Consistent Place to Log In As A User
It would be nice to have the "Log In As User" button appear consistently when looking at a user's details.
Right now, when you choose "Edit Contact" from the page summarizing an application, you can edit contact details but not log in as that user. However, when you choose "Edit" from the organization summary page you can edit contact details and log in as that user.
My suggestion would be to put the "Log In As User" botton any place you can edit a user's details.
Aaron
Idea posted August 10, 2011 by Aaron Spevacek, Foundant Technologies
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Sammie Holzwarth commented
Hi Cheryl & Mary,
This is great feedback and it is actually something that came out in a release earlier this year. The Foundant Support team can disable an Admins ability to proxy in as other user. This is set on a per role basis not a user-by-user basis. Meaning we can make it so Admins cannot log in as each other, or board members but could still be able to log in as Applicants.
If you are interesting in having the proxy ability disable, just contact mailto:support@foundant.com and they will be able to help you.
Thanks
Sammie -
Mary Giraulo commented
Agree with Cheryl. It would be nice to be able to "lock" some users (i.e. our staff) so that others can't log in as them.
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Cheryl Lee commented
Hi Chris,
We've run into something that makes me wonder why there isn't more security within the system on our end. With most computer systems, the users within a company/organization have a secure login. I've recently discovered that any of the staff can login as any other staff member and make changes within the system using their login. It actually happened and should not have. While I understand the necessity of being able to login as a grantee, I shouldn't be able to login as our executive director or program staff and make changes and vice versa. Has anyone else expressed concern regarding this?
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Chris Dahl commented
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the encouraging words. It's definitely a challenge - but rewarding - trying to balance a lot of expectations and needs across a variety of clients.
I'm going to go ahead and mark this Idea as "Implemented" as I think there's a pretty consistent way to log on as a user. As we go forward, if you see any more ways we might improve this aspect of the system, please let me know.
-chris -
Amy commented
Thanks Chris...I think you all have done a fantastic job with all of the updates this year! It is unique that users have so much access to developers and opportunity for input. I appreciate the dialogue...working together to make the best product to meet a variety of needs.
Sincerely,
Amy Heinemann
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Lynn Larson commented
I agree with idea that if at some point there was a way for the "log in as user" to open in another tab or window to allow the administrator log in to remain, I'm all for that. I understand the balance you have to keep, however. Balance is key. But if there is ever a way, that would get my vote!
Lynn Larson
Fred & Jean Allegretti Foundation
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Chris Dahl commented
Amy,
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, having multiple accounts active with the same browser (different tabs or windows) would be nice for us as well. There are just a lot of challenges to deal with and it can introduce a lot of risk since we don't have total control over how different browsers handle that scenario.
I'd say the only time you should have to go search on the Users page to log on as someone would be if you're not already looking at a request. If you are looking at a request, the fastest way to log on as a user would be to click the "Edit" icon (the pencil) which would take you to the Edit Contact page with the "Login as <user>" link.
I will say also that we are planning on doing some user interface / user experience (UI / UX) work later in 2014. Until now, it's been hard prioritizing that work over new functionality. However, as we continue to add more functionality (and I think we've done a lot over the last 12 months and will do more in the next 9), we know we need to improve the user experience. It will take quite a bit of focus and user input, but we're looking forward to making GLM easier to use - it will help our clients and us!
Thanks again for the input,
-chris -
Amy commented
Chris,
Actually you've answered both of these questions for me.
"Do you mean are there issues if Administrator A is logged in as User U while User U is also logged in?"
Yes...when people call in and I need to go into their account to troubleshoot, I wanted to know whether or not I should advise them to logout before I login as them. Even though there is not likely an issue when just viewing, it sounds as if it might just be a good general rule to follow so their is no question about potential issues.
"If you mean are there issues being logged in as Administrator A in one tab and User U in another tab (or browser window), then YES, there are definitely issues, which is why we do not allow folks to be logged in as 2 different users in the same browser."
This was my suggestion (to be able to log in as a user and the account open in another tab in the same browser...so my administrator account would remain open and I wouldn't have to log in again). I thought that there must be some issues around it or else it would have already been a functionality of the software. But... if in the future, there would be an uncomplicated way to do this...this would be one of my favorite updates! :)
I support the idea of keeping the pages as clutter free as possible, therefore balancing the functionality/usability. It is not too laborious to go to the User search on the side panel, so I would rather sacrifice the convenience of having "Log in as User" on every page and keep the pages as clean as possible, especially if seems not to be practical from the programming viewpoint.
Thank Chris!
Sincerely,
Amy Heinemann
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Chris Dahl commented
Hi Amy and Mary,
First - I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, Amy. Do you mean are there issues if Administrator A is logged in as User U while User U is also logged in? If that's your question - potentially. In most cases, it shouldn't be an issue, but if you are editing a form that User U is also editing, then yes, one of you will probably get an error. If you mean are there issues being logged in as Administrator A in one tab and User U in another tab (or browser window), then YES, there are definitely issues, which is why we do not allow folks to be logged in as 2 different users in the same browser.
Second - I believe we currently have the "Login as <user>" functionality in 3 places:
- on the user search page
- on the organization summary page
- on the edit contact page (regardless of how it is accessed)We've limited it to these 3 areas for a couple reasons. One consideration is the more functionality we put on pages, the more cluttered they get. We're really sensitive to trying to balance functionality with usability. In nearly all cases, it's essentially only one extra click to get to a point you can log in as a different user. Another consideration is security - the more places we put the "login as" functionality, the more places we have to test to ensure that it's only showing up for users who should have access to it. Finally, it's an additional testing point each release.
That said, if you do have additional areas you want to see the "Login as" option, let me know. Unless it's pretty simple to add, though, we're probably not going to act on it until we have a chance to step back and make some more significant user interface changes.
Thanks in advance for your feedback,
-chris -
Amy commented
I like both ideas. I would like to suggest the idea of when logging in as another user, that it would open in a new browser, if possible. Then, when you are done in the other user's account, you could simply log out and close that browser ...and still have your account open without having to login again. Are there any known issues around an administrator being in a user's organization/application area while the user is also logged into their account, that might make this tricky? Thank you much.
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Ideas commented
Both ideas are great and would reduce extra clicks for me. smiley
posted August 1, 2013 by Mary Giraulo, United Arts of Central Florida
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Ideas commented
Great idea. I think in addtion to that it might be nice to give folks a way to easily "get back" without having to log back in as an administrator. Thoughts I Aaron's and mine ideas?
posted August 11, 2011 by Raymond Burket, Foundant Technologies