You can manage users and groups in the security system.
Activating / deactivating the security system: The security system can be switched off completely using the Deactivate button. In this case, user login is no longer required – every user automatically receives access to the visualization. If the security system is deactivated, the label on the button changes to Activate. Clicking on it reactivates the protection mechanism so that users have to authenticate themselves again.
Backup: For security reasons, you can create a backup of the entire security system at any time – including users, groups and rights. This is particularly helpful if the security settings are damaged when editing or importing an updated project. Clicking on the Backup button opens a drop-down menu with two options:
Export: Save a backup of the current security settings. After selection, the file explorer opens to specify the file name and storage location. By default, an XML file with the name QHMI-Security-System-Backup-“Projectname”.qsec is saved in the Downloads folder so that you can find it again quickly if required. The exported XML file can be encrypted.
Attention: An encrypted backup file can only be restored with the correct password. If the password is lost, the file can no longer be accessed.
Import: Load a previously exported backup file in .qsec format to replace the current security system.
Attention: The current security system will be overwritten. If you have not created a backup beforehand, the previous user and group settings will be irrevocably lost.
Switch user/group view: Use the button at the top right to switch between the user view and the group view.
User view
In the user overview, you can see all created users and their current status. For each user, you can see whether the account is active, how many login attempts have been made and whether the account has been locked. New user accounts can be created using the Add user button.
The most important elements of user administration are explained below:
Active: This checkbox indicates whether a user account is currently active (enabled). A deactivated (unchecked) account cannot log in. The administrator can use this to temporarily deactivate a user account without deleting it – for example, if a user should not have access temporarily.
Login name: The user name with which the user logs into the system. This name is defined when the account is created and is used to identify the user.
Login attempts: Specifies how many failed login attempts are permitted for this user before the account is automatically locked.
0 – for unlimited login attempts.
Locked: This field indicates whether the account is locked. If the box is checked, the account has been locked and the user can no longer log in. As an administrator, you can manually lock or unlock an account here. Typically, an account is locked if incorrect passwords are repeatedly entered.
Delete: The red X at the end of the line deletes the corresponding user. For security reasons, a confirmation prompt appears to prevent accidental deletion. When a user is deleted, their access data is removed and the user can no longer log in.
Add user: You can create a new user using the Add user button.
When adding, you will be asked to specify a login name and assign a password. E-mail, Max. Login attempts (default value: 3) and the option to assign the new user directly to a group to which they should belong are optional. Once you have confirmed the entries, the new user will appear in the list of active users.
Group view
The group view shows all groups with the number of members and rights. Groups are used to assign common rights to several users – for example, you can define administrators, standard users or guest accesses, each with different authorizations. The group view table shows the name, the number of members, the number of assigned rights and an option to delete the group for each group. New groups can be created using the Add group button.
The most important elements of the group view are:
Group name: Name of the user group. This is assigned when the group is created and should clearly describe the role or access of the group (e.g. administrators, operators, guests, etc.).
Members: Number of users who currently belong to this group. This allows you to see at a glance how many users are assigned to a specific role. A user is normally assigned to the group when the user is created or by editing the account.
Rights: Number of authorizations (access rights) assigned to the group. Each right represents a specific action or a specific area of the system to which the group members have access. You can use the rights management in the QuickHMI-Editor to define what members of the group are allowed to do. The number in this column shows how many individual permissions have been activated for the group.
Delete: The red X deletes the corresponding group. A confirmation prompt appears when a group is deleted.
Add group: Use the Add group button to create a new group.
You will be asked to specify a group name. You can then optionally assign certain rights or users to the new group. After saving, the new group appears in the group list.
Double-click on a user or group to open the editing dialog where you can adjust all relevant settings.
