This chapter includes the following topics:
Note:
Tasks discussed in this chapter are not available if WebCenter Portal Impersonation is not enabled for the current WebCenter Portal domain. For more information, see Preparing WebCenter Portal for Personalization in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Permissions
The tasks for granting impersonation rights described in this chapter are available to any WebCenter Portal user. Tasks for initiating impersonation sessions are available only to users who have been configured as "impersonators" by the system administrator. For more information, see Configuring Impersonators in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal)
WebCenter Portal Impersonation lets a WebCenter Portal administrator or system administrator assign impersonation rights to a user ("impersonators"), such as application administrator, so that the user can impersonate another Portal user and perform operations as that user ("impersonatees").
Note:
You cannot assign impersonation rights to a enterprise group.
This may be useful in the following instances:
A customer support representative may want to perform actions as another user in order to understand the issues being faced by that user
An administrator may want to perform operations on behalf of a user
A company executive may need to delegate someone to act on his or her behalf while away
How impersonation is used will depend on choices that have been made locally. Note that the user to be impersonated must also first grant rights to the intended impersonator.
This section describes how impersonatees can grant impersonation rights to designated impersonators.
You can allow someone to impersonate you during a specified time slot using the My Impersonators screen. Note that impersonators will not be able to access the My Impersonators screen during an impersonation session.
To allow an impersonation session:
This section describes how impersonators can initiate an impersonation session using either the Impersonation preferences page or using a hot key.
This section includes the following topics:
You can view the impersonatees that have granted you impersonation rights and can initiate impersonation sessions using the Impersonation preferences page. Note that you must have been granted impersonation rights to access this screen by the administrator (see Configuring Impersonators in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal).
To view or start impersonation sessions:
From your user menu in the menu bar, select Preferences (see Accessing the Preferences Pages).
On the Impersonation page (Figure 6-3), scroll down past the list of users who can impersonate you to the list of the users that have granted you impersonation rights (Figure 6-4). Note that unless you have been configured as an impersonator, you will not be able to impersonate other users and the list will be empty.
Figure 6-3 Preferences - Impersonation Page
Figure 6-4 Preferences - Impersonation Page (Bottom)
If Switch User appears as an action in the list, it means that you can begin an impersonation for that user; No Action Possible means that the grant has expired or is for a future point in time.
To initiate an impersonation session from the Impersonation preferences page:
Click Switch User to select the user to impersonate.
When prompted, confirm your credentials to start the impersonation session.
You will be taken to the impersonatee's home page and all ensuing actions during the session will be done on the impersonatee's system as if they were done by the impersonatee. The only exception to this is that during the session you will not be able to access the impersonatee's Impersonation page.
Figure 6-5 Impersonation Session - Impersonatee's Screen with Impersonation Overlay
Click Stop Impersonation on the impersonation overlay (see Figure 6-5), or from your (the impersonator's) Impersonation preferences page to end the impersonation session.
You can initiate an impersonation session using a hot key from within WebCenter Portal at any time, provided you have been granted impersonation rights (see Configuring Impersonators in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal), and that one or more impersonatees have set up an impersonation session with you as the impersonator.
To initiate an impersonation session using a hot key:
This section describes common error conditions and their solutions
Problem
When you click Switch User you are taken to an error page rather than a screen where you can enter your credentials.
Solution
The access time may not fall within the impersonation session's allotted time slot. Check the duration on the Impersonation preferences page and try again. Alternatively, you can ask the impersonatee to revoke your impersonation rights and grant them to you again. If this fails to resolve the problem then contact the system administrator to inspect the OAM logs to determine the problem. Also, if you enter incorrect credentials on the consent page the impersonation session will not begin and you will be taken to an error page. To resolve this error, return to your home page and begin the impersonation session again.
One final reason why initiating impersonation session may fail, even when it looks like you are trying to impersonate within the correct duration, is because the OAM server and WebCenter Portal server clocks are not in sync. If you have checked that you are trying to start a session within the correct time frame, and that your credentials are correct contact your administrator to see if this may be the case. Configuring OAM and WebCenter Portal's server clock settings is described in Configuring WebCenter Portal for Impersonation in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Problem
You are taken to an error page when you click when you click Stop Impersonation.
Solution
If you are taken to an error page when you click Stop Impersonation, go to the home page and check if the impersonation session has ended. If not, click Logout to explicitly end your impersonation session and your own session and then contact the system administrator to inspect the OAM logs to determine the cause.