Once a system group has been created, it can be associated with any site and treated like any other security group within that site. A system group is no different from any other site security group regarding how permissions are set and how its members are handled etc...
Associating a system group with a site
Click the to Admin module, then select Groups under User management:
The Groups screen is displayed. To associate a system group with the site, within the Groups screen, navigate to Add > System group:
The Add system group screen is displayed, listing every non-archived system group available:
Associating a system group with the site means that every site administrators and member administrators will be able to add any system group to a site.
While site administrators and member administrators can add System Groups to a site using this method, that it is limited to internal users. External site and member administrators will not have access to system groups. The search box at the top of the page can be used to quickly find a system group by name.
From this page, a site administrator or member administrator can view the membership of every system group and then associate a system group with the site by selecting the appropriate group and clicking Add. Any number of system groups can be added to a site, but the same system group can only be added to a site once.
Configuring access rights
Once the checkbox belonging to the appropriate system group has been selected and the Add button has been clicked, the system group will be added to the site and the administrator can configure the site module permissions, just like for any other group:
Click Save to save your changes. And the new system you have added will now be visible.
Within this page, please note that:
- The system group is denoted with a unique icon and [system group] displayed after the system group name.
- The regular site groups have [site group] displayed after their name
- The membership of the system group cannot be edited
However, the system group is like any other group. Its membership can be viewed and it can be granted access to any module.
Removing a system group
A System group can be removed from the site via the Remove group option. When a system group is removed from a site, then every member of that group will be removed from the site, subject to the following limitations; If (a) a user was added to the site prior to being added to the site as part of that system group, or (b) the user was added to the site in a separate system group, then that user will retain their site membership, either through their individual site membership or through their membership in the other system group.
Managing site users in system groups
Users added to a site through a system group are treated like any other users in a site, with a few exceptions. Additionally, they can be added to other security groups, assigned roles, sent invitations etc...
Any users added to a site through a system group will be listed on the Users administration screen.
Invitations
When a system group is added to a site, users in that group will not receive email invitations. However, it is possible, from within the User administration screen, to send invitations to those users after the system group is added to the site. Filter by the system group name and select the Unsent invitation checkbox. This will show all of the users in a particular system group who have not been sent invitations before. Click Select all users > Send invitation to send the invitation.
How site users are handled
There are a few limitations with regards to a site user who has been added to a site through a system group:
- A user who has been added to a site through a system group cannot be individually removed from that site. There are only two ways to remove this user: (a) remove the entire system group from the site or (b) ask a system administrator to remove the user from the system group, which may impact that user's access to other sites
- If a user was added individually to a site before being added to that site through a system group, that user will remain a site user after the system group is removed from the site
- A user who has been added to a site through a system group cannot be individually added to that site later, because the user already has a site membership
- However, a user can be added individually to a site before being added to that site through a system group
- A user who has been added to a site through a system group can be given a role in that site via the Roles administration page. If the user's system group is later removed from the group, the user is also removed, along with their role
- When the membership of a system group associated with a site is changed, no notification will be provided. That means users may be added to or removed from a site through a system group without a site administrator or member administrator being notified
- A user who is a member of a site solely through their membership in a system group can be added to regular site groups, but if the system group they are a member of is later removed from the site, the user will be fully removed from the site
