You can create a group of users for the Author module using an Excel template. You can bulk import user permissions and groups to an individual report using one Excel upload. This is useful if there is a large number of users gaining access to different sections in a report with various different permissions.

This method of uploading user permissions automatically creates groups of users within the report and assigns users as either Contributors, Reviewers, or provides access individually to View, Edit or have Admin access to individual sections within a report.


Downloading the Permissions Excel Template

You need to download a Permissions Excel Template to begin creating a group of users with the same level of access.

  1. In Author, select the the User Access icon and select the Bulk Import tab.
  2. Select the Download the Permissions Template icon. This downloads an Excel template to your computer which is specific to your report.


Using the Permissions Excel Template

The Excel template should have the following characteristics:

  • Six columns labelled Section Name, Contributor, Reviewer, View, Edit, and Admin.
  • The Section Name column should contain every section within your report.

Note: You do not need to assign a user to all sections. If there are blank cells within this Excel template for certain sections, this template will still upload to the system without errors. You can enter more than one user into each cell under each column. To enter more than one user email address, separate user email addresses with a comma (,). 

  1. When you open the Excel template from your desktop, you may need to select Enable Editing in order to edit this template.
  2. In the Contributor (B) column, enter the email addresses of the users that you want to assign as Contributors to each section or the entire report. 
  3. In the Reviewer (C) column, enter the email addresses of the users that you want to assign as Reviewers.
    Note: When assigning a user as a Contributor or Reviewer to a section, they automatically receive both View and Edit access to that section. They receive one email notification advising them of all the sections that they have been assigned. These users will not receive further email notifications until you turn on email notifications to their respective group within the User Group Permissions tab.
  4. In the View (D) column, enter the email addresses of the users that you want to assign with View access. Separate user email addresses with a comma (,). 
  5. In the Edit (E) column, enter the email addresses of the users that you want to assign with Edit access.
  6. In the Admin (F) column, enter the email addresses of the users that you want to assign with Admin access.
  7. Save your updated file on your computer.


Uploading Your Permissions Excel Template

Note: If you need to use the bulk upload more than once for a particular report, you can go through the process as stated above. The system will not create new groups, it will detect that the group has already been assigned and will simply add the new users to their respective groups.

  1. After you complete entering the usernames within your Excel template, in Author, navigate to the User Permissions Settings tab, and select the Bulk Import tab.
  2. Select Upload Permissions, select the Permissions Excel Template from your computer, and select Open.
  3. Select OK. 

After the upload completes, in the Progress column, the uploaded file changes from Uploading to Complete. When you navigate to the User Group Management tab again, new user groups have been created. The system creates three individual groups for each section of your report, whereby for each section of the report, three further groups are created for the user access levels; View, Edit, and Admin.

If you have assigned a user as a Contributor or a Reviewer, they can now change the status of the sections for which they have been assigned.


Activating email notifications for Contributors/Reviewers

  1. Select the User Group Permissions tab.
  2. In the dropdown, select the group that you want to activate email notifications for.
  3. Select the Edit icon beside the section you want to provide access permissions to and activate email notifications for.
  4. For the sections for which the users have been assigned as Contributor and/or Reviewer, select the Contributor or Reviewer checkboxes to activate email notifications for that report or section
  5. In the first column, select the Update icon to save the notification changes.