You are here: Chapter 7: Configuration and Administration > System Administration > Users > Auto Add Customers

Auto Add Customers

The Auto Add Customer feature gives customers access to the system automatically and without the administrator creating or pre-loading account information. A default Workspace, additional Workspace membership, and the customer role type can be specified for new users added automatically.  This feature is useful if you have a large employee customer or external customer user base that needs access to FootPrints and you want them to have individual IDs and passwords. 

There are two different cases for the Auto Add Customers feature, based on the authentication method for the system:

If unique passwords are not necessary, for example, on an internal network where security is not a big issue, a single shared ID and password can be created for the entire customer base.  Those customers enter a unique key, such as Email address, when they log in, which identifies the individual customer and links to the customer's Address Book contact information.  A special login page can be created for these users (group.html).   If this method is preferred, then the Auto Add Customer feature should not be enabled.

NOTE

Auto-added customers are not displayed in the Select Customer pop-up window from the Add Customer or Edit Customer pages because of the processing overhead involved in sites that have thousands of auto-added customers.

FootPrints Authentication

If FootPrints password authentication is being used, the Auto Add Customer feature, if enabled, adds a New User Signup link to the FootPrints login screen.  Users create their own account IDs and passwords.  In addition, users can fill in their contact information when they first create an account.  The fields presented on the sign-up screen are based on the fields in the Address Book.

NOTE

Password complexity rulesClosed are displayed on the sign-up page to assist customers.

There are five steps to enabling this feature:

  1. Select “Yes” to enable—This enabled the Auto Add feature.  A New Users: Sign Up Here link is added to the FootPrints login screen.

NOTE

When the Auto-Added Customers feature is enabled, resaving the feature configuration and selecting a different role will cause all existing Auto-Added Customers to be changed to the new role.

  1. Select the Default workspace—This is the Workspace that auto-added customers are brought into when they log into FootPrints.  This Address Book must be enabled on this Workspace.
  2. Select additional workspaces (optional)—You can optionally add these users to other Workspaces.  Only Workspaces that share the Address Book and the same primary key with the selected default Workspace are available.  Highlight the Workspaces with your mouse.
  3. Select the user role—This option appears after enabling Auto Add and clicking GO. This is the user permission level auto-added customers receive.  A different role can be specified for each Workspace to which users belong.  Built-in roles include: Read KB/Requests, Read/Submit, and Customer Edit (only if the Customer Edit license is enabled). Custom roles are also available. All auto-added users have unique customer accounts of the role chosen here.  Refer to Roles for more information.
  4. Password Retrieval (optional)—Enable the Customer Forgot Password feature (below) for auto-added customers (this is where "hint questions" are administered).

Windows, LDAP or UNIX Authentication

If an external authentication method is enabled for the system, the Auto Add Customer feature allows employee and/or external customers to use their network user IDs and passwords to access FootPrints.  When they click the link to Sign Up Here, customers are prompted to enter a network ID and password, and a customer account is automatically created for them in FootPrints using the properties selected on the Auto Add Customer setup screen.  Alternatively, customers can enter their network IDs and passwords on the login page (for example, the first time they click a link in an email notification from FootPrints) and a new account is created.  Most of the setup options are the same as those enumerated above for FootPrints authentication, with a few important exceptions:

Important Notes Regarding Auto Add Customer Feature (PLEASE READ!!)

Address Book Contact Information

In addition to user ID and password, customers typically have contact information that must be populated in the Address Book.  Contact information can be entered into FootPrints for auto-added users in a variety of ways:

Refer to Auto Add Customers Sign Up Form for more information on how contact data is populated for the different types of authentication and Address Books when a user signs up for the first time.