Determining who can access the site

• Definitions: Administrators, Members, and Guests

• Member access to the site

• Guest access to the site

• Giving a user administrator-level access

• Adding new members: Overview

• Inviting users to join

• Adding members by invitation

• Creating new member accounts

• Removing Members

• Related Topics

Definitions: Administrators, Members, and Guests

There are three types of users who may be able to access your web office: administrators, members, and guests.

• Administrators: By default, the administrator is the person who first set up the web office. However this person may choose to give other users administrator-level access, sharing administrative responsibilities. The web office administrator manages important site security and permissions features and can make changes that are reflected on a site-wide basis.

• Members: Members are the people in your group who are officially registered for your web office. They can access virtually all parts of the web office and can typically post information there, too. Their names appear in the Members list.

• Guests: The web office administrator determines whether or not guests are permitted to access the web office. Guests can visit and preview the web office, even though they are not officially registered members. To access the site, guests click a link to "Enter as guest" on the login page instead of entering a login name and password. The administrator determines which parts of the web office guests can see. They may not add new information, such as documents or calendar events, but they can participate in discussions and vote in online polls, if permitted by an administrator.

Member access to the site

As the administrator, you can determine how much control you would like to have in overseeing who is permitted to become a member of your site. You can choose from three membership options.

1. Select Administration > Security from the Menu. The Security page appears.

2. In the Membership Options section, select the radio button next to the membership option you want.
   
   Administrators create all new member accounts
   If you want to maintain the tightest control over who becomes a member, choose this option. People can only become members if an administrator creates an account for them.
   
   When you enable this option, the "Invite Member" feature is disabled.
   
   Members may join by invitation
   When you select this option, users receive an invitation to join, but they must register before they are considered members of your web office.

• When you select the Members can send invitations option, everyone sees the link to "Invite Others."

• When you select the Only administrators can send invitations option, only admins see the "Invite Others" option.

• When you select the Anyone may request an invitation option, users who visit your site's login page may request an invitation to join your site. Administrators may accept or deny each request.

Anyone may join
If you want to make web office membership available to anyone — including guests who visit your web office, choose this option.

3. When you're done setting Membership Options, click Save in the Command Bar.

Guest access to the site

If you want to offer people a sneak preview of your web office before they become members, or if you want to make a single section of your web office available to guests, such as online Polls or Public Documents, allow guests to access your web office.

To permit guest access:

1. Select Administration > Security from the Menu. The Security page appears.

2. In the Guest Access section, select the radio button to Allow guest access.

3. Click the Customize button to select which areas of the web office you want guests to be able to see, and then click Save in the Command Bar.

Giving a user administrator-level access

Many sites choose to have several site administrators. That way, several members can share the responsibility of managing the site. To give another user administrator-level access, open their member profile and modify their access level.

Note: When you give members administrator-level access, they have access to important security and permissions features.

To assign administrator-level access:

1. In the Members list, find the member whose access level you want to change by browsing or searching for it.

2. Click the name in the list to display member details.

3. Click the Edit button in the Command Bar.

4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where there are permission settings. Under Access Level, select the Administrator radio button.

5. Click Save in the Command Bar.

Adding new members: Overview

There are several ways to add new members to your web office. You can choose one of the following options according to your administrative strategy.

Note: If you have selected the Administrators create all new member accounts option as described in the "Member access to the site" section above, the first two options, Invite users to join and Add members by invitation, will not be available to you.

Invite users to join

When you invite users to join:

• The new users receive a customized email invitation with all the instructions they need to register as members of your web office, including the web address for your site and, if required, the Registration Code.

• Invited members must fill out a short member registration form, choosing their own login name and password before registering.

• Invited members do not appear in the Members list until they register.

• The administrator can choose to allow all members to Invite Others or only other administrators. To learn how to change this setting, click here.

Add members by invitation

When you add members by invitation:

• The new user receives an email notification indicating that you have added them to your web office.

• These users must fill out a short registration form, choosing their own login name and password before accessing the web office.

• Their names appear immediately in the Members list as "pending" members. After the first time they log on to the web office, they appear as full members.

• Only administrators can add members by invitation.

Create new member accounts

When you create new member accounts:

• The administrator creates a login name and either assigns a password for new users or selects to send them an email with a temporary password.

• The user name appears immediately in the Members list as full members.

• Users are not required to fill out a registration form before accessing the web office; they can access it at any point after the administrator provides them with the web office URL and their login name and password.

• If you wish, the new member receives an email notification with the web address of your web office. This email does not contain web office password information.

Inviting users to join

Administrators decide whether everyone or only other admins can send invitations. If an administrator has given you permission to invite members, you see the Invite Others option in Tools.

To invite new members, select Tools > Invite Others from the Menu, then fill in the required information and click Send in the Command Bar.

Note: If you have selected the Administrators create all new member accounts option as described in the "Member access to the site" section above, you will see a "Permission denied" message when you choose Tools > Invite Others. In this case, you must add new members by explicitly creating new member accounts, as described in "Creating new member accounts" below.

Adding new members by invitation

When an administrator adds new members by invitation, the user's name appears in the Members list as a "pending" member.

To add new members by invitation:

1. Select Administration > Add members.

2. Click the link to Add members by invitation.

Note: If you have selected the Administrators create all new member accounts option as described in the "Member access to the site" section above, the Add members by invitation option will not be available to you. Instead, you will go immediately to the New Member Account page where you can explicitly add new member accounts, as described in "Creating new member accounts" below.

3. Enter the following information about the people you'd like to add.
   
   First and last name
   Enter the names of your new members.
   
   Email Address  
   This is the email address where the new members will receive all the details they
   need to access your web office.
   
   Group
   If you have set up groups within your Member list, assign the new members to one of
   your groups.
   
   Member Type
   Select either Member or Administrator for each new member.

4. Include an optional personal message addressed to the members you're adding.

5. Click Ok.

The new members appear in your Members list with the pending member icon  beside their name.

You can now go to the Member list and add more information about this user, such as their home and business address, phone numbers, and photo. For more information, click here.

Each pending member receives an email with a temporary login name and password asking them to register and log in to your site. Once they log in, their membership status changes from pending to full members of your site. If a pending member has not logged in and become a full member yet, you can resend the invitation to remind them.

To resend an invitation to a pending member:

1. In the Menu, click Members.

2. In the Members list, find the pending member by browsing or searching for it.

3. Click the member's name to display the member details.

4. In the Command Bar, click Options > Resend Invitation.

5. Optionally, change the subject line and enter a personal message.

6. In the Command Bar, click Send.

7. In the Command Bar, click Done to return to the Members list.

Creating new member accounts

Only administrators can create new user accounts. To create new user accounts:

1. From the Menu, select Administration > Add Members.

2. Click the Create new member accounts link. The New Member Account page appears.

3. Enter the following required information on the Account Setup tab:

4. (Optional) Use the other tabs to provide more information about this user:

5. To save this member and immediately add another, click Save & Add Another.

6. If you are finished adding members, click Save to return to the Members list.

This user appears immediately in the Members list. If you wish, you can now go to the Member list and add more information about this user, such as their home and business address, phone numbers, and photo. For more information, click here.

Removing members

As a web office administrator, you can delete members from your site.

To restrict a member from accessing your site:

1. Delete the member record. When you delete someone from the Members list, they can no longer log in using their Login Name and Password.

2. If your site allows members with a Registration Code to join, change the Registration Code, too. Because even if you've deleted a member's record, they can still register again if they know the site Registration Code.

Related topics

• Setting member permissions

• Setting guest permissions

• Creating member groups

• Editing member information

• Changing member login names and passwords

• Changing the site Registration Code