This article describes user linking in Smart ID Digital Access component.

How does user linking work?

User linking is used when you want to create a user account based on an existing user in your company's directory service, for example, Microsoft's Active Directory. With this method you add user accounts for one user at a time, according to your global user account settings, with links to the appropriate user storage location. The user storage must have been set up first. Linking can also be automatically done when a new user logs in to the system at the first time, depending on an authentication method.

• Automatic linking
  When a user tries to access a resource using a Digital Access authentication method, and no matching Digital Access user account exists, a Digital Access user account is created and the user information is linked from the user storage location to the new user account.

• Manual linking
  This is performed by the Digital Access system administrator, using user linking to create user accounts in Digital Access Admin, see Link Digital Access users to a directory service like Active Directory.

Default global settings for user linking are configured per Digital Access authentication method. See Global user account settings in Digital Access.

What is user link repair?

If users are moved in or deleted from the user storage location, established links between Digital Access user accounts and your company's directory service will be broken. When this occurs, these users cannot be authenticated. To repair broken links, missing users are searched for in the user storage location and when found the link is re-established.

Link repair can be performed using two methods:

• Use the User Link Repair wizard to check directory links, and repair or delete user accounts with broken links, see Repair user link in Digital Access.
• Use the default global setting Auto Repair to repair user links automatically when users access the system, see Global user account settings in Digital Access.

When Auto Repair is used, the directory link is automatically updated when the user attempts to access the system.

Related information

• Set up authentication method in Digital Access
• Add user account in Digital Access
• Add user storage in Digital Access
• Global user account settings in Digital Access
• Implement authentication method
• Link Digital Access users to a directory service like Active Directory
• Resources in Digital Access
• User accounts in Digital Access
• Repair user link in Digital Access
• User storage in Digital Access
• Users in Digital Access