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About Magic Authentication

Magic Authentication — free version

The Magic Authentication plugin for Moodle is a convenient and secure authentication plugin designed to simplify the login process for users. With the Magic Authentication plugin, users no longer need to remember and enter their usernames and passwords to access the Moodle site. Instead, they can use a magic link that is sent to their email address, providing them with direct access to the Moodle platform.

Key Features:

1. Magic Link Authentication: Instead of traditional username and password login, users can authenticate themselves by clicking on a magic link sent to their email address. This eliminates the need for remembering and entering credentials, providing a more convenient login experience.

2. Email-based Verification: The plugin relies on email verification to ensure the authenticity of the user. A unique magic link is sent to the user's registered email address, serving as their authentication token.

3. Secure Authentication: Magic links are time-limited and expire after a certain period, adding an extra layer of security. This helps to prevent unauthorized access and reduces the risk of password-related vulnerabilities.

4. User-friendly Interface: The plugin provides a user-friendly interface on the Moodle login page, allowing users to easily request a magic link by entering their email address and clicking a designated button.

5. Seamless Single Sign-On: Once the user clicks on the magic link and completes the authentication process, they are automatically logged in to Moodle without requiring any additional credentials. This creates a seamless single sign-on experience for users.

6. Compatibility: The Magic Authentication plugin is designed to work with the latest versions of Moodle, ensuring compatibility and seamless integration into your Moodle environment.

Magic Authentication Pro — paid version

The Magic Authentication Pro plugin is an enhanced version of the Magic Authentication plugin for Moodle. It introduces additional features that enhance the authentication and login experience for users. With this plugin, users can conveniently register by entering their email addresses. Administrators gain the ability to create and manage registration campaigns, customize the login page to align with their organization's branding, and leverage a range of customization options. These enhancements result in a smoother and more user-friendly authentication and login process within Moodle.

Key Features:

1. Magic Signup: The Magic Signup feature allows users to create an account simply by entering their email addresses. Whether or not an account with the provided email address already exists, a magic link will be sent. If the account doesn't exist, clicking on the magic link will create the user account.

2. Magic Custom Login Page: With the Magic Custom Login Page feature, you gain full control over the login page. A separate custom login page is created, enabling you to customize its appearance and layout. You can choose to display only one input field for the email address and conditionally show additional input elements based on the entered email address and its associated authentication method.

3. Campaigns: The Campaigns feature allows users with the appropriate capabilities, such as site managers, to create registration forms. These forms can be customized visually, including the addition of a logo, text, and background image. You can pre-set profile information, define form fields, set up enrolments, and assignments, and even manage capacity within the campaigns.

4. Allow User to Use Username for Login: By enabling this feature, users have the option to enter their username instead of their email address in the login form. The plugin will determine the corresponding email address for the provided username and send the magic link to that associated email address. A global setting controls this behavior.

5. Button Position: This feature allows you to configure the position of the "Get a magic link" button on the login page. You can choose to display the button in the normal position, below the username field, or below the password field, depending on your preference.

6. Manually Override Expiration Time: Administrators with the appropriate capability can manually override the expiration time of a magic link. This feature is particularly useful for creating everlasting login links, such as for demo accounts or specific use cases where a longer validity period is required.

7. Get Link via Moodle Webservice: The Magic Authentication Pro plugin provides the capability to retrieve the magic link via the Moodle web service. This feature enables integration with other systems or external applications that can programmatically fetch the magic link.

8. Quick Registration: The Quick Registration feature facilitates a streamlined registration process by allowing users to quickly create accounts using their email addresses without the need for additional profile information. This can be useful in scenarios where minimal user information is required.

9. Magic user accounts: The Magic User Accounts offer a convenient interface for managing users with magic authentication, with options to view and modify user information, control access, and perform essential administrative tasks. This list includes users with magic authentication enabled and authorized to access Moodle using this method.

Installation and initial setup

Installation for Magic Authentication

You can install the Magic Authentication plugin using the Moodle plugin installer. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Download the Magic Authentication plugin from the Moodle plugins repository or from the Bdecent website.
2. Log in to your Moodle site as an administrator.
3. Go to "Site administration > Plugins > Install plugins".
4. Upload the downloaded plugin ZIP file.
5. Follow the prompts to install the plugin.
6. Once the Magic Authentication plugin is installed, you need to enable Magic Authentication by going to "Site Administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication". From there, Locate the Magic Authentication plugin and click the eye icon to enable it.
7. Click the Settings link for the Magic Authentication, From there, you can configure the magic link expiration times.

Alternatively, you can also install the Magic Authentication plugin manually. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Download the Magic Authentication plugin from the Moodle plugins repository.
2. Unzip the downloaded file.
3. Upload the magic folder to the "moodle/auth" directory on your Moodle server.
4. Log in to your Moodle site as an administrator.
5. Go to "Site administration > Notifications".
6. Follow the prompts to install the plugin.

Installation for Magic Authentication Pro.

Install using Moodle plugin installer, Follow the same steps mentioned in the above installation steps. Use the Magic Authentication Pro source instead of the Magic Authentication

Alternatively, you can also install the Magic Authentication Pro plugin manually. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Download the Magic Authentication Pro plugin from the Moodle plugins repository
2. Unzip the downloaded file.
3. Upload the magic folder to the "moodle/local" directory on your Moodle server.
4. Log in to your Moodle site as an administrator.
5. Go to "Site administration > Notifications".
6. Follow the prompts to install the plugin.

Global Configurations:

The Magic Authentication plugin for Moodle includes a Global Configuration where you can customize various settings to be applied by expiration times for magic links.

To access the Magic Authentication global configuration: Go to "Site administration > Plugins > Authentication > Magic authentication"

1. Supports password:

   Disabled: This option allows users to don't utilize a password for accessing Moodle.

   Enabled: This option allows users to utilize a password for accessing Moodle.

2. Magic invitation link expiry:

   The Magic Invitation Link Expiry setting allows you to define the duration for which a magic invitation link remains valid. This global setting ensures that invitation links have a limited lifespan and expire after a specified period.

   Note: The duration is set to 0, indicating that the invitation links will never expire.

3. Magic login link expiry:

   The Magic Login Link Expiry setting allows you to define the duration for which a magic login link remains valid. This global setting controls the lifespan of the login links sent to users for authentication purposes.

   Note: The duration is set to 0, indicating that the login links will never expire.

Pro Configurations:

4. Default enrolment duration:

   The Default Enrolment Duration setting in Quick Registration enables you to specify the default duration for course enrolments. This setting controls the length of time users will have access to a course upon enrolment.

5. Default enrolment role:

   The Default Enrolment Role setting enables you to specify the role assigned to users when they are enrolled in a course using the Quick Registration feature.

6. Supported authentication method:

   The Supported Authentication Method setting allows you to define the method by which users can obtain a magic link via email for authentication.

   Magic only: This option allows only users authenticated through the magic authentication method will be able to receive a magic link via email. Users who have registered and authenticated using other methods will not have access to this feature.

   Any method: This option allows users authenticated through any authentication method to receive a magic link via email. This means that users who have registered and authenticated using different authentication methods.

7. Owner account role:

   The setting is used to define the role assigned to the user who creates a new user account.

   If the setting is configured to a role other than "none," the user who creates the new account will be assigned the specified role as the owner account role for the newly created user.

   Note: This setting is populated with all available roles within the user context.

8. Login option:

   Enabled: This option allows users to enter either their email address or their username in the login form to receive the magic link via email.

   Disabled: This option restricts users to providing only their email address in the login form to receive the magic link via email.

9. Magic login link button position:

   This setting allows you to configure the placement of the "Get a Magic Link" button on the login form.

   Below username: This option moves the "Get a Magic Link" button below the username field on the login form.

   Below password: This option positions the "Get a Magic Link" button below the password field on the login form.

   Normal: This option positions the "Get a Magic Link" button in the default location based on the identity provider being used.

10. Privileged role :

    This setting allows you to define which roles are considered "privileged" during the magic login process.

    Note: When signing in with an email address, if the email address belongs to an account that supports magic login but has a privileged role, users will be required to enter their password before they can obtain the magic login link via email on the magic custom login page.

11. Login footer links :

    This setting allows you to display a footer at the bottom of the magic custom login page that contains additional information and links.

Feature

Feature: Quick registration

Quick Registration is a convenient feature in Moodle that allows for fast and efficient user registration and enrollment into a course. It simplifies the process by enabling users to register and join a course in just one step. The feature is accessible to users with the appropriate capability in the context, ensuring that only authorized individuals can utilize it.

To use Quick Registration, the user must have the capability "local/magic:cansitequickregistration" at the site level or "local/magic:cancoursequickregistration" at the course level. This ensures that only users with the necessary permissions can utilize the feature.

The Quick Registration feature is available in two locations within Moodle: at the site level and within individual courses.

At the site level, site administrators can access it through the "Site administration > Users > Accounts > Quick registration".

Within a course, participants can access it by clicking on the "Quick registration" button located next to the "Enrol users" option.

Feature: Magic User Accounts

The Magic User Accounts presents a table displaying the list of users with magic authentication.

The Magic User Accounts feature is available in two locations within the site:

1. Site Level Access:

Site administrators can access the user list by navigating to "Site admin > Users > Accounts > Magic user accounts".

Users with site-level contexts, such as managers, can also access the user list through their profile settings. By going to "Profile > Magic Authentication > My user accounts" users with the manager role can manage the magic authentication users associated with their profile. This access is specific to site-level contexts, and the capability required is "local/magic:viewloginlinks".

2. Parent Level Access:

Parent Users can access the user list through their profile settings. By going to "Profile > Magic Authentication > My user accounts" parents can view and manage the magic authentication users that are linked to their parent account. This access is specific to user-level contexts, and the capability required is "local/magic:viewchildloginlinks".

The Magic User Accounts feature offers a convenient way to manage users with magic authentication. Authorized users with the appropriate capabilities can access a user list and perform various actions such as editing, deleting, suspending, copying invitation links, sending invitation links and Overriding invitation links.

1. Firstname / Lastname: Displays the user's first name and last name.

2. Email Address: This shows the user's email address as a unique identifier.

3. Courses: Indicates the courses in which the user is enrolled.

4. Last Access: Displays the timestamp of the user's last access to the site.

5. Edit Actions: Provides various options for managing user accounts:

   Delete: Allows for the deletion of user accounts.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:userdelete"
   
    - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childuserdelete"
   

   Suspend: Enables / Disables the suspension of user accounts.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:usersuspend"
   - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childusersuspend"
   

   Settings: Provides the ability to edit user account settings.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:userupdate"
   
    - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childuserupdate"
   

   Copy Link: Enables the sending of a magic invitation link to the user.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:usercopylink"
   
    - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childusercopylink"
   

   Invite Link: Enables the sending of a magic invitation link to the user.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:usersendlink"
   
    - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childusersendlink"
   

   Override Invite Link: Allows for overriding the expiry time interval of a magic invitation link.

    - Site-level capability required: "local/magic:usersetlinkexpirytime"
   
    - User-level capability required: "local/magic:childusersetlinkexpirytime"
   

Feature: Magic Login Page

The Magic Login Page provides significant enhancements to the standard Moodle login process. By simplifying the login interface to a single email input and dynamically displaying relevant additional input elements, we streamline the login experience for users. This customization allows for a more user-friendly and efficient authentication process tailored to individual authentication methods associated with email addresses.

To access the custom Magic login page in Magic Authentication, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Moodle site with administrator credentials.
2. Navigate to "Site Administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication".
3. Look for the "Common settings" section.
4. Locate the "Alternate login URL" setting.
5. In the field provided, enter the URL for your custom Magic login page. For example, set it to "https://yourmoodlesite//local/magic/login.php".
6. Save the changes.

The magic login page offers a simplified and intuitive login experience by requesting only the user's email address initially. Once the email address is entered, the page dynamically adapts to show the relevant input fields based on the authentication method associated with that email.

To sign in, please enter your email address. If the email address belongs to an account that supports a specific authentication method, additional input elements will be displayed accordingly based on the associated authentication method.

If the email address belongs to an account that supports magic login and is not a privileged user, or if there is no account associated with the entered email address and Magic Pro is configured to Create user accounts, you will be able to obtain the magic login link after entering the email address.

If the email address belongs to an account that does not support magic login, you will be required to enter your password.

If the email address belongs to a privileged user account that supports magic login, you will be prompted to enter your password before obtaining the magic login link via email.

If the email address belongs to an account that uses an identity provider for authentication, the appropriate button associated with that identity provider will be displayed.

Feature: Magic Sign Up

The concept of magic sign-up enables users to create an account simply by entering their email addresses. When users enter an email address that does not correspond to an existing account, they will receive a magic registration link. Clicking on this link will trigger the account creation process, and the user account will be successfully created upon completion. It is important to note that the magic registration link will have the same expiration duration as an invitation link, ensuring consistency in the account registration process.

To enable Magic Sign Up in Magic Authentication, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Moodle site with administrator credentials.
2. Go to "Site Administration > Plugins > Local plugins > Magic authentication pro > Magic Sign Up".
3. Enable the "Auto create users" setting to allow users to register automatically.
4. Save the changes.

By default, the "Auto create users" checkbox is set to false. In this default state:

• Only existing users will receive a magic link when they enter their email address in the login form. If the email address does not match an existing account, no action will be taken.

However, when the "Auto create users" checkbox is set to true:

• Users who enter an email address that does not belong to an existing account will receive a magic registration link.

Feature: Magic Campaigns

The concept of magic campaigns in Magic authentication allows users to create customized registration forms for specific purposes or events. The campaigns provide the flexibility to customize various aspects of the registration form to meet specific requirements. Participants can sign up using the customized registration forms of each campaign, allowing for a personalized and efficient registration experience aligned with the campaign.

To create a Magic campaign in Magic Authentication, please follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Moodle site using your administrator credentials.
2. Navigate to "Site Administration > Plugins > Local plugins > Magic authentication pro > Manage campaigns".
3. On the campaign list page, click on the "Create campaign" button.
4. The campaign form will be displayed, allowing you to customize the settings and details for the new campaign.
5. Once you have configured all the settings for the campaign, click on the "Save changes" button to create the campaign.

In Magic Campaigns, two capabilities control access to the campaign list:

1. "local/magic:viewcampaignlists": This capability is assigned to admins or managers, permitting them to view all campaigns. With this capability, they can see the list of all campaigns created by different campaign owners.

2. "local/magic:viewcampaignownerlists" : This capability is assigned to campaign owners, allowing them to view their campaigns only. Campaign owners will be able to see the campaigns they have created and manage them, but they won't have access to campaigns created by other users.

Each campaign can be customized using the following settings:

General Settings:

• Title of the campaign: A mandatory text input field to provide a title for the campaign.

• Description: An optional text editor field to add a description of the campaign.

• Comments: An optional text editor field to include additional comments or instructions.

Availability Settings:

• Capacity: A number input field with a default value of 0 (indicating unlimited users) to specify the maximum number of users who can register via the campaign.

  Note: Information is displayed to show how many users have already registered and how many can still register.

• Status: A select field to set the campaign as either "Available" or "Archived," with the "Available" option selected by default.

  • available: This option allows the campaign to be visible to campaign managers and users. Participants can sign up for the campaign and access its content.

  • archived: This option hides the campaign from campaign managers and users. The campaign will not be visible, and participants will no longer be able to sign up or access its content.

• Visibility: A select field to choose between "Visible" or "Hidden," with the "Hidden" option selected by default.

  • Visible: This option allows the campaign to be visible to users. Users will be able to see the campaign and its registration form.

  • Hidden: This option hides the campaign from users. The campaign will not be visible, and users will not be able to access its registration form or view its details.

• Available from: An optional date select field to set the start date for the campaign's availability.

• Available until: An optional date select field to set the end date for the campaign's availability.

• Password: An optional password input field to add an additional layer of security for the campaign.

  By using a password, campaign owners can ensure that only authorized individuals can participate in the campaign and access its content.

  Note: Campaign owners can set a password to secure their campaign. The password can be entered manually by the participant or submitted as a parameter in the campaign link. By using the link icon on the campaigns list page, campaign owners can generate a tokenized link that includes the password as a parameter. This allows for a convenient way to share the campaign with others while pre-filling the password field.

Appearance Settings:

• Logo: A file picker to upload and display a logo for the campaign.

• Header image: A file picker to upload and display a header image for the campaign.

• Background image: A file picker to upload and set a background image for the campaign.

• Transparent form: A checkbox field that allows users to choose whether to display a border, box-shadow, or background color for the form.

• Show campaign owner profile picture: A checkbox to choose whether to display the campaign owner's profile picture.

• Form Position: A checkbox field that allows campaign owners to define the placement of the registration form on the signup page.

Form fields

Form fields in the campaign allow customization of the user signup form. These fields include default Moodle profile fields as well as custom user profile fields. These fields can be used to customize the signup form for each campaign. The campaign owner can select the desired form fields and configure their visibility and requirement settings accordingly.

Each form field can be configured with the following options:

1. Required: The field will be visible on the campaign signup form and users will be required to provide a value for this field.

2. Optional: The field will be visible on the campaign signup form, but users will have the choice to leave it blank if they prefer.

3. Hidden (use provided text): The field will not be visible on the campaign signup form, but the campaign owner can provide a custom value for this field in the backend.

4. Hidden (use default): The field will not be visible on the campaign signup form, but a default value will be used for this field in the backend.

5. Hidden (use other field's value): The field will not be visible on the campaign signup form, but its value will be determined by the selected value of another selected field.

Assignments Settings:

• Cohort: A multi-select field populated with all cohorts on the site level context, allowing the selection of cohorts to be assigned to the user accounts created through the campaign.

• Global roles: A multi-select field populated with all roles available on the site context level, allowing the selection of roles to be assigned to the user accounts created through the campaign.

• Campaign owner account: A select field populated with all users on the site, allowing the selection of a user who will be assigned as the parent to the user accounts created through the campaign.

Privacy Policy Settings:

• Display consent option: A checkbox to enable the display of a consent statement on the campaign page, allowing users to give their consent to the privacy policies.

• Consent statement: A text input to enter the consent statement.

Welcome Message Settings:

• Send welcome message to new accounts: A checkbox to enable sending a welcome message to newly created accounts, with placeholders to personalize the message.

• Welcome message content: A text editor field pre-filled with a standard message, which can be customized.

• Also send to campaign owner: A checkbox to determine whether the welcome message should also be sent to the campaign owner.

Follow-up Message Settings:

• Send follow-up message to new accounts: A field to specify the number of days after which a follow-up message will be sent to newly created accounts, using the same placeholders as the welcome message.

• Follow-up message content: A text editor field pre-filled with a standard message for the follow-up message, which can be customized.

• Also send to campaign owner: A checkbox to determine whether the follow-up message should also be sent to the campaign owner.

Best Practices and Tips:

1. Generate Unique and Secure Links:

   • Ensure that each magic login link generated is unique to maintain security.
   • Implement proper tokenization techniques to prevent unauthorized access.

2. Design for Simplicity and Clarity:

   • Create a clean and user-friendly custom login page.
   • Avoid cluttered layouts or excessive design elements that may confuse or overwhelm users.

3. Simplify the Registration Process:

   • Minimize the number of required fields during quick registration to streamline the process.
   • Collect only essential information initially and allow users to complete their profiles later if necessary.

4. Customize Form Fields:

   • Customize the form fields to collect the specific information required for each campaign.
   • Determine the fields that are required, optional, or hidden based on the campaign's goals.

5. Streamline Account Creation:

   • Design the signup process to be seamless and user-friendly.
   • Minimize the number of steps and required fields to encourage participation.

Troubleshooting and Support:

By following these troubleshooting hints, you should be able to diagnose and resolve common issues with the Magic Authentication plugin in Moodle. If you continue to experience issues, consider reaching out to the Moodle community or contacting the support team for the Magic Authentication plugin for further assistance.

1. Verify Plugin Installation :

   • Ensure that the Magic Authentication plugin is installed correctly and activated on your Moodle site.

   • Check for any error messages during the installation process and consult the plugin documentation for troubleshooting steps.

2. Check Plugin Compatibility:

   • Ensure that the Magic Authentication plugin is compatible with your Moodle version.

   • Check for any plugin updates or patches that may address compatibility issues.

3. Review Plugin Configuration:

   • Double-check the plugin settings and configuration options.

   • Verify that the required settings are correctly set, such as email templates, login page customization, and campaign configurations.

4. Review Error Logs :

   • Check the Moodle error logs for any relevant error messages related to the Magic Authentication plugin.

   • Look for any specific error codes or messages that can help identify the issue.

5. Disable Other Plugins :

   • Temporarily disable other plugins to check if any conflicts or interference are causing the issue.

   • Enable plugins one by one to identify if a specific plugin is causing the problem.

6. Update and Patch:

   • Keep the Magic Authentication plugin up to date by applying any available updates or patches.

   • Developers often release updates to address bugs, improve performance, and add new features.

Changelog:

[1.0] - Initial Release - 2022-09-29

• Added "Login via Magic Links" functionality, allowing users to log in using unique magic links instead of traditional credentials.

• Implemented the "List of Magic Links" feature, providing users with a convenient overview of all their generated magic links.

• Introduced the "Quick Registration" option, allowing users to create an account effortlessly by simply entering their email addresses.

[1.1] - 2023-04-05

• Added the option to use a username for login

• Improved the position of the "Get magic link" button.

• Added the ability to manually override the expiration time for magic links

[1.2] - 2023-06-22

• Introduce the Magic Login Page feature

• Added magic registration functionality

• Implemented campaigns feature