Changing User Account Names

To change the user's WikiName:

• Rename the user's TWiki homepage in the Main web, such as from JaneSmith to JaneMiller.
  • Fix backlinks in the Main web only
  • Make sure the group topics are updated (if any.)
• Edit the Main.TWikiUsers topic and move the user's entry so that the list is in proper alphabetical order.
• Recreate the old topic with a pointer to the new topic, so that links in other webs work properly. Example content:
  %M% Jane Smith is now known as JaneMiller

If external authentication is used and you want to change the login name:

• The login name needs to be changed in the directory server, such as AD or LDAP
• In TWiki's Main.TWikiUsers topic, fix the mapping from login name to WikiName such as from:
     * JohnSmith - john - 13 Sep 2006
  to:
     * JohnSmith - jsmith - 13 Sep 2006

1. [optional] Delete their user topic Main.FredQuimby (including attachments, if any.)

• • Warning: Do not use the Apache htpasswd program with .htpasswd files generated by TWiki! htpasswd wipes out email addresses that TWiki plants in the info fields of this file.

• NewUserTemplate can be changed to customize user home pages, it can optionally use the UserForm to define user fields as meta data
• BulkRegistration is for administrators to use to set up one or more accounts: either from a table or from an external file

• ChangePassword is for users who can remember their password and want to change it
• ResetPassword is for users who cannot remember their password; a system generated password is e-mailed to them
• BulkResetPassword if for administrators who want to reset many passwords at once

1. If you are using a .htpasswd file, edit the .htpasswd file to delete the line starting fred:
2. Remove the FredQuimby - fred line from the Main.TWikiUsers topic
3. Remove FredQuimby from all groups and from all the ALLOWWEB/ALLOWTOPIC... declarations, if any.
   Note: If you fail to do this you risk creating a security hole, as the next user to register with the wikiname FredQuimby will inherit the old FredQuimby's permissions.
4. [optional] Delete their user topic Main.FredQuimby.

Manage Users

Authentication and Access Control

• TWikiUserAuthentication describes options of user authentication
• TWikiAccessControl describes how to define groups and how to restrict access to content

Register User

• TWikiRegistration is for users to fill out a form
• NewUserTemplate can be changed to customize user home pages

Change, Reset and Install Passwords

• ChangePassword is for users who remember their password
• ResetPassword is for users who do not remember their password; they are asked to send a request to the site administrator to install a new password
• InstallPassword? is for the site administrator to install a password

Removing User Accounts

To remove a user account:

1. Edit the data/.htpasswd file to delete their entry (only applies if you are using a .htpasswd file)
2. Remove the FredQuimby line from the Main.TWikiUsers topic
3. Remove user from all groups and from all the ALLOWWEB/ALLOWTOPIC... declarations, if any.
   Note: Otherwise this is a security hole as the first one to re-register with this name will be granted the permissions of the previous user.
4. [optional] Remove their topic files: data/Main/FredQuimby.txt and data/Main/FredQuimby.txt,v

Note: Consider leaving the user topic file in place so their past signatures and revision author entries don't end up looking like AnUncreatedTopic? . If you want to make it clear the user is inactive on your site (e.g. PeterThoeny? ) or has been banished add a note to that effect and write protect the page (TWikiAccessControl). The existance of the UserName topic prevent that user name from being re-used.

-- TWiki:Main.MattWilkie - 21 Jul 2003
-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 15 Aug 2004