User registration does not detect the user. I am using the default installation, with no user authentication. I have registered myself, but whenever I connect I am always come in as guest. (Except when I have just created the user)

How do I set my sesion to be using the registered user? Do I have to switch to the authenticated setup to achieve that?

-- MathewBoorman - 24 Apr 2000

It depends if your Intranet site is authenticated or not. Do you have to log on when you access your Intranet? If yes, your username will be used. If not, then you need to set up TWiki like for an Internet site, e.g. with the .htaccess file that authenticates topic edits.

-- PeterThoeny - 24 Apr 2000

Ok. I have my whole site authenticated and there is a valid user set whenever a script from the twiki/bin directory is run. How do I get TWiki to still require people to register when they try to edit a page? I want people who write pages to have a valid WikiName and a HomePage. As far as I can tell, the only way Register gets called is from the .htaccess file that you use if the web server is not already authenticating users. (from 9/9/2000 sources)

-- WayneScott - 02 Mar 2001

I'm having exactly the same problem with the 12/2000 release. Running on Apache/Linux and authenticating Windows users with mod_ntlm, TWiki allows anyone logged into the network to edit pages, recognizing them as Main.ntuserid. If they've registered then it works as expected, recognizing them with their Main.wikiname.

-- RayMcVay - 12 Jun 2001

On my wiki, I decided that we needed authentication without logging in. So I implemented a simple cookie that gets sent to the user when they register. No htaccess file (I am using MS IIS), no creating users... Its very simple, and work quite well (I have a few users for whom the cookies don't work) sounds like another Plugin that I need to make..

--Main.SvenDowideit - 02 Mar 2001

TWiki currently does not support a redirection to the registration page when a not registered user edits a page on sites where users are always authenticated for all scripts.

This is not really a bug, I change this entry from BugReport to FeatureEnhancementRequest. Anybody interested to work on this?

-- PeterThoeny - 12 Jun 2001

I've got a potential work around based on changing userToWikiName() to return $mainWebname.TWikiGuest when the $loginUser doesn't map to a WikiName. Once that's in place you can disable TWikiGuest from changing topics and alter the associated oops* pages to indicate the user needs to register.

As you say, it's not really a bug and it's something that probably has to be handled by the application, not the Web server. (Although I think it COULD be forced onto the server by requiring a Group membership and adding the manipulation of the associated group file to the register script.)

-- RayMcVay - 12 Jun 2001

Sven, how did you implement authentication and registration without requiring an explicit TWiki login? That is exactly what I've been trying to do (while quite computer literate I am pretty green when it comes to perl and web server administration).

-- MattWilkie - 27 Sep 2001

I believe Sven's approach is that people register and get a persistant cookie stored on their machine. There an early version plugin for this at UserCookiePlugin - at present it requires changes in core code, but I think it could be re-worked to avoid this. Also I don't think one of the change to the core works. See my comments at UserCookiePluginDev. I think we can make a lot more of this approach - it's very low grade security, but great when you want to know who the user is without them having to remember yet another password. You do need a clean way of getting back a lost cookie or putting one on a new machine - I believe this has also been done.

At work I've tied TWiki to an LDAP based authenication system. I wanted anyone to be able to read pages, but demand a logon for editing etc. The logon first tries a certficate, then if that fails switches to username/password. Once logged in the user identity is held in session informtion, using the SessionPlugin.

-- JohnTalintyre - 28 Sep 2001

I have the approach that everybody needs to be authenticated, and the users are then referred to using their login. See UseLoginNames for how I did it.

-- WoutMertens - 21 Jul 2002

Well acutally there is a solution allready provided within TWiki. See CookbookWindowsIISSetup (same as NTLM!).

In order to receive a TWikiGuest when the user is not remembered edit TWiki::userToWikiName and change

   my $wUser = $userToWikiList{ $loginUser } || $loginUser;
   to
   my $wUser = $userToWikiList{ $loginUser } || $defaultUserName;

Than edit TWiki.cfg and set the defaultUserName to TWikiGuest.

If you want to prevent Guests from editing page set WebPreferences.DENYTOPICCHANGE to TWikiGuest

-- MarkusKling - 22 Jul 2002

Yeah, Hi. I just installed TWiki on my machine and it seems to be working fine. I can edit topics and do all sorts of fun things. But here's when things break.

1. I make use of the htaccess file (by renaming bin/.htaccess.txt to bin/.htaccess).
2. I register a new TWiki Name and confirmation email is sent to me.
3. I try to change my password using ResetPassword, but an told that "You are not registered". Indeed, I cannot find myself in /bin/view/Main/TWikiUsers, but bin/view/Main/MyTWikiName shows my user information.
4. On the file level, I see public_html/twiki/data/Main/MyTWikiName.txt exists, along with the RCS ,v file.

So, what gives? How can I be sure that I am really registered? Please help!

-- Confused, 17 Feb 2003

This is (seriously) just a WAG, but until someone with more insight comes along, I'd check the ownership and permissions on the directories and the TWikiUsers page -- maybe you have a situation where new pages can be created (written) but existing pages cannot be modified?

-- RandyKramer - 18 Feb 2003

Yep, it had to do with permissions on some files. I looked at the httpd error logs and found that the CGI was bailing half-way with a permission denied on trying to update the TWikiUsers.txt file. Fixing the perms so that the process can +w to the file did it. Thanks, Randy!

-- (un)Confused - 18 Feb 2003

Great! Glad it helped!

-- RandyKramer - 19 Feb 2003