User Management. User Accounts

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A User Account is an account associated with a user logon name used by the messaging client to establish a session with the IM server and communicate with other users. A User Account can be added manually from the Management Console, created by the user from the messenger or imported from the Active Directory (LDAP) catalog.

Only users with enabled (active) accounts may connect to the instant messaging server, send/receive messages and files from others. You can disable user accounts on the server or delete them permanently.

Users may modify their own account information stored on the Instant Messaging server (except the IM account name, i.e. Logon name). You can allow fields to be modified in the server options, see the Accounts tab of the Options dialog box.

To switch to the User Account profile page, just find and select the user in the User Management tree in the left pane or double-click the account in the Organizational Units view (the result view).

The result pane displays the user's profile page that contains advanced information about the user, his assigned Messaging Groups, News Messages, pending File Distribution tasks and the user's latest activity (session established with the IM server).

The toolbar contains the following functions you can access, from left to right:

• New — Add a new User Account to the current Organizational Unit.
• Edit — Edit the selected User Account, e.g. information associated with the account, its location in the OUs tree, its state.
• Delete — Remove the selected User Account from the server. This action also deletes all logged activities and the message and transfer archive of the user.
• Move — Move the selected User Account to another Organizational Unit in the current tree. This action affects the user's permissions because the user accepts the new settings applied to the new OU.
• Edit — Display the current Organizational Unit property dialog box.
• Refresh — Update the user's profile page displayed in the result view.
• Print — Print the user's profile page displayed in the result view.
• Options — Open the Options dialog box in order to change the server settings and look-and-feel options.
• Help — Open the help contents (this file).

User Account profile page

You can use links on the profile page to quickly edit, delete or move the User Account.

The Assigned Messaging Groups section of the User Account profile page shows the list of assigned Messaging Groups. Click the Manage groups for user link to assign/remove groups for the user.

The Available Messaging Groups list shows Messaging Groups whose accessibility options permit the user to send messages and files to appropriate group. That availability depends on the group settings.

Note that if the user has the Administrator account type, he automatically gets the right to view/send messages and files to all Messaging Groups available on the server even if he is not assigned to the groups directly. Users with Power User account type have the same privileges as regular users but may send urgent instant messages to others.

The Assigned News messages table shows the currently assigned News messages. Click the Manage news for user link to add/remove News messages for the user.

The Pending File Distribution tasks table shows the currently pending distribution tasks assigned to the user. Click the Manage distribution tasks for user link to add/remove File Distribution tasks for the user.

The Latest Activity Details section provides information about the latest session on the IM server, the current presence status, the activity duration/time, the version of the IM client software, the source IP address the connection was established from.

Users who have the Administrator account type automatically get the right to view, send messages and files to all active user accounts available on the server. This feature allows administrators and managers to send messages and files even if their Organizational Unit permissions restrict the ability to view some users from other OUs.

Adding a new User Account

To create a new User Account on the server, select and right-click the necessary Organizational Unit in the User Management section of the tree and select the "Add new account..." menu item from the pop-up menu. Or select the "OU\Add new account..." item from the main menu or use the button on the toolbar. This will open the Add User Account Wizard.

Welcome to the Add User Account Wizard

Account Location

Select the account location in the Organizational Units tree

Click Browse... to select a new location for the new User Account. You can also move the User Account at any time later.

General Information

Enter the general details about the User Account

Use the General information page to enter the user's logon name, i.e. the account name used by the user to log into the Windows and/or Domain network. The first name and last name fields are optional and you may leave them empty.

• "Enabled" — Enable this option to allow the user to log into the IM network and communicate with others. Otherwise the User Account will be disabled and the user will not be able to start the messenger until you enable the account from the Management Console.
  
  

Click the Account type drop-box to select an account type for the user. Choose one from the following types:

• "User" — This is a basic account type. It's permissions to send personal messages and view other users are based on permissions of parent Organizational Unit (OU) and permissions to send group messages are based on each group permissions. This account type cannot send urgent messages to other users and on assigned groups.
  
  
• "Power User" — This account type operates like User account type above but sending urgent messages to other users and on assigned groups are permitted.
  
  
• "Administrator" — Select this account type to grant the user administrative privileges on the IM server. Administrators have the right to view, send messages and files to all users and Messaging Groups located on the IM server and also send urgent messages. This account type is designed for administrators and managers who need to have more rights than regular User and Power User accounts.

See the following User Account Type Comparison table that shows permissions and rights for each account type.

Click Next to proceed to the next page of the wizard and enter optional and additional information about the account, such as its title, contact details, etc.

Personal Authentication

Change the authentication method for the account personally

You can set up a personal authentication method for the account to allow the user to use his personal settings instead of common authentication mode applied to all users.

Select the "Use personal authentication method" check box on the Personal Authentication page to override default authentication mode enabled on the communication server for this user. Then choose one from the available methods:

• "Simple" — This method only matches user's Windows logon ID and account name on the communication server. No any other authorization is used.
  
  
• "Windows Authentication" — The communication server authenticates the user using standard Windows Authentication (SSPI). This is the most preferred mode for domain networks.
  
  
• "Private login/password" — Use pair of private login name (IM account name) and password to authenticate the user on the communication server.

You can use personal authentication to support connections to the IM server outside your corporate LAN/WAN. For example, you have the Windows Authentication mode enabled on the communication server to accept users on the domain network and want to get some user connected from his home computer, etc.

After you close the wizard the new User Account will appear on the left according to its location in the OUs tree.

Editing an existing User Account

To edit an existing User Account, select and right-click it in the Organizational Units tree or in the result view and select the "Edit" menu item from the pop-up menu. You can also select the "Account\Edit..." item from the main menu or use the button on the toolbar.

Location

Change the account location in the OUs tree

You can use the Location page to change the location and move the user account to another Organizational Unit. Click the Move... button to move the account to another place in your Organizational Units structure.

When you move a user account, you change its permissions to view, send messages and files to other users because the permissions of the new OU are applied to the account. So if the "Automatically rebuild users' Contact Lists from a list of available users" check box on the Accounts tab of the options dialog is turned off, then other users may receive notifications that their Contact Lists have minor changes and some users are now available or moved.

General

Edit the account, its name, state and type

The General tab of the User Account property dialog box allows you to change the account name, edit the first and last names, disable/enable the account on the IM server and change the account type.

• "Enabled" — Enable this option to allow the user to log into the IM network and communicate with others. Otherwise the User Account will be disabled and the user will not be able to start the messenger until you enable the account from the Management Console.
  
  

Click the Account type drop-box to select an account type for the user. Choose one from the following types:

• "User" — This is a basic account type. It's permissions to send personal messages and view other users are based on permissions of parent Organizational Unit (OU) and permissions to send group messages are based on each group permissions. This account type cannot send urgent messages to other users and on assigned groups.
  
  
• "Power User" — This account type operates like User account type above but sending urgent messages to other users and on assigned groups are permitted.
  
  
• "Administrator" — Select this account type to grant the user administrative privileges on the IM server. Administrators have the right to view, send messages and files to all users and Messaging Groups located on the IM server and also send urgent messages. This account type is designed for administrators and managers who need to have more rights than regular User and Power User accounts.

See the following User Account Type Comparison table that shows permissions and rights for each account type.

You can use the Contacts and Notes tabs to edit the department, title and contact details of the user account.

Personal Authentication

Change the authentication method for the account personally

You can set up a personal authentication method for the account to allow the user to use his personal settings instead of common authentication mode applied to all users.

Select the "Use personal authentication method" check box on the Personal Authentication tab to override default authentication mode enabled on the communication server for this user. Then choose one from the available methods:

• "Simple" — This method only matches user's Windows logon ID and account name on the communication server. No any other authorization is used.
  
  
• "Windows Authentication" — The communication server authenticates the user using standard Windows Authentication (SSPI). This is the most preferred mode for domain networks.
  
  
• "Private login/password" — Use pair of private login name (IM account name) and password to authenticate the user on the communication server.

You can use personal authentication to support connections to the IM server outside your corporate LAN/WAN. For example, you have the Windows Authentication mode enabled on the communication server to accept users on the domain network and want to get some user connected from his home computer, etc.

Password

Reset user password

The Password tab of the User Account property dialog box allows you to reset user's password, for example if the user has forgotten his or her password and cannot log in. This tab is shown in the following two cases:

• The Private login/password authentication mode is selected on the Authentication tab of the Options dialog box and the user has no personal authentication.
  
  
• The Private login/password authentication method is selected on the Personal Authentication tab of the property dialog box.

Click Reset password button to reset the user password. This action forces the user to enter a new password in his IM client software and appropriate notification is sent to the user. If the user is currently offline (not connected to the IM server) the server authomatically sends the notification when the user enters to the messaging network.

Deleting and disabling User Accounts

To delete or disable an existing User Account, select and right-click it in the Organizational Units tree or in the result view and select the "Delete" menu item from the pop-up menu. You can also select the "Account\Delete" item from the main menu or use the button on the toolbar.

You can delete or disable multiple accounts at one time. Press Ctrl key to select several accounts on the Organizational Unit view.

Delete or disable the User Account

You should confirm the deletion of a User Account. By default, the account will be disabled and moved to the _Default Organizational Unit for its message, file transfer and session history to be kept. To delete the account and all its history from the server, click the Delete button.

Since this action deletes or disables a user account, it affects other users' permissions, such as visibility in their Contact Lists. So if the "Automatically rebuild users' Contact Lists from a list of available users" check box on the Accounts tab of the options dialog is turned off, then other users receive an automatic notification from the IM server that their contact lists have been modified because some users have been deleted or disabled on the server.

User Account Type Comparison

The following table shows permissions and right for all 3 account types available on Bopup Communication Server: User, Power User and Administrator.

Operation / Account Type	User	Power User	Administrator
View and send messages to other users (according account's OU permissions)
Send messages to assigned groups (according permissions)
Send files and folders
Send files and folders with advanced options
Send urgent messages
View and send messages to all users on the IM server
View and send messages to all groups on the IM server