Interfaces

Understanding interfaces
Interfaces allow access to the system with preset values for 

 

 Wrapper 

 Stylesheet 

 Template 

 Language 

 User context 

 

 When accessing the interface the user is redireceted to the main page with the correct parameters set. In case the user context is active, a session with a matching user profile is also created i process. 

 The following types of record operations are allowed 

 

 Create new records 

 Update an existing record 

 

 Create operations 

 Create operations require no additional security information and can be used directly. 

 URL for testing the interface: 

 http://[server name]/[application]/webinterface?[interfacename] 

 Update operations 

 When updating an existing record a security token must be passed along to the interface: 

 

 The right data is displayed for the user 

 Bind user session to this piece of data 

 

 A security token contains 

 

 a reference to the record 

 a timestamp when the token was issued 

 a signature that guarantees that the server issued the token 

 

 URL for testing the interface: http://[server name]/[application]/webinterface?[interfacename]=[security token] 

 Security tokens can be generated in various ways 

 

 Create a status action that generates a notification 

 Administrator tool: Designer > Modules > Admin Services > BuildSecuityToken 

 Add the special "Token display" field to a solution 

 

 Questionnaires and email invitations 

 Generation of security tokens are closely tied to the use of questionnaires and status actions. 

 The guide  Questionnaires covers such an example.

Using interfaces
Interfaces are access points for external users (someone using the system without a login). 

 For a more detailed description, please read:  Understanding interfaces 

 Basic configuration 

 An interface has the following configuration options 

 

 Interface URL

 

 Unique name of the service 

 

 

 How should the interface behave

 

 Look and feel:

 

 Wrapper: "Outer" page design, possibly mimicing an existing website 

 Template : "Inner" page design 

 Stylesheet: Color, font, styles etc. 

 

 

 Language: Default language set on page 

 Use questionnaire : Use multiple pages in stead of one big page 

 

 

 What is the external user allowed to do

 

 Proxy user profile 

 Allow UPDATE of existing records 

 Allow INSERT of new records 

 

 

 

 Note that using and interface is no different than being a normal user: The external user will mimic the provided system user, and this user must have the appropiate permissions. 

 Email tokens for access to existing records 

 A common usage is sending email tokens to external users. 

 Tokens will allow a certain user to update the content of a certain record. Usually these are tied together, where the email of the user is a field in the record. 

 Tokens contain a timestamp, so it is possible to invalidate the token after a specified amount of time 

 

 Token expiry : Maximum allowed age of the token 

 

 Please not that tis use requires some additional configuration of the Status action that sends the emails. 

 Other interface options 

 Control what happens after an update or insert operation 

 

 Succes message : Displayed message (if not using questionnaire interface) 

 Failure message : Displayed message (if not using questionnaire interface) 

 Redirect : URL to send user to after updating/inserting their data 

 

 Extra security features 

 

 CAPTCHA : User must take human test before using the interface (prevents robots from injecting data) 

 IP filter : Specify which IP's are allowed to use the interface (prevent users from known problem countries)