Before we dive head first into Rex’s Advanced Privilege Settings, let’s check we’ve got the basics under control.Essentially, what you can see and do in Rex depends on the privileges you’ve been assigned. ‘Privileges’ is just a fancy way of saying a list of things you can and can’t do in Rex - like creating, viewing and editing records. We know that particular groups of people will need to be able to see and do the same things, so we created User Roles (essentially just common sets of privileges) to save you from having to add the same privileges over and over again.If that’s got you squinting at the screen in bewilderment, have a read of our update about understanding Rex’s privilege roles before going any further.Got it? Let’s continue!It’s great to see so many Rex users taking advantage of Rex's predefined security roles - they are incredibly convenient, after all. But, for those of you with special requirements, did you know you can control exactly what each user can see and do in Rex?If you know your way around Rex’s Advanced Privilege Settings, you can:
- assign (or take away) a user’s privileges individually
- create sets of privileges from scratch
- duplicate and tweak the default User Roles (Super Admin, General Admin, Agent: Open Office, Agent: Hybrid Office or Agent: Closed Office)
- create User Roles from scratch, to suit the unique way your agency works
Or at least, the Super Users in your agency can. Perhaps you’ve got two Agent: Closed Office users who are working on a deal together, and need to be able to see each other’s contact records - just this once. Perhaps a Super Admin user is going on holiday, and a General Admin user has to keep everything running smoothly while they’re away. Perhaps you’re wanting to set up your own Effective Business Unit.Whatever the case is, here’s what you need to know. There are four ways to customise the privileges a Rex user has.
Option 1: Adding (or taking away) individual privileges
To fully customise a user’s privileges, you can turn each individual privilege on or off.If you’ve already assigned a user to a User Role, this is the way you’d give a user the ability to do even more in Rex - or alternatively, take away specific privileges that come with that role by default.Here’s how.
- In the Admin section of Rex, go to Users & Security and open the profile of the user who’s privileges you want to change.
- Click the Privileges tab. Here, you’ll see a list of every single privilege that exists in Rex. We’ve grouped them under headings - like Contacts, Documents and Mail Merge.
Let’s say you want Sally, an Agent: Hybrid Office user, to be able to update any contact record in Rex - regardless of whether or not she is the record owner. You also want her to be able to read and update any unassigned leads.
- Tick the appropriate privileges under Contacts and Leads, and you’re done.
This is also where you go to remove certain privileges a user has been given as part of a privilege set. Things can get tricky here, so let’s use an example.You’ve assigned Tom to the role Agent: Open Office. This means he has the ability to archive any contact record in Rex - even those contacts that don’t belong to him. If you want to stop him from archiving a record belonging to another Rex user:
- Simply un-tick Archive Any under Contacts.
As this particular privilege is part of the standard Agent: Open Office privilege set, you’ll see a warning pop up.
Pretty self-explanatory, really.
- Click Confirm, and Tom will no longer have the Agent: Open Office privilege set - but he will keep all other privileges within that set (until you remove them).
Word of warning: when you’re adding individual privileges, you might notice ticks appearing next to privileges you haven’t specifically added yourself. That’s because some privileges are reliant on others.For example, if you give Sally the Contacts: Read Any privilege, the Contacts: Read (w/Permission) privilege will automatically be applied too. After all, if she can read any contact record in Rex, she must be able to also read any record she has been give permission to read.This opposite also applies: when you’re removing particular privileges, you might notice other associated privileges are also removed. If you remove the Contacts: Read (w/Permission) privilege, Sally will automatically lose the Contacts: Read Any privilege. She can’t read any record in Rex if she can’t read a record she’s been given permission to read.Don’t worry, it’s all very logical once you get the hang of it.
Option 2: Adding a privilege set
Privilege sets are exactly what they sound like: groups of individual privileges. Essentially, these are privileges that complement eachother and allow the user assigned that privilege set the ability to take a particular action in Rex.Rex comes loaded with a whole bunch of predefined privilege sets that you can take advantage of straight away - such as Listing Market Overrides and Listing Commissions. If you want your users to be able to accomplish specific tasks in Rex, instead of locating the individual privileges required, you can probably find a privilege set that covers it. You can create your own sets too, but we’ll get to that later.If you’ve already assigned a user to a User Role, you can add a privilege set to give them the ability to do even more in Rex. Of course, you could go through and add each individual privilege one by one (as in Option 1) - but this is far more efficient.If you haven’t yet assigned a user to any role yet, this is an easy way to assign a bunch of privileges in one fell swoop and essentially create a custom role for that user.
- In the Admin section of Rex, go to Users & Security and open the profile of the user you want to change.
- Click the Privileges tab, and at the bottom you’ll find the Switch to advanced privileges mode button.
- Click add privileges set, and a list of every privilege set your agency has in Rex will pop up.Tick the appropriate add set box, then the Add selected sets button - and hey presto! It’s as easy as that.
We’ve done our best to put a brief description of each privilege set underneath the name of that set, but if you need more information you can always visit the Privilege Sets tab.
Option 3: Creating a privilege set
If you’re going to be reusing a special set of privileges for multiple users, it’s best to create a privilege set. Efficiency and all that.Let’s say for example that every agent in your office has been assigned the Agent: Closed Office role. That’s a pretty restrictive role - it suits agencies where every agent works independently, and needs to keep their contacts, appraisals and interactions with prospects under lock and key. However, users assigned this role can’t carry out any administrative tasks.If a new agent with no real estate experience comes on board (let’s call him Matt), it’s unlikely he’ll be given his own personal assistant. So, you could create a privilege set encompassing some of the lower level administrative privileges - allowing Matt to carry out some of the basic tasks a General Admin user generally would, like exporting the basic details required to perform a label merge and managing the commission for their listings.This is how you’d do it:
- In the Admin section of Rex, go to Users & Security and then the Privilege Sets tab.
- Click the + symbol to create a new set. Enter a name and description, and click Create.
From here, it’s as simple as ticking the privileges you want to include in the set.Matt would need the Contact / Property / Listing Export for Mail Merge privilege (under Data Exports) and the Manage Commission Worksheets (under Commission Worksheets). Because the Manage Commission Worksheets is reliant on the View Commissions Section, Matt will automatically get this privilege also. Then click Save.The next time you want to assign someone this privilege set, simply follow the steps under Option 2. Easy as pie.But wait - we’ve got one last efficiency trick up our sleeve.
Option 4: Creating your own User Roles
If you’re going to be assigning the same set of privileges over and over again - say, every time your agency hires a new personal assistant - you can create a new User Role by promoting a privilege set to a role.Have we lost you yet? Let’s break it down.To create a User Role from scratch:
- Firstly, create a privilege set by following the instructions under Option 3. Make sure to name it whatever you’d like the User Role to be called - for example, Personal Assistant.
- Then, from the Privilege Sets section, click on the privilege set you’ve just created.
- Click Promote to Role.
That’s it. The next time your agency hires a new personal assistant, simply assign them to the new role you’ve created and they’ll immediately have all the same privileges as the other PA’s in your office.Alternatively, if one of our default Privilege Sets is almost perfect for your agency, you can use this as a base for your new User Role. You would:
- From the Privilege Sets section, click on the default privilege set you want to use.
- Click Duplicate, and name the set appropriately. You can even add in your own description. Hit Duplicate again to save.
- Click Promote to Role.
There you have it, friends. We’ve designed Rex so that you can completely customise it to suit the unique way your agency works. Set aside some time and to take a deep dive into the Advanced Privilege Settings, and make Rex work for you.And remember, if you ever need help – just head on over to our help centre or email our support team at support@rexsoftware.com.au.
