is it possible to use Editor Tracking without secure services?

Question

hi, we have a basic web editing site which allows users to add points, and we want to track those edits.  However,  we don't want to have a constrained set of defined users along with associated passwords because we expect the number of users to get very large very quickly and it would be cumbersome to try to define each of them.

We'd just like to have an open site where any user could have access without authentication, but would just need to initially input an e-mail address or some identifying string.  Then that would be attached to his added features, as in the Editor Tracking sample.  Is it possible to customize the Editor Tracking sample code or the secure services functionality to achieve this?  Thanks much!

Dan

DanielSchatt · Answer

Lets say you have an email-id of the logged in user then you before saving the edits you can simply add to the attribute in the code behind.

Thanks Zachary and Preeti.

Preeti, when you say "have an email-id of the logged in user" doesn't that mean you're using secure services which require a login?  Else how do you have the email-id?

Also, I wonder if you can be more specific about exactly how to add an attribute value in the code-behind.  I see no sample or example of how to do that...thanks again for any help.

Dan

PreetiMaske · Answer

You could use a non-secured service for editor tracking. As Dan mentioned there will be no user name for creator/editor fields. CreatedOn and EditedOn edit tracking fields will get value anytime a new feature is created or edited. And yes if you want to have user's email then you should have a field in you database that can be used for accepting email. Lets say you have an email-id of the logged in user then you before saving the edits you can simply add to the attribute in the code behind.

ZacharyHart · Answer

hi, we have a basic web editing site which allows users to add points, and we want to track those edits.  However,  we don't want to have a constrained set of defined users along with associated passwords because we expect the number of users to get very large very quickly and it would be cumbersome to try to define each of them.

We'd just like to have an open site where any user could have access without authentication, but would just need to initially input an e-mail address or some identifying string.  Then that would be attached to his added features, as in the Editor Tracking sample.  Is it possible to customize the Editor Tracking sample code or the secure services functionality to achieve this?  Thanks much!

Dan

I'm pretty sure i saw an example of this while out at Redlands earlier this year; this was before 10.1 came out. I think what I would do as a test is keep the service secured and handle the web-facing exposure via a proxy page. In the example I saw the person from ESRI did demonstrate your same scenario with editor tracker...it logged the time created, but i think the user field was blank (or possibly logged with the credentials used to create your token in your proxy page...but that may be the coffee talking).