to be edited. A flyout menu opens with the actions Edit, Delete and Calendar shares.

After clicking the “Edit” action, the edit view of the group opens. To save changes made, click the “Save” button at the top right at the end.

The corresponding explanations of the fields, functions and options are explained in detail in the section Detail view Group.

As soon as changes have been made to a group, the rights must be recalculated. After the save process, a corresponding note is displayed for this:

Note Changes detected

2.1.1.4. Delete Group

In the “Actions” column, click the actions icon (icon “three dots”) for the group to be deleted. A flyout menu opens with the actions Edit, Delete and Calendar shares.

After clicking the “Delete” action, the popup “Delete group” opens:

Popup Delete group

In the next step, an active user or a group must be selected in order to transfer the user data and workflows to this user or this group.

To complete the deletion of the group, the “Confirm” button in the popup must be clicked.

2.1.1.5. Calendar Sharing

By means of calendar shares, users can share their calendar with other users and/or groups.

The calendar shares can be granted individually for the calendar modules Appointments (block “Appointment share”) and Tasks (block “Task share”).

By clicking the “Add share” button in the block “Appointment share” or in the block “Task share” in the popup, a further row is displayed in which the shares are defined.

In each row of a calendar share, the left picklist can be used to set who (user or group) has access to the records of the modules Appointments and Tasks.

In the right picklist, it is defined which permission other users/groups have on one's own records of the modules Appointments and Tasks.

You can choose between the following permissions:

• Sees when I am busy → Other users/groups only see date and time, but no further details.
• Can see titles and locations → Other users/groups see date, time, title and location, but no further details.
• Sees all details → Other users/groups see all details, but cannot edit the records.
• Can edit everything → Other users/groups see all details and can edit the records.
• Deputy (read & write) → Other users/groups can access the records with read and write permissions.
• Deputy (full access) → Other users/groups have full access to the records.

Additional setting for appointment shares

By means of the switch “Can see all details of private appointments” in the block “Appointment share”, it is determined whether the selected users/groups can see all details of a private appointment. The checkbox is only available with the permission “Deputy (full access)”.

Calendar share for private appointments: The switch “and edit” is displayed as a further share option if the share “Deputy (full access)” is selected and the switch “can see all private appointments” is active.

Private appointments, regardless of further rights settings, can only be edited/deleted by the responsible user or by the responsible group.

2.2. Group Detail View

In the detail view, the settings of a group can be viewed and edited.

Detail view Group

The detail view is divided into several areas, which contain all relevant information of a group.

• Properties
  • Name of the group → Display of the name of the group
  • Email address → The email address of a group is used when Comments are written and the user has activated the email notification for the comment notification in My Preferences.
  • Description → Description of the group (optional)
  • Group calendar → Display of whether the group calendar has been activated. If the group calendar is active, the additional area Calendar permissions is displayed in the view of a group for editing the group calendar rights and group calendar shares.
• Roles
  • Display of all roles belonging to the group
• Roles and subordinates
  • Display of all roles belonging to the group and subordinate roles
• Users
  • Display of users who were added individually to the group
• All users in this group
  • Display of all users belonging to the group who were added individually, or who are a member of an added role.

2.2.1. Calendar Permissions

If the group calendar of a group has been activated, the area Calendar permissions is additionally displayed in the detail view of a group.

It can be seen here which member of the group has which permissions (Create and edit, Delete).

The corresponding setting options of the calendar permission are explained in detail in the section New group - Calendar permissions.

2.3. New Group

New groups are created using the “New group” button. After clicking the button, the create view of a group opens.

2.3.1. Group Settings

The following fields are available in the areas “Properties” and “Select members”:

Properties

• Name of the group → Display of the name of the group
• Email address → The email address of a group is used when Comments are written and the user has activated the email notification for the comment notification in My Preferences.
• Description → Description of the group (optional)
• Group calendar → Display of whether the group calendar has been activated. If the group calendar is active, the additional area Calendar permissions is displayed in the view of a group for editing the group calendar rights and group calendar shares.

Select members

The area “Select members” is split into two. On the left side, the members can be selected. On the right side, the selected members are displayed and can - if needed - be removed again.
When removing, members can be removed individually (icon “Remove” which is displayed on mouseover), or completely (button “Clear list”).

When selecting members, the picklist “Unit” can be used to choose between the following units:

• Users → Selection of individual users

• Roles → If a role is selected, all users assigned to this role become members of the group.

  If a new user is created with this role or an existing one is transferred to this role, they are automatically also part of the group.

• Roles and subordinates → Here, not only a role and thus its members (users), but also all roles subordinate to the selected role with all users become part of the group.

  This form of assignment is the most difficult to manage, as new users at all role levels become part of the group.

  New subordinate roles of the selected main role, including their users, also become part of the group.

An integrated search field rounds off the area “Select members”, in order to be able to quickly find and select users, roles etc.

Only the mandatory field “Name of the group” has to be filled here in order to be able to save the new group. Other settings items can be made subsequently.

As soon as the new group has been saved, the rights must be recalculated. After the save process, a corresponding note is displayed for this:

Note Changes detected

2.3.2. Calendar Permissions

If the group calendar was activated in “Group settings - Properties”, the additional area Calendar permissions is displayed in the view of a group.

To make the calendar permissions, the group must be edited. For each member of the group, it can be defined separately which permission they have.

By means of a switch, it is defined whether the member has the permission to create and edit entries in the calendar. In addition, it can be defined whether the member also has the permission to delete entries in the calendar.

3. Practical Examples

1 – Create a new employee quickly: copy user instead of reconfiguring

A new sales employee joins the company. Since a colleague with identical role assignment, time zone, language and currency already exists, their user is used as a template via the Copy action. In the create view, username, last name, first name, email and password are adjusted. After saving, the new user is active with all adopted settings.

2 – Map holiday cover via calendar share

An assistant takes over their superior's appointment management during the superior's holiday. Via the Calendar shares action for the superior's user, the assistant is granted the permission Deputy (read & write) for the Appointments module. The assistant can now create and edit appointments in the superior's calendar during the holiday.

3 – Create a sales group with role-based membership

The company wants to ensure that all current and future sales employees automatically receive access to shared deals and contacts. Instead of entering individual users into the group, the Sales group is filled with the unit Roles and the role Sales Staff. New users assigned to this role are automatically a member of the group – without the group having to be maintained manually.

4 – Deactivate user instead of deleting when an employee leaves

An employee leaves the company. Since their records, comments and history entries are to be retained, the user is not deleted but set to the status Inactive. The user can no longer log in, does not count towards the license and all records remain correctly assigned. The data handover to a successor takes place separately via a CSV export or manual reassignment of the records.

5 – Create many users via CSV import

At the go-live of a new organization, 25 users must be created at the same time. A CSV file is built according to the structure of the example file and contains all mandatory fields: last name, email, username, role, password, status and language. After the import via the Import users button, all users are visible in the list view and can log in with their access data.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to the records of a deleted user?

When deleting a user, a target user must be specified to whom all responsibilities are transferred. Comments retain the original username. List views of the deleted user are deleted and not transferred – widgets based on them must be removed manually.

Why are the rights changes not yet effective after saving a group?

After each change to a group, the note Changes detected appears. The changes only take effect after the Recalculate now button has been clicked. Without this step, the rights system remains at the old state.

What is the difference between “add user individually” and “add role to group”?

If a user is added individually, they must be maintained manually with every change. If instead a role is added, all current and future users of this role automatically become members of the group – lower maintenance, but harder to trace who specifically is a member.

Can a user belong to several groups?

Yes. A user can be a member of any number of groups – either by direct assignment as a user or indirectly via their role. The effective rights result from the combination of all groups and the assigned role.

What is the difference between deleting a user and deactivating a user?

Deactivate (setting the status to Inactive) prevents the login but preserves all data and does not count towards the license. Delete removes the user permanently and cannot be undone – responsibilities are transferred, but list views are deleted. When an employee leaves, deactivation is recommended first.

Does the user “admin” count towards the booked licenses?

No. The system user admin is generally present and is not counted towards the booked user licenses. Likewise, users with the status Inactive do not count towards the license.

How can I, as an administrator, change the password of another user?

Via “Global Settings → Users and Groups”, the relevant user is edited (action “Edit”). In the edit view, the fields “Password” and “Confirm password” are filled with the new password and applied via the “Save” button. This procedure is independent of changing your own password via “My Preferences”, which is done via a separate popup.