Managing Users in a Project

Owners of FieldScope projects can manage the level of access various visitors have to their projects. Owners can select one of several options: (1) allowing free access to a project, (2) allowing users to view, but not add, data, (3) limiting access to view or enter data, and (4) limiting which data participants are able to see depending on their roles. These options are outlined below.

• Place no limitations on who can access or collect data for your project .

You may want anyone to be able to access and upload data in your project. At this permission level, project owners can elect or decline to be notified when new participants join the project. If you elect to receive these optional notifications, they will appear in an email like the one below.

• Allow visitors to view data but limit their ability to enter data.

If you wish to allow anyone to view and visualize data in your project, but restrict them from adding data without approval, please let the FieldScope team know and we can set your project up with this level of access. At this level, the +Add Data button will simply not appear on the project page unless an approved data collector is logged in. All users will still be able to access the data and create visualizations. 

With Access

Without Access

• Limit access to all project data and visualizations. 

At this level, access to a FieldScope project is only available upon request. Though unregistered users can reach the main project page for a restricted project, if they try to access the data, create a visualization, or add data, they will receive the following message, indicating approval is required for participation.

If you decide to require approval before a participant gains access to add or view your project’s data, you will receive an email like the one below whenever someone attempts to join your project. You will need to click on the link included in the email in order to grant the individual access.

If, for any reason, you need to rescind access to your project from a user, you can do so by following the steps below.

Click on Manage in the dropdown menu at the top of the page.
You will see options to manage Observations, Stations, Users, and Groups.  Click on Users.

You will be taken to a page where you can see the names, emails, date joined, and last login for all of your project participants, as well as their organization, if applicable (you may see other fields, depending on how your project is set up). From this page, you can search for a particular user and approve or unapprove users. You can also approve first-time users here as an alternative to approving them using the email link.

• Limit access at different permission levels depending on the community member.

In cases when sensitive Indigenous cultural data should only be accessed by certain groups, the FieldScope team can set up different levels of permissions based on the role a user plays in a project. Once a project is configured this way, a project owner can assign a permission level to each participant, as shown below.

The roles available with this type of setup are:

• Local Member 

Users at this level are only able to see data submitted by other local members. They are not able to see data submitted by Indigenous Members or Adminstrators. 

• Indigenous Members

Users at this level are able to see data submitted by other Indigenous members and by local members. They are not able to see data submitted by Administrators. 

• Administrators

Users at this level are able to see all data submitted by other Administrators, Indigenous Members, or Local Members.