Setting a User's Authentication Options

Authentication is the method by which Laserfiche verifies the identity of a user before granting that user access to a Laserfiche repository. A user can authenticate to a Laserfiche repository either through password authentication or Windows authentication.

Note: For detailed information on passwords and Windows authentication, see Windows and LDAP Authentication and Active Directory Integration.

If you want a Laserfiche user to be able to authenticate through password authentication, make sure that the Allow users to log in with password check box is selected from either the New User or User Properties dialog box and type a password to be assigned to that user. This makes it possible for a user to log in to a repository by specifying a user name and password.

Note: For a user to take advantage of password authentication, the Use Windows authentication check box must be cleared from the Laserfiche Windows client Start Page.

If you want a Windows user to authenticate as a particular Laserfiche user, specify the desired Windows user in the Windows accounts option from either the New User or the User Properties dialog box. This allows the specified Windows user to log in to a repository whenever the Use Windows authentication check box is selected from the Laserfiche Start Page. Remember that this is not the only way to allow a Windows user to log in to Laserfiche; a Windows user can also be added directly in the Windows Accounts node.

Note: When the Use Windows authentication check box is selected, any authorized Windows user can log in to a repository. In other words, it allows Windows users that have been associated with a Laserfiche user or with a trusted Windows account to log in to a Laserfiche repository.

Reminder: A Windows user can only be associated with a single Laserfiche user.

To set a user's authentication mode

  1. Start the Laserfiche Administration Console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the desired Laserfiche Server item.
  3. Select the desired Laserfiche repository.
  4. If security has been enabled on that repository, log in as any user who has been granted the Manage Trustees privilege for the specified repository.
  5. Expand the Users and Groups item.
  6. Click the Users item.
  7. Click the user whose authentication mode will be set.
  8. From the Action menu, click Properties. The User Properties dialog box will appear.
  9. Make sure that the General tab is visible.
  10. To associate a Windows user with the Laserfiche user being modified, specify the exact name for the desired Windows user under the Domain accounts option. If you are not sure of the exact user name, click Browse (…). The Select Users dialog box will appear. Type the name of the desired Windows user. Click Check Names. If you are satisfied with the resulting name, click OK.

    11. Note: Linking a Windows account to a Laserfiche user is not the only way to allow Windows authentication. You can also add a Windows account directly; see Windows Accounts for more information.

  11. Do one of the following:
    • To allow password authentication to the current user, select the Allow users to log in with password check box and type the password to assign to the user in the Password option. Confirm the password in the Verify Password option. Alternately, click the Generate Password button to generate a new, random password.
    • To deny password authentication to the current user, clear the Allow users to log in with password check box
  1. Click OK to save your changes.

Note: If you choose to clear the Allow users to log in with password check box and the Domain accounts option, no one will be able to log in to a repository as that user.

To set a user's authentication mode

  1. Open the web client management page. Sign in as any user who has been granted the Manage Trustees privilege for the specified repository.
  2. Under Users, select the user of interest.
  3. Make sure that the General tab is visible. Click Edit in the Authentication section.
  4. To associate a Windows user with the Laserfiche user being modified, specify the exact name for the desired Windows user under the Domain Accounts option. You can also browse through possible domain users by clicking the downward-pointing arrow, which will display a drop-down menu of possible domain users. If you are satisfied with the resulting name, click Add.

    5. Note: Linking a Windows account to a Laserfiche user is not the only way to allow Windows authentication. You can also add a Windows account directly; see Windows Accounts for more information.

  5. Do one of the following:
    • To allow password authentication to the current user, select the Allow users to sign in with a password check box and type the password to assign to the user in the Password option. Confirm the password in the Verify password option. Alternately, click the Generate Password button to generate a new, random password.
    • To deny password authentication to the current user, clear the Allow users to log in with password check box.
  6. If you had checked the Allow users to sign in with a password box, you can also set the following options:
    • Select Ignore maximum password age if you do not want the password to expire.
    • Select User cannot change password if you do not want the user to be able to change their password.
    • Select User must change password at next sign-in if you want the user to set their own password when they next sign in.
      • If you select this option, you can specify that the password you had set in the Password and Verify password fields will expire after a certain number of hours. If you want to do this, select Temporary password expires after, and specify the number of hours you want the temporary password to be valid for.
  7. Click Save to save your changes.