Creating & Managing Users
What is a User?
In Tadabase terminology, a User is anyone who logs into your live app. A user can be a customer, employee, warehouse worker, or anyone you provide access to login to your published app.
A user record must be created in the Users Data Table in order for that person to login to your published app.
The Users data table is a default data table that is built-in to your app. You can access the Users data table by clicking on the Users data table from your app's list of data tables (the pin icon reflects the Users data table's default status):
Benefits of adding users
While technically you can add your employees, team members, clients, etc., or any group of people, within a regular data table and not within the Users data table, any people added within a regular, non-Users data table will not be able to login to your app. The Users data table is specifically designed to provide login and custom permission access to those added to this data table.
Adding users within the Users data table and enabling user access is the best way to secure your application and has many benefits. By enabling user access you can allow multiple groups of people to access different sets of data all from one centralized, secure database. You can also track, log, and interact with your users as well with their records and values.
The following are just some of the benefits of enabling user access:
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Group your users based on their role at the company
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Create custom portals for customers, employees, or any role type within the company
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Restrict access to pages, rows, and records based on each user's role.
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Track how and when users log into your app
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Track all record changes and deletes based on user activity
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Only show records based on who created them
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Only show records based on values from the logged-in user
Adding users
You can add users within the default Users data table. The Users data table comes with five built-in fields that can not be deleted but can be renamed:
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Name
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Email
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Password
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Status
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Role
Each of these five fields serve a specific purpose in providing user access. Let's discuss each field's purpose below.
The Name field is used to identify your users within the Users data table. This is a basic text field and has the same rules as all text fields.
The Password field is used to set the password for each user logging into your app. You can create password policies as to what the password must contain. Password policies are not applied from within the Builder but rather from the live app when users use the signup component to signup for you app.
The Email field is used as the primary method for users to login to your app. This value must be unique for each user.
The Status field is used in conjunction with the Login Component. This field give you the flexibility to determine which users are allowed to login and which are not allowed to login. You can set these restrictions on the component level.
The Role field is how you assign which role/group each user belongs to. Roles enable you to restrict access based on the role of each user within your business.
How to add Users
Users can be added via three different methods, depending on your use case:
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Via the Builder
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Via a Signup component
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Via a Form component
Let's explore each method of adding users as well when you would use each method.
Adding users via the Builder
To add a user from within the Builder, select the Users data table and click Add New Record. This works similarly to how you would add a record in any other table.
Adding users via signup component
Within the Page Builder, you can add a signup component to any page or layout which would provide users with the ability to signup and become a user.
The signup component comes with built-in fields including Name, Password, and Email, however you may add additional fields to your sign up components if you wish. Once users sign up via a signup component, their values will be automatically added to the Users data table.
Adding users via forms
Since users are technically a record like any other, you can add users via a regular form component. This would work similarly to the signup component, but the signup component has additional features used for auto-logging users after they signup.
Editing users
User values can be edited in three different ways, depending on your use case:
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Via the Builder
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Via a Form component
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Via a Profile Component
Editing users via the Builder
To edit a user from within the Builder, click on the Users data table and select the pencil icon to the left of the user record you wish to edit.
Editing users via forms
Since users are technically a record like any other, you can add users via a regular form component.
Edit Forms can be added to existing child pages with a matching data source, or by adding an edit link to a component.
Editing users via profile component
You can enable users to edit their own user records by adding a profile component to any page or layout. You can choose which user fields to show/hide within the profile component, which will enable users to update specific fields of their user accounts and not others.