Permission Schemes

Permission schemes are designed to control access to the software functions and menus. The permission scheme concept is similar to the usergroup concept which is used in operation systems to restrict access to certain functions for a certain group of users. The administrator is able to generate detailed permission schemes based on the software menus and commands. By assigning permission schemes to users, different access levels to the software can be realized. The permission scheme implementation incorporates two separate parts:

1. Permission Scheme Editor

2. Assigning Permission Schemes
    

1. Permission Scheme Editor

The software offers three predefined permission schemes:

• Administrator: Access to all security and setup functions. All other software functions are disabled. The administrator account should not be used for regular operation of the software.

• Power User: Access to all functions of the software except the security functions.

• User: Access to a limited set of functions

In addition to the predefined schemes completely customized permissions may be defined by the administrator. Permission schemes are designed using the Permission Scheme Editor and need to be assigned to users using the command "Assign Permission Schemes" or the User Management. The Editor looks like this:

Permission Scheme Editor Contents

The permission scheme editor consists of two main areas:

Scheme Information

Shows information about the permission scheme and offers scheme management functions:

• Actual Permission Scheme:
  Shows the actual permission scheme and allows selection of the scheme to be edited.

• Description:
  Short description of the permission scheme.

• Button New:
  Creates a new permission scheme. All functions will be initially disabled.

• Button Copy:
  Copies the current permission scheme to a different name.

• Button Delete:
  Deletes the current permission scheme.

• Button Reset:
  Resets the permission scheme to the original settings. Changes to a scheme can be easily undone using the Reset button.

Permission Management

Shows detailed informations about the access rights of the scheme. All functions of the software are represented by a menu and command listing. Access rights may be granted or revoked by simply checking or unchecking the corresponding menu or command.

• Category:
  Access permissions are split into categories. The category Menu contains all regular software functions. The category Instrument contains all functions concerning instrument control.

• Menu and Command listing:
  This is where the actual access rights will be granted or revoked.  The left window lists all available menus. The right window lists all functions contained in the selected menu. Simply check the menu/command that is supposed to be available to a user assigned to the current permission scheme. Checking a menu entry will automatically activate all commands in that menu. Checking a command will automatically activate the parent menu if it is not already activated. 

2. Assigning Permission Schemes

With the security functions of the software activated, all users of the application need to be assigned to a permission scheme. This will automatically be enforced in the User Management Dialog. Creating a new user without assigning a permission scheme is not possible. The permission scheme assignment may be edited later on using the assignment dialog which looks like this:

The assignment dialog consist of two parts:

Permission Schemes

Lists all available permission schemes of the application. Select a scheme to assign new users to it or to unassign existing users.

Users

Shows all users assigned to the current permission scheme and all momentarily unassigned users:

• Scheme Users:
  Lists all users that are assigned to the current scheme. To remove a user from the scheme, select the username and push the button. The username will be added to the "Available Users" list and can be assigned to a different scheme by pushing the button after selecting the new permission scheme.

• Available Users:
  Lists all user that are temporarily not assigned to a permission scheme. Users must be unassigned from their current permission scheme by pushing the   button to be available in this list. All users in this list must be assigned to a permission scheme before the dialog can be closed. Select the desired scheme and push the   button to assign the selected user to a new permission scheme.