Overview

You can create many Managed Users quickly by uploading a CSV file that contains their details.

This feature can only create Managed Users (not Independent Users).

To start, click the button "Batch Create Users" in the Users page.

CSV Format

Here's an example of a valid CSV file:

Blank lines and comments (lines that begin with the character #) are ignored. So the lines "# Staff" and "# Students" are ignored.

The first line (that isn't a comment) contains the headings, which are the names of the fields that you want to use. In this example, the headings are: "Name", "Email", etc. We support many fields, but most of them are optional, so the headings let us know which fields you're actually using.

Headings that begin with the comment character # are ignored: that's why we ignore the column "# Remarks". You might want to include such columns for your own use.

The lines after the headings contain users: one user per line. You may leave any of the non-required fields blank.

Note: for simplicity, we've shown the CSV file as a table. Most people use a spreadsheet program such as Excel to write CSV files, so this table matches what you will see on-screen. Here's what the actual CSV file looks like (if you open it in a simple text editor instead of in a spreadsheet program):

hogwarts.csv

Required Fields

• Name - the name of the user

• First Name, Last Name - alternatively, instead of "Name" you can choose to use the two fields "First Name" and "Last Name"

• Age - the user's age range. The possible values are:

  • <13

  • 13-16

  • 16-18

  • 18+ (or 18)

Optional Fields

• Email - the user's email. Managed Users aren't required to have an email, so you can leave this blank. We don't attempt to verify the email address, so make sure it's correct.

• Password - the user's password. If you omit this then the server will choose a random password (which will be provided to you; this is described later).

  • Valid passwords must contain 8-16 characters

• Maturity - the Maturity Rating of the user. If it's omitted then the default maturity rating for the user's age will be used. The possible values are:

  • General

  • Moderate

  • Adult

• Group - a User Group that the user will automatically join. (Only one group can be specified.)

User Name

Specifying the Name

You can choose to specify the name in one of two ways:

• One field: Name

• Two fields: First Name and Last Name

You should use whichever method is easier for you.

Converting the Name For OpenSim

Every user needs an OpenSim Avatar Name. We will automatically convert the name that you supply into an OpenSim name. However, you should be aware that OpenSim has strict limitations on avatar names:

• They must contain exactly two parts, a First Name and a Last Name

• They can only use English characters, digits, and a few punctuation characters

• They must be unique in all of Kitely

Therefore, if the user name is already in use in OpenSim then we will automatically create a unique name by adding a suffix. For example:

• John Smith

• John Smith_2

• John Smith_3

• etc.

Sometimes we won't be able to generate an OpenSim Avatar Name despite our best efforts. For example, this can happen if you supply a name that uses non-Latin characters, e.g. a name in Greek. In such cases we won't create the user, and you will get an error message for that user.

Results Report

Creating users is a slow process, so you will see a progress bar while the operation is ongoing. Once it's done, we'll tell you how many users were created successfully, and how many failed. You will also get a link where you can download a CSV report that lists all of the users: both those that succeeded and those that failed. (If you closed the browser before the operation was completed then it will keep running anyway, but you won't get a link to the report. Contact Kitely in that case and we'll provide you with the link to download the report.)

For users that were created successfully: the report contains their Opensim Username (aka Avatar Name) and Password. You should send this information to your users, since this is how they will login in Firestorm.

For users that failed to be created: the report specifies the problem that caused them to fail. You should copy-and-paste this part of the report to a new CSV file; fix the problems; and then upload the new file to the server in order to retry creating the users.