The mgiAuthenticateDB Tag

Admin Mode

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Tag Syntax

The Admin mode of mgiAuthenticateDB has one required parameter and four optional parameters. The tag form is:

<mgiAuthenticateDB mode="Admin" advancedSearch="On/Off" 
headerColor="Hex Code" odbcDatasource="Source Name" 
odbcUsername="Name" odbcPassword="Password">

Required Parameters:

  • mode - The mode is the function that the mgiAuthenticateDB tag performs. In "admin" mode, the mgiAuthenticateDB tag creates a web-based interface that allows you to manage specific users and groups of users.

Optional Parameters:

  • advancedSearch - The advancedSearch parameter determines whether the advanced search feature is available in the web-based administration interface. The advanced search feature allows you to enter complex search strings that are not available with the built-in search functions (e.g., "NOT" searches, "OR" searches, searching the same field multiple times, etc.). The search time will increase as the search complexity increases. If the advancedSearch parameter value is "On", then the advanced search field is displayed in the search screen of the admin interface. If the advancedSearch parameter value is "Off", then the advanced search field is not displayed in the search screen of the admin interface. The default value is "Off".
  • headerColor - The headerColor parameter is the hex code (without the # symbol) of the color for the header table cells in the admin display of mgiAuthenticateDB. The default color is "cccccc" (gray).
  • odbcDatasource (NT only) - The odbcDatasource is the name of datasource on the server that provides access information for an external ODBC database. If the odbcDatasource parameter is included, authentication information will be stored in the specified ODBC database rather than the internal MGI database. Inquire with the server administrator for additional information about the use of ODBC databases. If you include the odbcDatasource parameter, the odbcUsername and odbcPassword parameters are required.
  • odbcUsername (NT only) - The odbcUsername is the username required to access the ODBC datasource. The odbcUsername parameter is required if you include the odbcDatasource parameter.
  • odbcPassword (NT only) - The odbcPassword is the code required to access the ODBC datasource. The odbcPassword parameter is required if you include the odbcDatasource parameter.


Example Usage and Output

<mgiAuthenticateDB mode="admin" advancedSearch="Yes">

In admin mode, the mgiAuthenticateDB tag dynamically creates and displays a web-based interface to manage authentication information for specific users and groups of users.

Adding New Users (see Importing below)

The first time you access a page with the mgiAuthenticateDB tag in admin mode, buttons for creating a new user and importing users display.

To create a new user, click the "New" button. Enter the new user information in the form that displays. The username and password fields are required. In the Username field, enter the user's unique, case-sensitive login identification. In the Password field, enter the user's case-sensitive security code. In the Email Address field, enter the user's email address. The email address will be used to send the user's password in SendPassword mode. In the Groups field, enter the group name that the user belongs to. For multiple groups, enter a comma-delimited list in the Groups field. In the start date fields, enter the numeric month, day and 4-digit year when the user's username and password become valid. In the end date fields, enter the numeric month, day and 4-digit year when the user's username and password are no longer valid. In the start time fields, enter the time that the user's username and password become valid on the start date. In the end time fields, enter the time that the user's username and password are no longer valid on the end date. Click "Submit Record" to add the user. The message "Record successfully added." is displayed when the addition is complete and a blank form for adding additional users is displayed.

 

Searching Authentication Records

When there is one or more users in the authentication database, the options for searching or browsing the records are available at the bottom of the admin interface. When you access the mgiAuthenticateDB admin with existing users, the search form is displayed by default. At any location in the admin interface, click the "Search" button to display the search form. Search for a specific user by entering search criteria in the Username, Password, Email Address and/or Groups fields under the Value column. To perform partial searches, enter an asterisk (*) for a wildcard value. For example, to search with all usernames beginning with the letter "B", enter "B*" in the Username field. Search criteria is not case-sensitive. To view all authentication records, leave the search criteria in all fields blank. To order your search results using the Username, Email Address, or Groups field, select the radio button beside the appropriate field in the Order column. Search results are displayed in ascending order (A to Z, smallest to largest) by default. To display search results in descending order (Z to A, largest to smallest), click the checkbox beside the appropriate field in the Rev column. Search results are displayed 25 per page by default. To display greater or fewer search results per page, enter a value in the Results Per Page field. To search, click the "Search Now" button. To view a specific record in the search results, select the radio button beside the record and click the "View" button.

Browsing Authentication Records

To browse authentication records, click the "First" button. The first authentication record appears. To view the next authentication record, click the ">>" button. To view the previous authentication record, click the "<<" button.

Modifying Authentication Records

To modify an authentication record, locate the record by searching or browsing for the record. Change the information in any field and click the "Save" button.

Importing and Exporting

Tab-delimited user information can be imported into the authentication database. To import new users, create a tab-delimited file with columns in this order: Username, Password, Email Address, Groups, Start Date, End Date, Start Time and End Time. A username and password is required for each user. For the Username, enter the user's unique, case-sensitive login identification. For the Password, enter the user's case-sensitive security code. For the Email Address, enter the user's email address. The email address will be used to send the user's password in SendPassword mode. For the Groups, enter the group name that the user belongs to. For multiple groups, enter a comma-delimited list in the Groups field. For the start date, enter the julian date when the user's username and password become valid. For the end date, enter the julian date when the user's username and password are no longer valid. For the start time, enter the time (in military format) that the user's username and password become valid on the start date. For the end time, enter the time (in military format) that the user's username and password are no longer valid on the end date.

To import, click the "Import" button. In the FileName field, enter the name of the tab-delimited file on the server that contains your import information. Click the "Import Now" button to import the users. If a username in your import file matches an existing username in the authentication database, the user's information is not imported.

MGI exports authentication records in tab-delimited text form. Exported authentication records are not encrypted. To export records, click the "Export" button. Enter the name of a new file to contain your authentication records and click the "Export Now" button. Warning: An export file will overwrite an existing file of the same name!

Deleting Records

To delete an individual authentication record, locate the record by searching or browsing for the record. Click the "Delete" button. Verify that you intended to delete the record by clicking the "Yes" button.

To delete all authentication records, click the "Delete All" button. Verify that you intended to delete the record by clicking the "Yes" button.

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