Login Component

[JerryBrightbill]

Re: Login Component

A new option has been added to Alpha Five V8 that should show up in the next build.

The security settings form now has a field to enter a session variable name for the 'ulink' value. If security is active, the 'ulink' option is active, and a name is specified, a session variable with that name will always exist. It will have a blank value if no one is logged in and will have the 'ulink' value from a logged in user. This session variable can then be used in an argument for filters or other purposes.

If a session times out, the next page request will recreate the variable if the 'ulink' option is active and a name is specified. If someone is still logged in (login spans beyond sessions), the session variable will be automatically re-populated with the 'ulink' value from their security record. If the security framework is off, the variable will NOT exist as all security code is skipped.

You could then use whatever code is appropriate for your needs to get other values from an external table or apply filters.

[Steve Wood]

Re: Login Component

Thanks Jerry,

Is there any advantage to using the ulink versus the userid as the unique identifier to relate to the external users list? The userid is a unique value such as email or other ID that is created at the time the user is added.

I can see the ulink value being necessary when you have more than one login for a given user (three userid's all with the same ulink). But beyond that, in the times I have used ulink, the value tends to be the same as the userid, meaming it would be less administrative work to just use the userid and omit the ulink.

[Louis Nickerson]

Re: Login Component

Jerry,

Thank you for making this happen. It will be a useful and time saving feature.

Steve...

In the application I am working on, I have set the ULink field to match the account number of the customer. When someone logs in, I use the value in ULink to open my customer table and write their account number to a session variable which is in-turn used to filter records to those belonging to that specific customer.

Now, I can completly skip the step of opening the table and writing the account number to a variable (this is done now through an intermediate page).

This will also resolve any redirect issues that I was going to be facing. Now, if a user navigates to a login required page without being logged in, the security framework will process the login and then redirect to the originally requested page.

So...in this specific case, I am glad to see the ULink being used to populate the variable as opposed to the User_Id. I can however imagine circumstances where the User_Id or even the Email_Address could be used for similar purposes.

Again Jerry, thank you for being so responsive.

Louis

[den1s]

Re: Login Component

Hi,

This is day 1 for me using the new v8 web security feature. I have reas many posts, but i am a bit confused with the Ulink or UserID feature.

When a user logs in, I am trying to populate the page with their name. e.g. Mr John Smith is logged in. My intermediate page from Pat looks like this

<%a5
'==== Get logged in user id code
dim pUser as p
Dim tbl as p
a5ws_logged_in_user_values(pUser,request,session)
if eval_valid("pUser.ulink") = .t.
 vUI=alltrim(pUser.ulink)
 tbl=table.open("[PathAlias.ADB_Path]\Staff")
 tbl.order("User_ID","User_ID = "+quote(vUI))
 session.__protected__UserId = vUI
 session.__protected__UserName = alltrim(tbl.Full_Name)
 tbl.close()
end if
response.redirect("Menu.a5w")
%>

and my web page identifier looks like this

Currently
logged in user&nbsp;: <%a5 ? session.__protected__UserName %>

The issue i have is the page is not picking up the correct user name. It seems to default to the first user in the table only.

I have also attached some screen shots of my config page and user setup.

Can anyone offer any tips to get tis working?

Denis

[Steve Wood]

Re: Login Component

In your Staff table, is the UserID value for user "d" really the word "pUser"? If the UserID is "001", then the Ulink value in the security should be "001".

Also, caution using an intermediate page (between login and first viewable page). If the user goes to "www.yourdomain.com/thisotherpage.a5w", and are by security redirected back to the login page, after they login they will go straight back to thisotherpage.a5w, skipping your intermediate page. You can break that action, but I forget how.

I use the following on my Header to show who is logged in. Because this page fires on EVERY page, it makes sure the values are reset every time. So its like an intermediate page, on every refresh. The only thing fancy is where it puts in a comma if the Company Name exists, like "Steve Wood, AlphaToGo". The variables don't need to be session variables (other than the ulink) unless you want to use them elsewhere in the application while they are logged in.

The important thing to note here is the ulink variable. It ALWAYS exists as long as someone is logged in. That's a feature of the Security Framework. So I can use it with some assurance.

IF eval_valid("session.__protected__ulink")
	IF session.__protected__ulink  "" THEN
		session.co_name = alltrim(lookupc("F",alltrim(session.__protected__ulink),"Company_name","[PathAlias.ADB_Path]\users_company","Company_No"))
		session.fname 	= alltrim(lookupc("F",alltrim(session.__protected__ulink),"Fname","[PathAlias.ADB_Path]\users","Co_Acct"))
		session.lname 	= alltrim(lookupc("F",alltrim(session.__protected__ulink),"Lname","[PathAlias.ADB_Path]\users","Co_Acct"))
		IF session.co_name "" THEN
			session.co_name = ", " + session.co_name
		END IF
		? "Logged in: " + session.fname + " "
		? session.lname
		? session.co_name
	END IF
END IF

[den1s]

Re: Login Component

Thanks for that info Steve.

I will make try to find the thread explaining how the intermediate page can be reloaded. I am sure i saw it somewhere. If not, i will go plan B.

Youre right. The pUser should be the UserID field value. I thought i missed something as i will need to maintain that with a table. I just wished it could lookup the user_ID and assign the value automatically.

Maybe another release.....

Thanks

Denis

[Steve Wood]

Re: Login Component

It does already. When a person logs in, that value in Ulink WILL exist in a session variable (you have to tell it to do this, and what the variable name is in the Security Framework config). I don't use the "a5ws_logged_in_user_values(pUser,request,session)" method, I use the always-present Ulink to get whatever User info I need at the moment. The Ulink value identifies the Security Framework User record, and also your User table (Staff for your app). So you can always get security or custom info on your logged in user whenever they are logged in.

What I do is to create my custom User record first. It has an auto-increment ID value. As soon as I create that record, I get the new ID value and then write the Security Framework record, using that ID as the Ulink value. Therefore, the S/F User record and my custom user records are in sync.

[den1s]

Re: Login Component

I have just stumbled across this post, firstly appologies for a double entry, as i placed the same question in a new post. But i think its more appropriate to post it here. Maybe ALPHA can delete the single post.

I need to do the same thing as Steve as far as the ulink is concerned. I have created a table to hold info re a customer and also want to populate the ulink from the unique autoincrement 'user_id' field in my table.

I have been working on this for hours. What i am doing should work, but i cannot see why it is not.

When adding a new user via a dialog, I am trying to update the ULINK value based on an Autoincrement field in the 'staff' table (user_id)-CHAR-. In addition to the standard code setup in the 'Adding Users with a Web Component' help file, I have placed the following code in the AfterValidate of the dialog component;

Dim t as P
t=table.open("[PathAlias.ADB_path]\staff")
t.enter_begin()
t.Userloginid=userid
t.Title=Title
t.First_name=First_Name
t.Last_name=Last_Name
t.Company=Company
t.Tel_no=Tel_No
t.Email_addr=Email_Addr
t.Role_resp=Role_Resp
t.Upassword=Password
t.Redirectpage=RedirPage
t.enter_end(.t.)
[COLOR="Red"]ulink = t.User_id[/COLOR]
t.close()

[B]a5ws_get_user_values(CurrentForm,request)[/B]

The bit in bold is the original value as per the help file 'Adding Users with a Web Component' which i followed word for word.

After i submit the page and import users in the security section , the user is created and all fields get populated except the ULINK value which remains blank.

Can anyone look at the above and see where i have gone wrong.

Denis

[MikeC]

Re: Login Component

Denis,

I could be way off but it sure seems that you would need to save after setting the Ulink value as you saved after setting all the other values.

[den1s]

Re: Login Component

Mike,

I will give it a go.

Denis

[MikeC]

Re: Login Component

:) And I was right!! I was way off! The other thread Denis posted this to has the correct answer...


http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/al...ad.php?t=70003

Its:

...
request.variables.ulink = t.User_ID
tbl.close()
a5ws_save_user_values(CurrentForm,request)
a5ws_get_user_values(CurrentForm,request)


And the security framework allows you to NOT need to save the password to your user table like you are in your example. NO ONE SHOULD EVER SEE THE USER'S PASSWORD, EVER. And you don't need it in your user's table.
__________________
Steve Wood
AlphaToGo