Accessing a Web UI

Web UI users, regardless of their role (e.g., admin or end user), must have Web UI access privileges. For more information on setting privileges up, refer to the Web UI Getting Started section of the Web User Interfaces documentation here.

Once the proper privileges are set up, you can access a Web UI with Direct Browser Access or Launch Button Access, both of which are defined below, in addition to the Forgot Password functionality.

Read more about Creating a New Web UI in the Web User Interfaces documentation here.

For details about Managing Web UI Configurations (reverting to previous versions or removing a Web UI configuration revision from the revision history), refer to the Web User Interfaces documentation here.

For information on how to use the Web UI Designer, refer to the following topics in the Web User Interfaces documentation:

  • Designer Access (here)
  • Design Mode Basics (here)
  • Selecting Components (here)
  • Configuring Components (here)
  • 'Web UI component configuration reference' is available at [system]/webui/docs

Direct Browser Access

Privileged users can access a Web UI by opening a browser and entering the relevant URL. A Web UI URL is the same as the URL used to access STEP Workbench but is appended with /webui.

If the Web UI you are accessing is not enabled as the Default Web UI, the URL must also be appended to include the ID of the Web UI configuration.

Default URL Format Non-Default URL Format

https://[your system name]/webui

https://[your system name]/webui/[Web UI configuration ID])

The following are basic example URLs for a Web UI configuration where the system name (server URL) is 'your-system' and the Web UI configuration ID is 'ANewWebUI.'

Example Default URL Format Example Non-Default URL Format

https://your-system/webui

https://your-system/webui/ANewWebUI

Once the URL is entered into a browser address bar, a login screen displays.

To access the Web UI homepage:

  1. Enter STEP Username.

  2. Enter STEP Password.

  3. Click Login.

If you do not have authorization to use a particular Web UI instance, access will be denied and a 'You do not have privileges to access this Web UI' message displays.

Users with the appropriate privileges can access multiple Web UIs under a single username by logging in just once. Once a user has logged into a single Web UI, additional Web UIs (for which a common username is valid) may be opened in the same browser, either in new browser windows or new browser tabs. The name of the Web UI displays in the browser tab. During a browser session, logging in to each new Web UI is automatic, forgoing the login screen altogether.

To access a Web UI using a different username, users must first log out of one of the open Web UIs. This has the effect of logging the user out of all open Web UI sessions. The closed Web UIs will revert to the login screen and display a notification that states, 'You are now logged out of the Web UI.'

Once logged out, users are able to log into a Web UI using a different username.

Launch Button Access

The Start Page can be configured to display a launch button for all Web UIs created in STEP. Web UIs display in alphabetical order by name. Click the applicable launch button to open your default browser and navigate directly to the Web UI URL.

In the config.properties file (or sharedconfig.properties file if running servers in cluster) the Webstart.Portal.ShowAll setting must be equal to true. If Webstart.Portal.ShowAll is equal to false, no Web UI launch buttons are displayed and users must follow the Direct Browser Access directions earlier in this topic.

Forgot Password

If a user forgets their password, or is otherwise unable to log in with the password they enter into the 'Password' field, that user can click the 'Forgot Password?' link, located just beneath the login fields.

If your company is a mix of LDAP and non-LDAP users, use the WebUI.ForgotPassword.ForceEnabled property in the sharedconfig.properties file. Set the property to true to enable the 'Forgot password?' functionality, even when LDAP is used. LDAP users cannot reset their passwords in this way. Refer to the Single Sign-On (SSO) and LDAP section below.

Prerequisites

To enable the 'Forgot Password' functionality, ensure the following settings:

  1. Configure the following email-related properties on the sharedconfig.properties file:

    • Mail.MailServerURL=[the host name of the mail server]

    • Mail.DefaultFromMailAddress=[the email address used as a sender if no specific sender is available]

  2. Associate an email address with each user ID in the workbench 'System Setup' tab under the 'Users & Groups' node.

    Important: If user information is configured without an email address, or if a user submits information that does not match what is saved in the system, or if an email address is associated with multiple user accounts, the user receives no password reset email. Additionally, if an email is provided for a user in one user group, the email address is associated with that user for all user groups in which that user is included.

  3. Prior to needing a password reset, a user can verify the accuracy of their email address via the User Details Screen within the Web UI, provided that for each user, the 'Force Authentication via STEP' setting is checked on the user node in workbench. Refer to the From the Web UI section of the Changing a User Password topic in the System Setup documentation here.

To reset a password, follow the directions below:

  1. Click the Forgot password? link to display to the 'Forgot password?' screen.

  2. Enter the Username and email address associated with the user's account.

    Note: The email is evaluated on email correctness only, not case sensitivity.

    If the Username and Email address match what is in the system, an email containing a 'Complete password recovery' link is auto-generated and sent.

  3. Click the Complete password recovery link to be directed to a new page where a new password can be set.

  4. Re-type the new password, and if both passwords match, the Save new password button becomes active.

  5. Click the Save new password button to set the new password and display a window with a 'Sign in' button.

    If at any point the passwords do not match, a Passwords don't match warning displays.

  6. Click the Sign in button to return to the original login page.

  7. Enter the user ID and the new password to gain access to Web UI. 

    The new password created during this process is saved to the server.

Restricting User Access to Web UIs

If your business processes require that some Web UIs not be accessible by some users, this setup can be implemented using a combination of Web UI setup group and user group configurations. For information on how to configure Web UIs for limited access, refer to the 'Restricting User Access to Web UIs' section of the Web UI Getting Started topic here.

Preventing Web UI Changes During Maintenance

In some cases, it may be necessary to prevent users from making changes in the Web UI, for example, during maintenance. For more information about how to manage which Web UI(s) users are allowed to have access to when maintenance is being done, refer to the Preventing Web UI Changes During Maintenance topic of the Web User Interfaces documentation here.

Single Sign-On (SSO) and LDAP

Implementations of STEP that enable access to the Web UI via Single Sign-On (SSO) or via LDAP do not display to the 'Forgot Password?' button because access to the Web UI using these methods does not involve the standard login page.

If your company consists of users that sign in via LDAP and those that do not, the WebUI.ForgotPassword.ForceEnabled property can be set in the sharedconfig.properties file. Set to true to enable the 'Forgot password?' functionality, even when LDAP is used. However, the LDAP users cannot reset their passwords in this way.

For information regarding changing your password from within the Web UI, refer to the Changing a User Password topic in the System Setup documentation here.