Users and permissions
A user is anyone with a sign-in to your Diarybook account. Each user’s permissions decide which appointments they can see and edit, whether clients can be booked to see them, and which parts of the account they can change.
Why this matters
Permissions are how an account keeps clinical information limited to the people who need it. A receptionist can book for a whole department without seeing another department’s list, and access ends when a user is disabled. Every change is made by an administrator, so access is always under the account’s control.
Before you start
- Managing users needs Account Owner or Account Administrator. Unlike most Settings screens, Change Settings on its own isn’t enough. The Users area is only shown to account owners and administrators.
- Set up departments and reminder settings first if you want to choose them on the user record. See Your First Week for the full order.
- Your subscription sets the number of users an account can have. The User Details form shows how many user slots are free.
Adding a user
- Select Users in the area menu. User List opens.
- Select Add New in the toolbar.
- Enter First Name, Last Name and Email Address. All three are required. An invitation is sent to the email address.
- Optionally enter a Phone Number, and choose a Department, Time Zone and Use Reminder. The time zone is pre-filled from your computer’s settings.
- Set the permissions (see below). A new user starts with Send SMS, Can Take Appointments and Can Use Schedules turned on.
- Select Save.
The new user receives the welcome email and sets their own password from it. The Welcome Tutorial takes them through it.
Use Reminder sets a default reminder setting for the user. When someone makes an appointment and this user is the first or only service provider in To See, that reminder setting is selected automatically. It can still be changed on the appointment.
Permissions
Permissions are switches on the User Details form, in four groups.
General Permissions
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Account Administrator | Access to the whole account, including adding and editing users |
| Change Settings | Changing the account’s Settings screens |
| Access Billing | Using the Billing area |
| Send SMS | Sending text messages by hand, for example from the appointments list or a waiting list |
Account Owner has no switch. It shows as a tick on the user view of the account owner. Only the account owner can change account policies.
Appointment Management
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
| Can Take Appointments | The user can appear in the “to see” field of an appointment, so clients can be booked with them. These docs call such a user a service provider |
| Can Use Schedules | The user can have schedules, busy times that show on the calendar |
| Can view All Appointments | Seeing every appointment on the account |
| Can edit All Appointments | Changing every appointment on the account |
| Can view Department Appointments | Seeing appointments for other users in the same department |
| Can edit Department Appointments | Changing appointments for other users in the same department |
| Can double-book others | Booking another user into a time that clashes. See Time Conflicts |
| Prevent edit of own | Stops the user editing their own appointments. The user view shows this as Can’t Edit Own |
Files and Secure Client Files
Each group has Can View Files, Can Upload New Files and Can Delete Files, and they can be combined in any way. Files covers general document storage. Secure Client Files covers documents held on client records; see Client Files.
Permissions that switch on together
Some switches turn others on and lock them:
| Turning on | Also turns on and locks |
|---|---|
| Account Administrator | Change Settings, Access Billing, Send SMS, Can view All Appointments, Can edit All Appointments, Can double-book others |
| Can Take Appointments | Can Use Schedules |
| Can view All Appointments | Can view Department Appointments |
| Can edit All Appointments | Can view Department Appointments, Can edit Department Appointments |
Department permissions only matter for a user who belongs to a department. A user can belong to one department.
Managing existing users
Select a user in User List to open the User view. Its side menu has General Details, Work Hours, Groups, Devices and Activity. The General Details toolbar has Edit, Enable User and Disable User.
To act on several users at once, tick them in User List, then select User Menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add New User | Opens the User Details form |
| Resend New-User-Welcome Email | Sends the invitation again, for a user who lost or didn’t receive it |
| Disable Users | The users can no longer sign in. A disabled user shows a red ban icon in the list |
| Enable Users | Lets disabled users sign in again |
| Delete Users | Permanently deletes the users from the account, after a confirmation |
Disabling is the reversible choice, so use it when you might want to restore access later — for example, for staff on leave. Deleting is permanent.
The Devices section shows the devices the user has signed in from, and lets you revoke one. See Devices.
User groups
Users → User Groups holds named groups of users, for easier management. Add users to a group from the Groups section of the User view, using Select Groups.
What to watch for
“Can’t alter your own status” You can’t disable, enable or delete your own user. Ask another administrator.
A new user can’t be added: “no user slots available” The account has used every user slot its subscription includes. Delete a user you no longer need, upgrade the subscription, or contact support.
A colleague doesn’t appear in the appointment’s “to see” list They don’t have Can Take Appointments.
A user sees too much, or too little Check the department on their record as well as the permissions. Can view Department Appointments has no effect for a user with no department. Turning on Account Administrator grants all-appointment access, whatever the other switches were.
The invitation never arrived Check the email address on the user record, then use Resend New-User-Welcome Email.
A warning about “Older Diarybook Versions” The form warns you not to change permissions for anyone still using the Desktop application. Those users could lose access to other people’s appointments.