Community Knowledge Base

Impersonate User

There are times when a system administrator will need to access domain or user specific information. SmarterMail uses impersonation to accomplish this goal. When you impersonate a user, you essentially log in to SmarterMail as them without having to actually log in. This can be a useful method to examine settings or diagnose a problem directly.

NOTE: When a system administrator is impersonating a user, the interface will be displayed using the language that is set for system administrator, NOT in the language of the account/User they are impersonating.

To impersonate a user, do the following:

  1. Use Impersonate User on the navigation pane. A modal window opens.
  2. From the modal, select the Domain from the dropdown, then start typing the User's name. If you're already on the Configuration tab for a domain, that domain's name will automatically populate the Domain dropdown in the modal. (However, you can change this if needed.) When you start typing the User's name, SmarterMail should offer some autocomplete options. You can select one of those options or finish typing out the User's name.
  3. Once you've selected the Domain and User, click the Impersonate button. A new window will open and you'll be logged in as that user. By default, you'll be placed in that User's Settings.
  4. You can tell you're impersonating a user because an orange "Impersonating" flag is displayed in the upper, right corner of the SmarterMail interface.
  5. To exit impersonation, you can either log out of the impersonated user or simply close the browser window.

Once impersonating, you are able to edit user/domain settings, content filters, or other settings that need to be changed or reviewed.

Alternatively, you can impersonate a user by going to a Domain's Accounts tab, right-clicking on a user and selecting Impersonate User from the context menu. (Or by selecting "Impersonate User" from the Actions (⋮) dropdown.)

Changing Impersonated Users

It's also possible to change the User you're impersonating, or even change the domain and user, from the Impersonating window. Simply click the orange Impersonating flag in the upper right corner of the interface and a new Impersonate User modal window opens. Here, you can change the domain or user you want to impersonate and, by clicking the Impersonate button, change to that user or to a new domain and user.

Note: Only the primary system administrator has impersonation privileges by default. If you are logged in as a secondary system administrator and do not see the Impersonate User menu item in the Navigation pane, then impersonation privileges have not been enabled for your account. Please contact your primary system administrator to request to have "Allow Impersonation" and, in addition, "Allow domain management" enabled for your account.