Users vs Profiles
It's important to understand the distinction: a profile is a data record about a person, while a user (persona) is a login account. Creating a profile does not give someone access to the platform. To grant access, you need to invite them as a user and assign appropriate access passes.
Types of Users
Qik distinguishes between two types of users:
- App Users — People who sign in to your public interfaces/apps. They interact with the front-end experience you've built.
- Dashboard Users — People who can log in to this admin dashboard. They have access to manage data, configure settings, and administer the platform.
Inviting a New User
To invite someone as a user:
- Navigate to People in the sidebar
- Click Invite User
- Enter their email address and basic details
- Select the type of access they should have
- An invitation email will be sent with a link to set up their account
Invited users appear in the Pending Invitations list until they accept and set up their account.
Assigning Access Passes
Once a user exists, you can assign access passes to control their permissions:
- Navigate to Access Control
- Find the user in the users list
- Add one or more access passes to their account
- Each access pass grants specific roles within specific scopes
Remember that access passes are additive — a user gets the combined permissions of all passes assigned to them.
Managing Existing Users
From the People section, you can:
- View App Users — See all users who sign in to your public apps
- View Dashboard Users — See all users with admin dashboard access
- Pending Invitations — View and resend invitations that haven't been accepted
- Blocked / Banned Users — View users who have been blocked or banned from the platform
Blocking and Banning Users
If you need to revoke access, you can:
- Remove access passes — Reduce their permissions without removing their account
- Block / Ban — Completely prevent them from logging in. Blocked users appear in the 'Blocked / Banned Users' list and can be reinstated if needed.
Application Access
Applications (websites and interfaces) also have their own access tokens and permission sets. When a user signs in to an application, their session combines:
- The application's own permissions (what the app can do)
- User-specific permissions configured for that application
- Any individual access passes assigned to the user
This layered approach lets you control what a public website can show to anonymous visitors, what logged-in users can see, and what specific users can do based on their individual access passes.