Batch user creation script?

[rmichael]

Is there a script lurking anywhere in the OJS distribution or CVS for batch user creation? If not, I'll read the createUser code and write something. (I'm thinking something might exist as part of the migration from OJS 1 process.)

Thanks,
Richard

[asmecher]

Hi Richard,

There's a user import/export plugin the Journal Manager can use; see plugins/importexport/users/users.dtd for the DTD.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team
---
Don't miss the First International PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference
July 11 - 13, 2007, Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://ocs.sfu.ca/pkp2007/

[rmichael]

Thanks Alec.

Reading over the OJS in an Hour document (although I didn't do that prior to posting), I see this mentioned in the Import/Export Data plugin subsection of the Journal Manager section. It might be helpful to add a quick mention of this as a means for batch user creation in the "Create User" subsection.

If I *had* read the docs, I don't think I would have thought of users as data, especially as the Import/Export data section precedes discussion of users in the documentation.

[rmichael]

A further question...

I've probably missed this too, but this time I searched the documentation first..

How do I delete a user from OJS? (Not only disable, but entirely delete.) I'm testing the import/export plugin.

If I simply connect to the database and DROP the user record I wanted deleted, what will OJS do with references to that user_id, e.g. in an article record, etc.? (I suppose it could change them to another defined user, perhaps defaulting to the Journal Manager..)

[asmecher]

Hi Richard,

Because we support so many different versions of MySQL and PostgreSQL, relational integrity is manually implemented e.g. deleting a user from the users table won't cascade to all related tables. Use the Journal Manager's "Merge Users" feature to remove users entirely from the database.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team
---
Don't miss the First International PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference
July 11 - 13, 2007, Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://ocs.sfu.ca/pkp2007/

[rmichael]

Thanks.

I notice a user must be enrolled to be "mergable". The Merge Users page doesn't have an "Merge Existing User" action at the bottom as the "All Users" page does ("Enroll Existing User"). To delete users, it seems I should create a "catch all" system user, and merge deleted users into that account.. ?

We've discussed the confusion over the "All Users" page before. The merge/delete issue is confusing too. Has the user managment been reworked for OJS 2.2?

The effective use of "merge as delete" should probably also be mentioned in the OJS in an Hour document. I'm happy to make contributions to it, how would you like them? (It's not easy to send diffs since it's a Word document.)

Also, I could eventually (once our journal is up and running) write up a FAQ (I've been keeping lots of notes for myself), if it will be helpful.

[asmecher]

Hi Richard,

Your feedback is much appreciated. The requirement for a user to be enrolled in order to appear in the Merge list has proven confusing, as has the naming of the Merge feature (as opposed to e.g. Delete), but the underlying cause of the problem is the fact that the user database is shared between journals, which is a design choice that has actually served us very well.

We've considered a few approaches, such as moving the Merge function into the Site Administrator's role and listing all users rather than only enrolled users, but nothing has been implemented yet.

I've asked the author of the OJS in an Hour document to review this thread and take your suggestions into account for the next release of the document.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team
---
Don't miss the First International PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference
July 11 - 13, 2007, Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://ocs.sfu.ca/pkp2007/

[rmichael]

I think the user management related functions just need to be more clearly labelled, and somewhat more traditional.

Meaning, I'd be looking for "Add User", "Delete User" (or the OJS idea of merging), "Enroll User", and "List Users" (which would canonically list all users, but optionally filter by enrollment, for example, and other attributes).

This opposed to the current system where "All Users" is likely interpreted as "List Users", but actually means "List Enrolled Users" and also doubles as "Enroll User" (via the "Enroll Existing User" link at the bottom).

[asmecher]

Hi Richard,

Some of these points have already been addressed in CVS -- for example, your suggestion to change "All Users" to "List Enrolled Users". We'll review the rest when it comes time to test for the next release, which will be OJS 2.2.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team
---
Don't miss the First International PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference
July 11 - 13, 2007, Vancouver, BC, Canada
http://ocs.sfu.ca/pkp2007/

[rmichael]

Yes, I thought some of these things had been address, since we'd discussed them already.

Thanks Alec, I'm looking forward to 2.2.