Search

 

Edition: Futurama Website

Module: Futurama Accounts

User: User Management Site, Developer

Prerequisites

- not applicable

Introduction 

Overview of the Futurama Accounts module.

 

Description

Futurama Accounts is the Futurama component that can be used to secure the access to your applications. Following a verification process it allows you to communicate electronically with your customers. First this verification process has to be integrated in your Futurama document defining your web application. After that the Futurama Vision Management Site can be configured to use Futurama Accounts in the way you want to.

At this page the next subjects are treated:

  • description of the verification process
  • implementation of verification process in Futurama document (pending)
  • steps to use Futurama Accounts
  • use Futurama Accounts in Management Site

Verification process

With Futurama Accounts you can force your members to follow a verification process. At the end of this process you do have a validated e-mail address of your members, and they can use their chosen password to have access to your webapplication. Below the consecutive steps of the verification process.

Step 1: Create temporary password

The first step is to create an account for your members using the Management Site. See Futurama Accounts - Management Site, paragraph 'Create accounts'. After synchronizing you have a passwords.xml file with a temporary password for your members. This password is temporary because you want to force your members to choose an own password. The passwords created meet the requirements you have chosen in the configuration in the Management Site. The status of the account of the members for which a temporary password is created is INITIALIZED. Now you have to send this password to your members, so they can proceed with the verification process.

Step 2: Members logs in with temporary password

Second, the member logs in with his username and temporary password. After logging in you have to redirect the member to a page where he has to create his account. At this page you have to force the member to fill in the next information:

  • New password (meeting the requirement you defined in the Management Site)
  • Confirm new password
  • Email address
  • Secret question (before activating his account a member has to give answer to the secret question)
  • Answer to secret question

After filling in these data either an errors occurs (if the member makes an error filling in the required fields) or automatically an e-mail is sent (using the template EmailAccountCreatedTemplate.xslt). This e-mail is sent to the e-mail address the members just filled in. At this moment the status of the members' account will be changed to CREATED.

Step 3: Member clicks on the activation link in the e-mail

After filling in the required fields in step 2 an e-mail is sent to the e-mail address the member filled in. In this e-mail there in an activation link. After clicking this activation link your webapplication will be opened and the member first has to give the answer to his secret question. After answering this question correctly, the status of the members' account is changed to ACTIVATED. From now on the member can log in using his chosen password.

Other situations

In the paragraph above the three steps of the verification process are described. There now are some situations that can occur, and that will change the status of the account of the members. Below an overview of these situations.

Password lost

It is possible that a member forgot his password and cannot login to your application. You can make it possible in your application that the member can request a new password. To do that let him fill in his identifier and a check field (for example his date of birth. See Futurama Accounts - Management Site, paragraph 'Example templates', checkdataforreinitialization parameter in the PersonData.xslt). 

In the situation a validated e-mail address is available to this e-mail address a new password is sent (using the template EmailAccountReinitializedTemplate.xslt). The members' account status will be changed to REINITIALIZED. With the new (temporary) password the member can follow step 2 and step 3 described above.

If there is no validated e-mail address available an e-mail will ben sent to the e-mail administrator (using the template EmailAccountReinitializedAdminTemplate.xslt). The e-mail address is configured in the Management Site. After receiving the e-mail the administrator can create a new password manually, using the reset option in the Management Site. After this reset the members's account status will be changed to REINITIALIZED.

Account blocked

In the Management Site it is possible to choose to block the account of a member after a number of unsuccesful attemps to log in. See the configuration of Futurama Accounts in the Management Site. If the members's account is blocked the status of the account will be changed to BLOCKED. If an account is blocked it is not possible to access the application. After unblocking the member can login in using the password that was applicable before getting blocked. Unblocking can be done manually in the Management Site by an administrator. If is configured to unblock automatically, the account will also be deblocked when the deblock time has expired (deblock time can also be defined in the Management Site).

Reset account

A member that has already created an account has the possibility to change his account within the application. The member can for example change his password and/or email address. If the member changes his account this way, the status will be changed to RESET. As soon as the member clicks on the activation link in the e-mail to his submitted email address and answers the correct answer to his secret question, the status of the account will be changed back to ACTIVATED. Important: in the situation that the status of an account is RESET, the member cannot change his account again. First the member has to click on the actication link.

Deactivate account

The account of a member can be deactivated by an administrator of the Management Site. If the account of the member will be deactivated the member will get his status changed to DEACTIVATED. If the member gets this status, he will not be able to login to the application anymore. Deactivation of accounts can occur when for example the data of the member concerned is not correct, therefore creating errors in application. By deactivation this kind of members can be (temporarily) locked out. It is possible to reactivate a deactivated participant. After reactivation, the member will get the status he had before deactivation.

Steps to use Futurama Accounts

Before you can use Futurama Accounts follow the next steps:

  1. Installation of Futurama Accounts
  2. Configuration Futurama Accounts
  3. Create accounts
  4. Conversion accounts from another authentication system (optional)

Installation Futurama Accounts

See the support page Installation Futurama Accounts how to install Futurama Accounts.

Configuration Futurama Accounts

When the Futurama Accounts part of the Management Site is available these sections can be used to configure the account process. See Futurama Accounts - Management Site, paragraph 'Configure Account process' how to do this configuration.

Create accounts

After the configuration in the Management Site you can create accounts for your members. See Futurama Accounts - Futurama Management Site, paragraph 'Create accounts' how to create accounts.

Conversion accounts from another authentication system (optional)

If you start to use Futurama Accounts to secure access to your web application, and if you have another authentication system at the moment it is possible to transfer existing accounts (i.e. email addresses) to Futurama. See the paragraph 'Conversion' of Futurama Accounts - Table in Vision Database for more information.

After these preceding steps you can use Futurama Accounts. Basically the next steps have to be taken:

  1. Send passwords to your members
  2. Use the Management Site for your account process

Send passwords to your members

Result of the synchronization is a Passwords.xml file with a temporary password for each of the persons for which an account is created. Each of your members for which an account is created has to get his personal password to use this in your webapplication.

Use the Management Site for your account process

The Management Site now can be used for account management. See Futurama Accounts - Futurama Management Site, paragraph 'Account management' for more information.   

Related Topics

- Futurama Accounts - Management Site: Description how to use the Management Site for your account process

- Futurama Accounts - Table in Vision Database: Technical description of accounts table in Vision. Can be used to convert accounts from an existing system to Futurama   

Feedback

If you have any questions about this subject or if you want to provide us feedback please send us an e-mail.

Updated: 2014-05-13