Dynamic Groups

You can manage users and groups dynamically by uploading a table of users and groups (along with the other data that has been uploaded to Birst) that defines which users participate in which group. The table must contain one column for user ID (email address) and one column for the group the user participates in. For example:

UserID	GroupName
Username A	Group A
Username B	Group B
Username A	Group C

Note: Username A is dynamically assigned to both Group A and Group C in this example.

To use Dynamic Groups for a space, the Use Dynamic Groups for Access option must be enabled in the space. For more options on space properties, see Modify Space Properties.

If using dynamically assigned groups, you can use a static group assignment for the Designer Access permission. If dynamic groups are configured, when a user selects a space from the Home page, the Birst data warehouse has to be queried for permission information to determine if the user has access to Designer for that space. This may take longer than if the user's Designer Access permission has been assigned in a standard "static" group as described in Creating Groups and Adding Users to Groups.

When a space is set up to use dynamic group assignment, it may take longer when a user selects a space on the home page to see if they have access to Designer. This is because the Birst warehouse has to be queried for permission information to determine if the user has access to Designer for that space. Designer Access permission can be assigned in a standard static group via the Manage Groups page if desired. Doing so will make it faster to see which modules are available after selecting a space on the Home page because the system does not need to run any additional queries. Birst always checks the static group permissions before dynamic permissions.

Note: As of 7.9, there is a known issue that if the dynamic group assignment is turned off through the Dynamic Group Assignment panel, the users will still retain access. To take access away from users, you will need to delete the hierarchy used in the dynamic groups assignment.

To configure Birst to use a data file for dynamic group assignment

Upload the file to Birst.
Create a new hierarchy with a level that has Group and User as the level key.
Make this level the grain of the uploaded data source.
Target the columns of this data source to the created hierarchy. To ensure that only the new uploaded data is reflected:
- Select a dynamic group Source Conversion of Convert to Discovery Source.
- Select Full Refresh in Snapshot and Transaction Policy.
Define column properties of the two uploaded columns.
Process data. Tip: Delete the last load and reprocess if new data is not available or ready to process.
Verify the processed data by viewing the processed data and selecting the dynamic group table.
From Admin, select Space Management > Space Groups. Then, click Dynamic Group Assignment next to the + button. The Dynamic Group Assignment window is displayed.
Select and complete these fields in the window:
- Hierarchy: Select the hierarchy that contains the mapping in the Hierarchy field.
- Username Column: Select which column in the table contains the user IDs.
- Group Name Column: Select which column contains the group name.
Tip: At least one space group needs to be available in order to perform a dynamic group assignment.
Tip: A hierarchy has to be selected for username and group name columns to display.
Click Save to save your settings.
Log in as one of the users from the table to verify the change.