Administrator(s) have the ability to create, update, and otherwise manage their Agency’s e-PlanREVIEW® (EPR) user accounts. This ensures that Admins can regulate how an Agency’s user licenses are apportioned among staff members.
The following must be completed before additional user accounts can be created:
Configure User Role Permissions.
Configure Groups for Permitting (and, if applicable, Design Review).
Upload and configure stamps.
Understanding Standard and Non-standard User Roles
Each EPR user must be assigned the User Role that most closely matches their expected tasks.
User Role | License Type | Description |
---|---|---|
Admin (A) | Standard | The Admin role is mainly tasked with assisting in the initial configuration of the EPR portal and with updating portal configurations as needed. Some of the most significant Admin abilities include managing:
The Admin role can also perform the functions of every other user role in EPR, including project creation, assignment intake, plan review, and packaging deliverable back to applicants. |
Project Coordinator (PC) | Standard | The Project Coordinator is usually reserved for intake staff/permit technicians. The most common responsibilities for these users are to:
When all review assignments have been given an approved, rejected, or canceled status, Project Coordinators will be notified so they can prepare a Corrections Report letter with all reviewer feedback and then package files to return to the applicant, either through email or, more commonly, through check-in to an integrated portal. The Project Coordinator role cannot typically perform plan review. |
Reviewer (R) | Standard | The Reviewer (or "plan checker", "plans examiner", etc.) has these main responsibilities:
Reviewers belong to one or more Groups (think of these as Departments or Sub-departments) and are responsible for completing plan review tasks (“assignments”) made for their Group. In some cases, especially for larger agencies, assignments are made for a specific named Reviewer within a Group. Although other users are still able to access the assignment, the named Reviewer is expected to complete the review assignments. Reviewers can also create corrections reports, if desired. The Reviewer role is not configured to perform intake of plans or prepare deliverable packages to return to applicants. |
Group Manager (GM) | Standard | The Group Manager functions as an elevated ‘Reviewer-type’ role.
A Group Manager cannot edit or delete another Group’s markups unless the user also belongs to the other Group as well. |
Project Manager (PM) | Standard | The Project Manager is the highest level of ‘Reviewer-type’ role.
A Project Manager cannot edit or delete markups for another project unless they also manage that project or are a project team member. |
Contributor (CTR) | Contributor | A Contributor is a non-standard, licensed user who is granted access to view and respond to plan review staff comments across one or (usually) many projects.
The Contributor role cannot perform plan review (they cannot create new comments, markup plans, or set assignment status values for an assignment). |
Read-Only (RO) | Read-Only | A Read-Only user is a non-standard, licensed user who is granted global view rights to all information within EPR.
The Read-Only role is for viewing information purposes only. |
One-Time-Access-User (OTAU) | N/A | A One-Time-Access-User (or “ReviewSession Guest”), is a non-standard, unlicensed role granted to guests invited through the ReviewSession feature so they can view one project’s details, comments, and access pages where those comments exist. The invitation is for a limited time (with an end date set by the invitation sender) and the guest will lose access after that date. An email address already in use by a user with another user role cannot be invited to access project(s) through the ReviewSession feature. ReviewSession guests can be re-invited after their original invitation has expired, however. |
Contact | N/A | A Contact is a non-standard, unlicensed role granted to accounts created as a side effect of their contact information being sent to EPR by goPost™ or an integrated partner system to ensure that they can be contacted in regard to project application updates, questions, or concerns. Contacts cannot log into and do not receive automated notifications from EPR, though staff can contact them if desired. While a single email address cannot be used for a contact record and a user account at the same time, a Contact may be upgraded to a standard license user role by an Administrator if the need arises. |
A Standard license grants one individual the right to be any one (1) user role within EPR except for Contributor and Read-Only roles, which have their own specialized license types. If you have questions regarding licenses and license types, contact the e-PlanSoft Support Team by creating a Service Desk Ticket.
Permissions can be changed to either remove or confer additional rights to a user role within certain limits, but it is still recommended for staff to begin with the role closest to their expected behavior.
One or more Administrator account is included for technical support purposes (or for performing automated tasks when integrated with a partner system). This account (or accounts) are not included in an Agency’s license count and should not be modified, inactivated, or deleted without prior confirmation from the e-PlanSoft staff.
Creating a New User
Go to Settings > Security > Users in the Navigation menu to open the Users page. This page will show Active users - meaning users who can successfully log into EPR - by default.
To view Inactive users, click on the “Active” toggle so it changes to “Inactive.”
Deleted users will not be listed under either “Active” or “Inactive” lists, but they still exist in the database and their email addresses cannot be repurposed for a new account. If necessary, contact e-PlanSoft Support for help with restoring a deleted account.
Add a User Account
Admins can add user accounts as needed from the Users page as follows:
Click on the plus icon at the bottom right to create a new user account.
Complete the PROFILE tab:
Select a License Type based on the intended usage (Standard, Contributor, Read-Only, or Shared).
Password, User Role, Email, First Name and Last Name are required.
New accounts must have a unique email addresses that is not already in use by any Active, Inactive, or deleted user, nor by any Contact records.
Confirm the account is set to “Active” to ensure the user can log into EPR.
Click on the GROUPS tab and select one or more Group(s) which the user will represent when performing plan review.
Click on the STAMPS tab, and select one or more Stamp(s) which the user will be able to place during plan review (if necessary).
Click SAVE to complete creating the account. The form will close.
If the user needs to receive email notifications from EPR, reopen the user profile by clicking (right-facing arrow).
Click on the NOTIFICATIONS tab, where a list of options now appears.
First, check the box for “Email notifications to…” at the top if this user should receive email notifications from EPR. This may not apply for agencies integrating EPR to another system that can handle user notifications.
Next, select which specific notifications the user should receive (see User Notifications Settings [link] for more information).
EPR monitors the total count of active user accounts to compare this to the purchased user license count. Only active accounts are counted toward the license total. Inactivating a user account will free up a license for other personnel.
Copy an Existing Account
Admins can save time when creating a new account by copying an existing profile to auto-fill the License Type, User Role, Group(s), Stamp(s) and Notification choices.
To copy an account:
Search for an existing user account to copy.
Click on the (ellipsis) button on the far right of the record.
Click on the option for Copy as New User.
A new account form pops up with License Type and User Role auto-populated.
Complete the PROFILE tab by inputting a new Password, Email, First Name, Last Name, and any other desired field manually.
Click the GROUPS tab to confirm that desired group(s) are auto-populated.
Click the STAMPS tab to confirm that desired stamp(s) are auto-populated.
Click the NOTIFICATIONS tab to confirm that desired notification(s) are auto-populated.
Click SAVE to complete the new account. The form will close.
Any auto-populated information can be changed as needed while creating a new account.
Request a New Account
To have staff fill out their own basic account information rather than creating it for them, ask any future user(s) to go to the EPR login page and click on Request a new account. This will create the user's account with the basic PROFILE information, but sets their status to “Inactive” and leaves their User Role blank.
The Admin needs to then edit the account(s) to set a user role, make the account “Active”, add group(s), add stamp(s), and select notification options before the user(s) can actually log in.
To view requested account records in the User page:
Toggle the list view from “Active” to “Inactive” at the top of the page.
Search for and select the desired inactive record.
On the PROFILE tab, set the desired User Role and switch the “Inactive” toggle to “Active.”
On the GROUPS tab, select the group(s) the user will belong to.
If necessary, grant access to stamp(s) in the STAMPS tab.
On the NOTIFICATIONS tab, select any desired notifications for the user.
The new user will receive an email with login instructions once their account has been updated from “Inactive” to “Active.”
An email will automatically be sent to a user when their status is changed from “Inactive” to “Active.”
Administrators responsible for managing user accounts should subscribe to the USER - New User Request notification option.
User Notification Settings
Administrators can choose which events will trigger an email notification for a user from the account’s NOTIFICATIONS tab.
How to Set Notifications
To configure user email notifications:
Navigate to Settings > Security > Users in the navigation panel.
Search for a user account by scrolling through or typing their email address directly into the email column header.
Click on (right-facing arrow) to open the user profile.
Click on the NOTIFICATIONS tab.
Check the box for 'Email notifications to...' at the top for the user.
If this box remains checked, the user will not receive notifications for any of the events selected in this tab.
Check the box next to any notification(s) that should trigger emails to this user.
Click the SAVE button to confirm these choices.
Both the Admin(s) and the users themselves can update the notification settings at any time while logged into EPR by clicking on (user profile) to open their account profile and going to the NOTIFICATIONS tab.
Users can only be subscribed to the events that appear in the Notifications tab, and not all events are available for all user roles. (For example, only Admins can subscribe to receive 'New User Request' notifications.)
Notification Options
Here is a breakdown of all available notification options and how they are triggered.
Notification Type | Notification Sub-type | Notification Checkbox | Condition(s) for Notification | Notification Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
PROJECT | Comment | Allow Response | Subscribed AND user is a Contributor. | Notifies user when comment has “Response Enabled” activated. |
User did not create the comment BUT has previously added a response to the comment’s thread. | Notifies user whenever another comment response is added. | |||
User did not create the comment BUT user is currently assigned to the comment. | Notifies user whenever another comment response is added. | |||
User did not create the comment. | Notifies user when they have been assigned to the comment. | |||
User is currently assigned to the comment. | Notifies user when a comment assignment is marked complete/incomplete by someone else. | |||
User created the comment. | Notifies user when another user marks the comment assignment as complete/incomplete. | |||
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Create (Assigned) | Subscribed AND user is named Assignee. | Notifies user whenever they are tasked with a review assignment by name. |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Reassigned | Subscribed AND user is named Assignee. | Notifies user whenever they become the new assignee for an existing review assignment. |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Status Updated to Active | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever an assignment status is changed to any value with the parent status "Active." (These are assignments currently in review.) |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Status Updated to Approved | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever an assignment status is changed to any value with the parent status "Approved." (These are approved assignments.) |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Status Updated to Canceled | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever an assignment status is changed to any value with the parent status "Canceled." (These assignments are not needed.) |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Status Updated to Not Started | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever an assignment status is changed to any value with the parent status "Not Started." (Review for these assignments has not yet started.) |
PROJECT | Document Assignment | Status Updated to Rejected | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever an assignment status is changed to any value with the parent status "Rejected." (These assignments require resubmittal.) |
PROJECT | - | Document Awaiting Intake | Subscribed | Notifies user whenever a document on the Intake tab requires assignments to be created. |
PROJECT | - | Status Changed to Cycle Complete | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever a project status is changed to any value with the parent status "Cycle Complete." (This project review cycle is done.) |
PROJECT | - | Status Changed to Finished | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever a project status is changed to any value with the parent status "Pass" or "Fail." (This project has been approved or requires resubmittal.) |
PROJECT | - | Status Changed to On Hold | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever a project status is changed to any value with the parent status "On Hold." (Work on this project has been paused.) |
PROJECT | - | Status Changed to Open | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever a project status is changed to any value with the parent status "Open." (This project is undergoing review.) |
PROJECT | - | Status Changed to Withdrawn | Subscribed AND is a project team member. | Notifies user whenever a project status is changed to any value with the parent status "Withdrawn." (Work on this project has been canceled.) |
USER | Auth | New User Request | Admin-role user. | Notifies Admin whenever someone requests a new user account from login page. |
USER | User Account | Create | Admin-role user. | Notifies Admin whenever someone creates a new user account (either from the Users page or API). |
Some notifications do not require users to subscribe in order to receive them. For example, if a user created a comment, they will be notified when another user replies regardless of whether they are subscribed to a comment event (as long as they have Email notifications to… selected).
Note that Project notifications will only trigger for users who are involved in the project as project team members (users named to a specific review assignment or just users added to the project through the DETAILS > Team subsection).
Recommended Notifications
Each user should be subscribed to the events that are relevant to them/their role. Users subscribed to an event will receive an email notification from EPR whenever the event is triggered, as recorded in the event log. The following basic notification subscriptions are recommended, though Agencies are welcome to define their own recommended (or even required) notification subscriptions for staff.
User Role | Description | Example(s) |
---|---|---|
Administrators | Any event notifications, but especially those related to User administrative functions such as new user requests and the creation of user accounts to ensure that Admins are keeping track of licenses and who has access to their EPR environment. Auth and User Account notification options are only available to the Administrator. | |
Project Coordinators | Any notifications related to intake, assignment creation, reassignment, assignment status changes, and/or project status changes since these allow staff to track application progress and trigger additional workflow steps as appropriate. Select Status Changed to Cycle Complete to know when all reviewers have completed a current review cycle for an application. | |
Reviewers, Group Managers, and/or Project Managers | Notifications informing a user that a plan review assignment or reassignment has been created for the user. | |
Contributors | Select the Allow Response notification to ensure that whenever a comment within their project application has ‘Response Enabled’ set, the contributor will be notified. |
Editing Users
User accounts can be edited at any time, though it’s recommended that the user is not currently logged into the system when making changes to their profiles to ensure their next login attempt reflects any change(s).
To edit an existing user account:
Navigate to Settings > Security > Users in the navigation panel.
Search for a user account by scrolling through or typing their email address directly into the email column header.
Click on (right-facing arrow) to open the user profile.
Click on any desired tab and update as needed.
Once all changes are complete, return to the PROFILE tab and click SAVE.
Updating a user’s profile may require clearing the user’s cache to ensure the change is recognized. This usually happens automatically, but if you encounter an instance where the change is made and the account is still not updating as expected, contact e-PlanSoft Support for assistance.
Removing Users from Groups
Updating a user’s profile details or stamp access is relatively straightforward, but removing a group from a user account’s profile is a bit trickier if they have previously been given review assignments for that group. If the user has already worked on assignments for the group that they are no longer associated with, expect the following:
The user retains rights to edit their existing comments, sketches, measurements and stamps on that assignment.
While the user remains the Assignee for the assignment, they retain the right to change the assignment status.
To remove the status editing right, simply reassign the review to another user.
The user cannot create new comments or other markups for that group (since they no longer represent that group).
Inactivating or Deleting User Accounts
EPR user accounts can be either inactivated or deleted, though deleting a user account is almost never necessary nor is it recommended.
Making a User Account Inactive
To remove a user’s EPR access and/or free up a user license for another individual, make the account inactive. Inactivating a user is almost always preferred to deleting an account because it safely preserves record history for any activity the user had in EPR.
Navigate to Settings > Security > Users in the navigation panel.
Search for a user account by scrolling through or typing their email address directly into the email column header.
Click on (right-facing arrow) to open the user PROFILE.
Switch the toggle from “Active” to “Inactive.”
Click SAVE.
Inactive user accounts can be switched back to “Active” users at any time as long as a user license is available. To obtain additional user licenses, please contact e-PlanSoft Support.
Deleting a User Account
If a user account was created accidentally, or was created and never used (and will not be needed in the future), then and only then should the account be deleted.
Navigate to Settings > Security > Users in the navigation panel.
Search for a user account by scrolling through or typing their email address directly into the email column header.
Click on (right-facing arrow) to open the user PROFILE.
Click on (ellipsis) on the upper right of the profile and click Delete.
Click DELETE in the confirmation message to proceed or CANCEL to step back.
Deleted accounts still exist in the EPR database. You may not reuse an email address if it is already in use by another user account, even if it is deleted. If an account was deleted by accident, it may be restored by contacting e-PlanSoft Support.