Logon to the web portal
Logging onto the web portal can be done via one of the following methods:
- A username/password combination
- Active Directory / Single sign-on / Windows Authentication
- Third-party login provider via oAuth
Username / Password Logon
HelpMaster Username and Password
Helpmaster has its own security model built-in. Staff and Clients can login to the Web Portal using their HelpMaster credentials as follows:
- Open a compatible web browser e.g. Edge, Chrome, Firefox (Internet Explorer is NOT compatible)
- In the address text box, enter the URL as per the IIS bindings for your HelpMaster web portal
- Click the Log in hyperlink at the top right. Enter your HelpMaster ClientID and password
- From v25+ your email address may also be used in place of your ClientID
- Click the Log in button to complete sign in and start using the web portal
Forgotten HelpMaster Password
- Click the Forgot password link
- Enter your email address and click Email Link button
- An email will be sent to your address with a link to reset your password
Active Directory / Single sign-on / Windows Authentication
If you have configured the Web Portal to use Windows Authentication, you can bypass the default login page by doing the following;
- Log on to Windows using your usual Windows network logon.(Important! This Windows account should already be associated with your corresponding HelpMaster user. See Active Directory Module Overview)
- Open a compatible web browser like Edge, Chrome, or Firefox
- In the address text box, enter the base URL of the web portal followed by /winlogin. The URL may also include a page that is behind the logon screen for your web portal and browse to it using the additional suffix ?ReturnUrl=xxxxxx. If Active Directory / Windows Authentication has been configured correctly, you should be taken to that page and automatically logged on with the user that is currently logged onto Windows. eg.
If your web base URL is https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com, then browsing to that page will take you to the unauthenticated Home page, however browse to any other page behind the logon screen using the /winlogin suffix and ?ReturnUrl=xxxxxx (examples below) will attempt a Windows login and take you to that page if successful.
| URL | Function | Auto login? |
|---|---|---|
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/winlogin | Base Home page | Yes |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com | Base Home page | No |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/winlogin?ReturnUrl=Home | Home page | Yes |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/Home | Home page | No |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/winlogin?ReturnUrl=Explorer | Job Explorer page | Yes |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/Explorer | Job Explorer page | No |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/winlogin?ReturnUrl=Catalogs | Request catalog page | Yes |
| https://servicedesk.wizbangwidgets.com/Catalogs | Request catalog page | No |
AD Login Button
Clicking the Active Directory button will attempt to log you in via your Active Directory account association if previously configured.
Using Third-Party login providers via OAuth2
The web portal also allows for logging in via third-party provider accounts such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc… See Using Third-Party login providers via OAuth2
The Remember me? option
Selecting the Remember me? option will save your login session to the browser, regardless of which method you have used to login with. The effect being that closing and re-opening your browser will not log you out of the web portal and you can resume your logged in session.
Log off
To log off, simply click the Log out hyperlink located at the top-right of the browser window.
It is highly recommended that you end the session by using the Log out hyperlink, otherwise if using a concurrent web license, it will not be freed, and your session will remain active. Clearing cookies before closing your browser will end the session but the HelpMaster database will still show you as being logged in and the license will not be available until you are properly logged out.
New Login / Logoff Architecture
From v25+ the web portal login process has been changed to a whole new connection architecture. So when logging on to the web portal from this version on, if there were any previous sessions open where you had not logged out using the Log out hyperlink, you will automatically be logged out of any previous sessions eliminating the previous issues of not being able to login or consuming licenses with open sessions.
See also
External OAuth2 Provider Configuration
Web Windows Authentication Configuration
ActiveDirectory User Synchronization
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