Invitations & Access Control
Sending Invitations
In order to give someone access to the directory, you must first add them as a member of the directory. You can follow the instructions for adding a family if you need more help. You will also need to enter a valid email address for the person on their member record.
Once you have done this, as an admin, you should see a link next to their name on their family page that says "Invite". When you click this link, Courtyard will automatically send them an email invitation to set a password and access the online directory.
Once you have sent someone an invite, the link will change to say "Reinvite". You can click this link to send them another invitation, which is sometimes necessary if the first invitation got deleted, or caught in spam filter. Once the person has accepted the invitation, the link will go away, and you will see a green "Active" indicator.
Inviting All Members at Once
Typically, a directory administrator will want to do their initial data import, and possibly show the directory to a few key people before inviting the general congregation. Once you are ready to launch, it would be a tedious process to have to go through each family page and click all the "Invite" links.
Because of this, we added an "Invite All" button on the admin Access Control page. Clicking this button will send invitations to everyone in the directory who has a valid email address, and who has not already accepted an invitation to access the directory.
Sending Invitations Automatically
Once you have your directory up and running, you may not want to have to manually invite every new member that gets added over time. If you don't care to make this decision on a case-by-case basis, you can turn on automatic invitations on the admin Access Control page.
With automatic invitations turned on, every new member added with a valid email address, and any existing member for whom you enter a new email address, will be sent an invitation immediately.
Admin Privileges
The members of your directory have the ability to log in and browse the directory, export the directory data, and edit their own families information. Directory Administrators have a variety of privileges in addition to those shared with regular members. Below is a list of admin privileges.
- Admins can edit or delete any family in the directory.
- Admins can add new families to the directory.
- Admins can invite people to access the directory.
- Admins can revoke access to the directory.
- Admins can add and remove other admins.
- Admins can add, delete, and rename directory sections.
- Admins can modify directory settings.
- Admins can change the directory URL.
- Admins can cancel the Courtyard subscription.
When you sign up for Courtyard, you will become the first directory administrator. You can add other admins to share the responsibility of managing your online directory.
Adding a New Admin
In order to add someone as an administrator, they must first be invited to access the directory as a member, and accept the invitation. Once they are Active, you can go to the Access Control page under Settings and click the New Administrator button.
When you click the button, a dialog will appear with a search box. Type the name of the person you want to make an administrator in the search box. You should see their name appear in an autocomplete list below the search box. If their name does not appear, it means that they are not an active member. When their name does appear, pick their name, and then click Save.
You should now see the person you added in the list of Administrators.
Removing an Admin
Removing an admin is pretty simple. All you have to do is go to the Access Control page under Settings, find the admin you want to remove in the Administrators table, and click the "X" button next to their email address. Once you click OK on the confirmation dialog, the admin will be removed.
If you remove an admin, they will still have basic member access. If you need to revoke their member access as well, please refer to the next section.
Note that you cannot remove yourself. If you wish to hand off administrative responsibility to someone else, you will need to ask your replacement to remove you from the administrators list.
Revoking Member Access
From time to time, you may need to revoke someone's access to the online directory. If you are in that situation simply go to the Access Control page under Settings, find the person's name in the Members table, and click the "X" button. Once you click to confirm this action, their access will be revoked immediately.
Note that revoking someone's access does not remove their family from the directory, and removing a family from the directory does not revoke access to anyone in that family.
<{:id=>"faq"}>Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I prevent members from modifying their own data?
- Can I create a login without having a family record for it?
- Is there a limit on the number of people who can access the directory?
- Is it possible for my directory to use a shared login?
Can I prevent members from modifying their own data?
We do not currently provide an option to prevent members from modifying their own data. We have found it very practical to allow individual members to update their own records without having to go through the directory administrator. It keeps the directory more up-to-date, simplifies the task of maintaining the directory, and does not adversely affect the quality of the directory contents.
Can I create a login without having a family record for it?
The way to do this right now is to create a new family, including the email address you want for the login. Once you have saved the family, you will be able to send an invitation, and then delete the family. The invitation code will still be valid, and recipient will be able to set a password and access the directory. You will see their email address (though not their name) in the Members table on the Access Control page.
Is there a limit on the number of people who can access the directory?
No. You can compare subscription plans on the pricing page. All plans include unlimited member access.
Is it possible for my directory to use a shared login?
We prefer for every member to have their own login, so that they can edit their own family information. However, we do understand that for some churches, it is more convenient to have a general shared password. If that is what you want to do, follow the instructions above for creating a login without a family record. Once you have activated the shared login, you can publish the email address and password in your church bulletin or email loop.