Make Server User a System Constant

[StephenR]

There is no good way to get server user credentials into a workflow without asking them for it in an App interface.  It would be great if we could have a built in Constant that could be used to silently pass user credentials into a workflow for things like API's or logging user information.

[hroderick-thr]

Please do this!

[seven]

@StephenR 

Please see my post here:

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Server-Discussions/Pulling-the-user-info-into-the-app-from-...

I have an easy solve and want to know if this will work for you.

[JohnPelletier]

@seven That seems like a great solution. Thanks for posting it!

Does anyone have a situation where seven's solution doesn't work for them?

[JohnPelletier]

Should we mark this one as resolved then? 

[blyons]

This solution does not work for us at all, because it requires the Gallery to run apps as the user logged in, which ours doesn't, and can't do. Our Gallery services run under a special service account, which is what is returned by this function. Users do not have the necessary permissions to do most of the functions we have in apps.

And, in my opinion, a well designed solution should also include other things included in the workaround I posted early in the thread. Specifically, the email address is essential for many of our processes in order to email the user a notice, sometimes of an error, other times a result set, other times just a notice. Email addresses may be completely different than usernames. FirstName, LastName and other things are also useful. A well designed solution would provide a seamless way to connect to the all the mongodb data for the running instance, without the complexity and "gotchas" involved in the current workaround.

I vote "NO" to marking this closed or resolved. Please consider all use-cases in solutions, not just a single corner-case. If you don't, we will be forced to continue doing it the hard way that we have been using for years.

[JohnPelletier]

@blyons Thanks for the feedback! Considering other use cases was exactly what I had in mind when posing this question above: "Does anyone have a situation where seven's solution doesn't work for them?"

I really appreciate the participation. Your input helps us to value this requirement higher in priority than it otherwise would have been valued.

[seven]

Hi@blyons 

thank you for the passionate response. I did solicit feedback as not every Gallery implementation uses Run As. Calling it a "corner-case" seems a bit extreme though as it is quite common. In my posted answer, I did mention that I use the username to query AD, grab the user's email, and send an email alert. I realise that again, not every company uses AD. That doesn't make it a corner-case either. 

The prevailing workaround to use a text box and hidden variable in an App seems like a corner or edge case to me. Turning any workflow, in which the username is needed, into an App is a stretch. I merely wanted to proffer something that will help those looking for alternatives.

I'm sorry, the bar is quite high for a well designed solution that works in literally every implementation given there are manifold variables at play: Gallery authentication, Run modes and user impersonation, etc. I totally agree that it would be great for Alteryx to step in and make it easy for us. I further agree with you that this should remain open.

[KylieF]

Thank you all for your feedback!

Our product team has finished reviewing this idea and determined that at this time we're unable to put it on the near future roadmap. This is due to several factors, including the technical requirements, time frame and necessary integration with Designer. However should we be able to return to this idea in the future, we'll be sure to update it back to Under Review.

[rcarog]

I have an use case for this:

A department of 60+ users require access to a single app which generates an Excel data report filtered by the User ID (Active Directory). Users can only have access to the data regarding their region. They must not be able to generate/view other regions' data.

My workaround is to duplicate the app as many users need it. Luckily, there are group of users who work on the same region, so at least I won't have to make 1 app per user; but right now there are 16 apps in the Gallery in order to enable all of them. ☹️

This is similar to the "User filter" feature Tableau has on Tableau Desktop/Server.

[blyons]

@rcarog I do not understand why you would need to do it this way. One or both of the previously offered solutions should work fine in your situation. I use the first option, for the reasons previously stated.

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/Get-App-User-name-at-Run-TIme/m-p/775#...

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Server-Discussions/Pulling-the-user-info-into-the-app-from-...

Have you tried these?

bl