Users with "administrator" status on this website have permission to create new user accounts for other people, and to change the status of existing users. If you have been given administrator status, here is how you use it:
Creating a New User Account
If you are not already logged in, you must first do so by entering your user name and password. In the user block in the right-hand column, you will see links for "Add user" and "Search users." (These links only appear when you are logged in as an administrator. Other website users don't see them.) Here, for example, is what what the user block would look like for an administrator with the username "Amy Administrator," with the additional links highlighted in yellow:
To create an account for a new user, click on the "Add user" link. This will take you to a form where you can enter the user name, email address and a password for the new user. Generally we recommend giving people the same user name as their real name, except in cases where the new user wishes to remain anonymous.
The bottom of the "Add user" page includes some fields that let you control user permissions:
An "active" user can create new articles. A "blocked" user cannot. (Hopefully this is an option that you will not need to select very often.)
If you check the "Administrator" box, the user will be an administrator with the same permissions as you, including the ability to create new user accounts.
If you check the box that says "Notify user of new account" before clickin on the "Create new account" button, an the new user will receive email notification giving the username, password and instructions on how to get started.
Modifying Existing User Accounts
To edit an existing user's account, first click on the "Search users" link and search for the name of the user you want to edit. Clicking on the user name in the search results will take you to a page that displays information about the user. Then click on the "Edit" tab that apears between "View" and "Personal files" in the row below the user name near the top of the page:
This will take you to a page where you can change the user's password and permission settings.
Information Pages
Administrator status also lets you create and edit "pages" on this website. A page is a different content type than a blog entry (which can be created by any authenticated user). Unlike blog entries, which contain the research and writing of an individual user, the "page" content type is intended to be used for adding general information about this website, such as the "About us" page, or pages that provide "how to" information such as this page that you are current reading.
For the most part, creating pages is very similar to creating blog entries. After clicking the "Create content" link beneath your user blog, simply select "Page" instead of "Blog entry." Other than that, there are only two differences:
- When pages are displayed, they do not show the name of the user who created them. (On blog entries, the author's name is displayed below the title.)
- When pages are created, they are not promoted to the front page of the web site by default, whereas the default with blog entries is that they are promoted to the front page.
