GameDB2 User Manual - Users
Description
In GameDB, users are a representation of people that are allowed to log into the
system to perform various operations, such as adding or editing information contained
within the system.
Every user has a distinct user name and password that allows them access to the system.
This information should be kept secret and not shared with anyone. A user's user name
is used in the
activity log to record operations that user
has performed.
Each user also has an attached
Player record, so that they
can be included in game session reports and other aspects of the system. It is important to
note the distinction that every user in the system is also a Player, but not every Player is
a User; that is, people added to the system specifically for the purpose of being included in
a
session report (for example) do not have a user name and password,
and thus cannot log into the system.
Every user has an attached set of
permissions that lays out what actions
that user is allowed to perform. These can be fully customized to restrict access to any part of the system.
GameDB adjusts to permission levels on the fly, altering it's display so that a user is not presented
with any actions that they are not allowed to perform. As such, permissions are mostly transparent
to the people using the system.
Viewing the user list
The list of users that are currently registered with the system is available by clicking on
"Users" in the main GameDB menu. The list of users is displayed alphabetically, and contains
the following information:
Login Status
A graphical indication is made of whether or not this user is currently logged into the system. Green
means that the user is logged in, while red means that the user is logged out. A logout may happen
manually when a user selects "Logout" from the main menu, or automatically after a user has been
inactive for the time set in the global configuration options.
Name
The name of this user. This is actually taken from the associated Player
record that is attached to this user. The names in the list are sorted alphabetically.
User name
The user name (or login name) of this user. This is the name that this user must provide along with their
password to log in, and is also the name used to identify this user in the activity log.
Last Login Date
This is the time (specified in the time zone that the GameDB web server is running in) that this user last
logged in. This will be Never if this user has not logged in since being added to the system.
Added by
The user who added this user to GameDB. This may say system if this user was the initial user added to
the system during installation, or if the user that added in this user has since been removed from the system
entirely.
Edit Permissions
Clicking this link allows you to edit the GameDB permissions of the user in question.
You will not see this link unless you yourself have permission to edit users.
Edit
Clicking this link allows you to view and edit the Player Profile that is
attached to this user, along with their User Profile.
You will not see this link unless you yourself have permission to edit users.
Remove
This check box allows you to flag a user for removal from the system. To remove users, you must first select
one or more users by checking the check box next to their name, and then clicking on the "Remove" button that
displays at the bottom of the form. You will be asked to confirm your intention to remove the specified users
before the removal takes place.
You will not see the check boxes or the Remove button unless you yourself have permission to remove users.
Additionally, you may not remove yourself from the system, regardless of your permission level. Because of this,
the "Remove" button may not appear, if you are the only user registered with the system.
User profiles
Every user in the system has a set of associated Profile information that provides information about
that user. This information is split into the User profile and the
Player Profile.
The information in the User profile is login status and last login date, and is visible in the
User List. The rest of the information for a user, which includes
their Name and Email address, is available in their
Player Profile.
More complete profile information is visible on the
Game Play Details page.
User permissions
Every user registered in GameDB has a set of permissions which control what that user is allowed to
do with GameDB. These permissions are individually editable for each user, allowing complete control
over the system.
Most of the permissions come in sets of three;
Add,
Edit and
Remove.
For different types of data in the system, these represent if a particular user is allowed to add, edit
or remove data of that type.
The available sets of permissions are:
Users
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Users in the system.
When a new user is added, a new Player is also added and
associated with the new user. As such, having the ability to add a new user implicitly
grants the ability to add a new player to the system (in the context of adding a new user).
The ability to add a new user also grants the ability to promote a player that
does not already have an attached user from a Player to a User. This means that you can
grant login access to someone already registered with the system as a player.
The ability to edit an existing user means that you are allowed to change the user name, password,
permissions and Profile information for that user. Because most of
the Profile information for a user is stored in their Player Profile,
the ability to edit a user also implies that you can edit players. Regardless of this setting,
you may always edit your own Profile information.
When a user is removed from the system, their player record remains behind. Effectively, this means
that removing a user revokes the login access to that user, while leaving the rest of the
information in the system about them behind. Login access may later be restored by
promote the player back to a full user again.
Players
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Players in the system.
When a new player is added, there is no corresponding User
created at the same time. This means that the newly added player may be used in
session reports (among other things), but does not have the
ability to log into the system. If you have the ability to add users, you can
promote a player, thus granting them login access.
The ability to edit a player allows you to change the Player Profile
information for that player. Regardless of the setting of this permission, you always have the
ability to edit your own Player Profile information.
Players cannot be removed from the system if they have a User attached
to them, or if the user is recorded in some other information in the system (for example, a
participant in a Session Report. To remove such a player, you must
first remove the associated user (if any), and then modify all system records which refer to that
player.
Categories
Publishers
Designers
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Categories,
Publishers and Designers in the system.
When a user has the ability to add a CPD item, the Add Game page automatically
includes fields which allow for new items to be added on the fly while the game is being added.
Unlike players, it is possible to remove a CPD item while there are games in the system which include them.
If the removed item is the Primary item of it's type, the system will automatically
select a new primary item from among the other items of it's type attached to the game. This may leave some
games with no primary Category, Publisher or Designer.
Games
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Games in the system.
If a user has the ability to add new Categories, Publishers
or Designers, then new items can be added on the fly during the
addition of a new game.
A game may only be removed from the system if it is not included in any records in the system
(for example, Session Reports).
Images
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Images in the system.
The add permission allows you to upload and attach images to Games, edit permissions allow
you to modify which image is the Primary Image for a game, and remove permissions allow you
to remove images from the system.
When the primary image for a game is removed, the system automatically selects a new primary image for the game
from among the other images attached to it.
Session Reports
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Session Reports in the system.
GameDB gets it's game play statistics from Session Reports. Thus, removing or otherwise altering a session report
has an impact on such statistics.
While a Player is listed as a participant in any session report, that player cannot
be removed.
Reviews
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Reviews in the system.
Currently, the Review system is disabled until it can be rewritten for GameDB version 2.
Empty Activity Log
This permission grants the ability to empty the activity log. The system does not
automatically purge the log, so it is recommended that you purge the log every so often to stop it from
growing overly large.
Configure System
This permission grants the ability to alter system wide configuration options. These
options significantly change how the system operates, so these permissions should be granted sparingly.
There are also per user configuration options. These options are always
accessible to every user, regardless of the setting for this permission.
Edit Templates
These permissions grant the ability to add, edit or remove Templates in the system, as
well as allowing manual page rebuilds.
Note that while automatic page generation is active, anyone who makes changes
to information in GameDB may cause page generation to occur, regardless of the setting for this permission.
Adding a new user
To add new
Users to the system, display the
User List
by clicking "Users" in the main menu, and then click the button labeled "Add a New User" at the top of the page.
The user name and password fields set the login information that the new user can use to log in. Once logged in, the
user may change either of these values to anything they want, as long as their user name remains unique.
When a new user is added, a new
Player record is automatically added and linked to
the new user. The rest of the fields in the form become the
Player Profile for this
new user, and may be changed by the new User once they have logged in.
New users may only be added by users with the appropriate
permissions set.
Removing an existing user
To remove
Users from the system, display the
User List
by clicking "Users" in the main menu. From here you may select one or more users for removal by checking the check box
next to their record, and clicking on the "Remove" button at the bottom of the list. You will be asked to confirm the
operation before the removal takes place.
When a user is removed, their
Player record remains behind. As such, removing a user
revokes login access.
Users may only be removed by users with the appropriate
permissions set. Regardless of
the setting of this permission, you may not remove your own user.
Editing user permissions
To edit
permissions of
Users in the system, display the
User List by clicking "Users" in the main menu. From here you may click the
"Edit Permissions" link for a user to edit that user's permissions.
Be careful while editing permissions for your own user, as if you remove your own ability to alter the
permissions of others (Edit Users), you will be unable to restore your access. If this happens, contact your
GameDB administrator for assistance.
User Permission may only be edited by users with the appropriate
permissions set.
Editing user profile information
To edit the
User Profile of
Users in the system, display the
User List by clicking "Users" in the main menu. From here you may click the
"Edit" link for a user to edit that user's profile.
The form that appears allows you to edit both the User Profile and the
Player Profile
for the user in question.
Profile information is visible on the
Game Play Details page.
User Profile information may only be edited by users with the appropriate
permissions set.
Regardless of the permission settings, you may always edit your own Profile information.
Setting per user configuration options
Every
User in the system has access to
Per User Configuration options,
which allow that user to customize the display of GameDB for themselves. These settings are accessible by
clicking on "Configuration" in the main menu.
These options are always available regardless of what permissions a user has set.