Lesson #113
Setup – Users and Groups function
You can run RB as a single user, but if you have other in-house personnel who need access to your RB, set them up as users. Then give them user names and passwords to access RB, and store work-related and personal information about them. Group them according to their access levels and job functions, so they can perform their jobs and receive internal messages, but not access areas of RB you do not want them to use.
Groups give users defined access
Users and Groups is the tool you use to manage RB users, individually and grouped according to permissions, rights, and notifications. There are 2 default groups in RB: Administrators, which grants group members full access to all areas of RB, and Users, which is the basic group every RB user is part of and grants them limited access to only essential areas of RB.
The initial user of your RB system is designated as an administrator so they can enter other users and grant them permissions. They can add other users to the Administrators group, and anyone who is an administrator in RB can perform the same functions. There is no limit to how many administrators your system can have.
Security Groups
Administrators can set up Security Groups in addition to the default groups, which can have different access to RB functions. For example, you could set up a Calendar group, in which you give access to all Calendar functions in RB and maybe some select functions in other modules, such as the repository and entities.
When setting up a new group, the only required information is the Group Name. Other information you can add to a group is a group description, group members (RB users), and security permissions/function access.
There are 2 levels to security permissions: Simple access, meaning users in the group can search and view information; and more comprehensive access, meaning they can also edit and delete information. Most functions offer comprehensive access only, but in some functions you can limit access to read only. Functions that offer both access levels are generally more critical areas, such as cases, jobs, and invoices, which you might want to allow some users to view, but not change.
In addition to setting up Security Groups, administrators can:
- Add or delete users from each group (one user, several, or all users at once).
- Change which functions are accessible in a group (except the Administrators group).
- Delete groups (except the Administrators and Users groups).
Users can be members of more than one group, so you do not have to have a lot of groups to cover every option. If someone’s responsibilities overlap different areas, such as someone who oversees both calendaring and billing, administrators can give that person access to both areas through membership in multiple Security Groups.
While members of the Administrators group have all of the capabilities described by default, they can also grant members of other Security Groups the same capabilities if desired.
Message Groups
In addition to Security Groups, RB also has Message Groups, which allow you to send a message to all the members of a group simultaneously. Members of a Message Group can also send messages to the group. There are no required Message Groups, nor are users required to be a member of any Message Group to use RB.
Similarly to Security Groups, the only requirement when setting up a Message Group is a group name. Administrators can also add a group name, and add or delete members. Administrators can edit or delete existing Message Groups.
With either group, you can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB will revert back to the default order).
Adding users
When you open the Users and Groups function, it lists all of the users who are already entered into your RB system, along with their user name, email address, whether they are an active user, and when they last logged into the system. You can sort the list by one or more columns in ascending or descending order (but when you exit the function, RB will revert back to the default order). You can also export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, print, share, or use in other applications.
Administrators can add users to RB at any time. When entering a new user, the only required information is their full name, RB login name, and password. When saving a new user, RB will prompt you to tie them to your company’s business units (BUs). You can tie them to one or more of your company’s BUs.
If you are using email addresses as user login names, you will be required to enter the user’s email address instead of a login name. We recommend this option because everyone knows their email address, so it is easier for them to remember than a unique user name for their RB user ID. The option to use email addresses for RB login is a general system preference.
General information
In addition to required information, you can store users’ contact information, such as their work email address, and other work related information, including their work phone number, start date/termination date, title and department (which you choose from lists you customized in the Lists function), the user’s supervisor, and any information you want to include that is not covered elsewhere in the user’s listing.
In addition to storing info about the user, this is also where administrators can:
- Reset the user’s password for them if they forgot their password and don’t want to change it themselves (administrators do not have a way to retrieve passwords).
- Let the user back into RB if they got locked out for making too many incorrect attempts to log in (using wrong user name and/or password). Administrators set how many tries users get to log in correctly before being locked out in System Preferences.
- Deactivate the user if they no longer work for the company or otherwise don’t need to be assigned or contacted anymore. Deactivated users can no longer log into RB, and their names will not appear in the system by default.
- Delete a user if they never did anything in the system. RB tracks and logs user interactions, so if someone has added or updated information in RB, they cannot be deleted from the system because their interactions are part of your audit trail.
Personal info
Personal information about a user includes their home address, date of birth, and personal phone numbers. When entering the user’s street address or P.O. box number, skip the other fields and enter the zip code. RB will fill in the city, state, and country for you. After entering the user’s address, you can view maps and directions to it in RB.
After saving a new user, 2 other panes appear in their listing: Groups and Business Units. Groups will have the default Users group listed, and Business Units will list any BUs you tied to the user. You can add or delete groups and business units you want to associate with the user here.
Who gets RB access?
Clients or resources who need access to their information in your system are not the same as RB users who are your staff, managers, or other company personnel who need access on a more global level. If you want to give your clients and resources access to their calendars, financial info, files, and other relevant info, add RB Connect to your RB system, where they can have their own online RB offices automatically populated with their information exclusively. Add RB Connect Mobile to give them similar access on their iPhones and other mobile devices.
TL;DR: Store work and personal information about company personnel. Give them access to specific functions in RB through Security Groups, and communicate internally with multiple users at once through Message Groups.
RB concepts in this lesson
Business Unit (BU): One of your company’s revenue centers or any entity in your business that you want to track separately.
Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition, but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources, such as realtime, videoconferencing, or read & sign. More >
RB Connect: Online repository, calendar, and access to your office for clients and resources, including interactive transcripts, downloadable invoices and e-commerce for clients, and online turn-in, one-touch job acknowledgements, and downloadable pay statements for resources. More >
RB Connect Mobile: Clients and resources can access your RB Connect on their smartphones and tablets in an interface optimized for mobile devices. More >
