Selecting a Security Framework for Your Publisher Environment

There are a number of important preparatory steps that need to be completed prior to logging in to Publisher and building live calendars from your 25Live data. First, you must decide whether you will have a Publisher framework with a Publisher Administrator and a separate Publisher User account (the Two Publisher Users Approach), or whether you will consolidate these roles into a single Publisher user account (the Single Publisher User Approach).  Either approach is workable and easy to set up. Let's explore the two models for building a security framework for 25Live Publisher.

The Two Publisher Users Approach

The two-level approach involves building security groups and user accounts for two types of Publisher users:

1. A Publisher Administrator, and
2. A Publisher User

Using this framework, the Publisher Administrator functions in a role that is very similar to a Functional Administrator and needs security rights to open events in the Event Form, edit Event Descriptions, set Event Categories, and adjust other elements of the event. The Publisher Administrator is also responsible for building applicable event searches to share with the Publisher User.

The Publisher User publishes these searches as event feeds and works in Publisher to build and style the associated calendars. Once this process is complete, the Publisher spud (the Javascript that drives the live calendar) can be integrated into a campus web page, either by the Publisher User, the Webmaster, or a web developer.  

This framework produces a layered approach to the calendaring process where the Publisher User is merely a consumer of events with no access to the Event Wizard (see diagram below). 

The Single Publisher User Approach

The single Publisher User approach involves building a user account and functional security group for a single Publisher User. This user needs some event editing ability, but not at the level of a full functional administrator – namely, they will need the ability to edit event elements like event descriptions, event names and titles, and categories.  With a single account, the Publisher User plays dual roles:

1. Acting as a reviewer of calendaring data on events in 25Live (e.g., event names, titles, and descriptions) and modifying them for web presentation if necessary, and
2. Creating searches, publishing feeds and building and styling 25Live Publisher calendars.

This approach has the advantage of being more streamlined, keeping all Publisher functions centered in one generic user account (with the optional involvement of a Webmaster or web developer to embed the Publisher spud Javascript code).

Either of these approaches will provide a functional and successful framework for building and styling 25Live Publisher calendars.  Ultimately, the choice of which approach functions best for your campus depends on your institution's needs and preferences as well as campus staffing.