You can define what different types of users can see and do in applications with role-based access control. It is built in, along with user management, so you do not need to write custom code or repeat the process with each application. Role-based access control works alongside the sign-in methods you configure. Authentication decides how a person signs in; roles decide what they can do once they are in.
Built-in roles and user management are available to all Aha! Builder plans. You must be an application owner to enable role-based access control, create roles, and manage users.
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Enable role-based access control
Role-based access control is optional, and you can turn it on for any application. Open your application, click Configuration in the navigation bar, select the Authentication tab, and open the Roles sub-tab. Use the Role-based access control toggle to turn it on.
Aha! Builder typically enables role-based access control when you create a business application, since most applications have distinct types of users.
It is off by default for proofs of concept, where you may not yet need to separate access.
Configure roles in your Preview environment first, then deploy them so they take effect in Production. Changes in one environment do not affect the other.
Create and manage roles
When you have enabled role-based access control, Elle generates an initial set of roles based on your application. New applications start with two built-in roles:
Admin: an administrator with full access.
User: a standard application user.
The Roles sub-tab lists every role in a table with the following columns:
Name: the display name of the role.
Key: the identifier your application code uses to check a user's access.
Description: what the role is for.
Users: how many users are assigned the role.
Type: whether the role is built-in or custom.
From the Roles sub-tab you can:
Click Add role to create a custom role, then give it a Name, Key, and Description.
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Edit a role to change its name or description.
You can rename a built-in role to match your application, such as changing the standard User role to a job title. The role's Key stays the same, so your application code continues to work.
Remove a role you no longer need.
Ask Elle to create or modify roles by describing the change in the Elle panel. Elle will update the list on the Roles sub-tab to match.
From Configuration -> Users, you can pre-provision a user and assign their role before they first sign in. Click Add new user, enter their information, and select the appropriate role. This is helpful if signup is turned off or if you want access ready before launch.
After you create or change roles, ask Elle to apply the updates to your application so the permissions take effect in the code.
Manage application users
Once you have set up roles, open Configuration → Users to manage who can access your application.
From the Users tab you can:
Click Add new user to create a user directly from Aha! Builder.
Assign a role when you add a user, so their access is ready before they sign in.
Search for users to quickly find a person in the list.
Edit a user if you need to update their details or role.
Send an invite to help a user sign in for the first time.
Reset a password for users who need help getting back into the application.
Pre-provisioning is useful when you want to prepare access in advance. For example, you can add admins and other users before launch, even if signup is turned off. When that person signs in for the first time, Aha! Builder links their account to the user record you already created.
Use the Users tab when you want to control access directly. Use the Roles tab when you need to define or update permission levels.
Preview each user experience
Before you deploy, confirm that each role sees only what it should. Preview lets you experience your application as any role without creating separate test accounts.
Open Preview.
Click the Application Viewer icon in the preview toolbar.
Select a role to view the application as that role, or select View as yourself to return to your own view.
Confirm that each role can reach only the pages and actions you intend.
Validating each experience in Preview helps you catch permission gaps before real users sign in.
Add roles to an existing application
If you already have an application in Aha! Builder without role-based access control, you can add it at any time.
Go to Configuration -> Authentication -> Roles.
Turn on the Role-based access control toggle.
Ask Elle to apply the updates to your application.
Elle generates a starting set of roles based on your application, which you can then refine on the Roles sub-tab and assign on the Users sub-tab.