Managing credentials in the ATRIUM software

Managing credentials in the ATRIUM software

Introduction

This section allows you to define details pertaining to access cards and credentials. Cards may be associated to a user directly from the Card  Properties window while defining the card, or later from either the Card Properties or User Properties windows.

From the Dashboard tab, click on the Cards icon. From this page, cards may be added, edited, deleted or added in batches.
Note that in this article, the term 'card' is used to refer to cards, tags, fobs, and and physical credentials.



By default the following cards are defined:
  1. Master Card: This card is active, no expiration date, 26-bit format, and is assigned to Administrator User.
  2. Programming Card: This card is active, 26-bit format, has the Programming Card option enabled and no expiration date, and is assigned to Programming User.
A card set as a Programming Card cannot be used as an access card.

Adding a Card

A card may be added either using the Add button or the Card Enrolment mode.

Cards can also be added sequentially using either an access card followed by a programming card or the on-board MODE button; refer to the A22 instruction manual for more information. The access card must be assigned to a user with the option Can Program Cards selected - s ee this article for more information. The programming card must have Programming Card enabled.



General Information

  1. Display Name: Identifies the card throughout the ATRIUM software. We recommend using a name that is representative of the card.
  2. Enabled: When selected, indicates that the card is active.
  3. User: Allows you to assign this card to a user. You can leave this field empty allowing you to assign this card to a user in the Users menu.
  4. Activation Date: Allows you to enter the date the card becomes valid. Enter the year, month, day and time of the day the card becomes valid or click on the calendar icon and select the date. The card will become active at selected activation date and time.
  5. Expiration Date: Allows you to enter the date the card expires. This is useful for personnel on contract which would require an access for a specific period of time. Enter either the year, month, day and time of the day the card expires or click on the calendar icon and select the date and time. The card will expires at selected date and time. For permanent cards, do not select an expiration date.

Number

  1. Format: Choices are 26-bit, 30-bit, 44-bit, and Track 2.
  2. Number and Hex: The card number can be found printed directly on the card or written on the cross-reference sheet. Depending on the Format selected, the card number may contain a family number followed by the card number. The family number is always the first part of the number and is usually followed by a colon (e.g. 123:45678). The card number is always the second part of the number and is usually preceded by a colon (e.g. 123:45678). 
If you cannot locate the card number, you can either use the Card Enrolment option (see the Card Enrolment section in this article) or present the card to any reader in the system and its family and card number will appear in the Instigator column of the real-time Events window (for more information on Events see this article). When you have located the correct family and card numbers, type the family number in the first field and the card number in the second field. Alternatively, enter the card number in hexadecimal in the Hex field. Entering the Card Number in decimal format will affect the Card Number (HEX) field and vice versa.

Options Tab

  1. Grant Access: When selected, the card is used for access control.
  2. Lost: When selected, the card status becomes lost.
  3. Stolen: When selected, the card status become stolen.
When the Lost and/or Stolen check box is selected, the card’s privileges are indefinitely revoked  without having to deactivate or remove the card from the database. As soon as you click Save, the card can no longer be used until its option status is changed.
  1. Programming Card (Card Enrolment Mode): When selected, allows you to use this card to add cards sequentially through a door reader. Refer to the A22 2-Door Controller instruction manual for the card enrolment procedure using the Master and Programming cards. Each card added will be assigned to a new user that will have the same access levels as the user assigned to the Programming Card.
A card set as a Programming Card cannot be used as an access card.
Cards may also be added using the Card Enrolment mode - see the Card Enrolment section in this article.  Cards may also be added sequentially using the on-board MODE button; refer to the  A22 2-Door Controller instruction manual f or more information.

Lockdown Option

Lockdown: Allows the assigned card the ability to start lockdown, stop lockdown, grant access (maintain lockdown) or keep area secured (maintain lockdown).

Notes Tab

Use the Notes text field to record any additional notes that may be required. We recommend that you keep a  log of what settings were changed and when they were changed.

Save Button

Use the Save button to save changes.

Cancel Button

Use the Cancel button to ignore changes.

Modifying a Card

Select a card from the list and click on the Properties button. See the Adding a Card section in this article for more information.

Deleting a Card

To delete an existing card, select the card from the list and click on the Delete button. A dialogue box will  appear requesting confirmation.

Adding a Card from an Event

A card may also be added from an Access Denied event. When an unregistered card is used, the door will not  open and the system will record the event.



Locate the desired event with the unknown card and click the Add button.



  1. The card number will fill out automatically.
  2. Use the drop down menu to select a user to assign the card to and click Add.
  3. The User Properties window will pop up. Complete the new card creation by filling out the fields in red and assign/add its access levels. Click Save to record changes.

  1. Finally click Save in the Card Properties window to finalise the assignment of the new card.

Card Batch Loading

This convenient option is used to quickly add up to 500 sequentially numbered cards to the system.

The cards can be:
  1. Assigned to Users at a later time (Create Unassigned Cards)
  2. Assigned to a new User for each card (Create 1 User per Card)
  3. Assigned to a single existing User (Assign Cards to Existing User)
An “unassigned card” is a card that has NOT been issued or assigned to a User (card holder).  An unassigned card will not be granted access to any door. Door access rights are given to Users, not cards.


General Information

  1. Activation Date: Enter the activation date for the cards you will create.
  2. Expiration Date: If needed, enter an expiration date for the cards you will create.
  3. Quantity: Enter the number of cards to create (maximum 500).
  4. Family/Facility/Site Number: Enter the facility number (family code) for all the cards to create (ex: Wiegand 26-bit will be from 001 to 256).
  5. First Number: Enter the starting number of your card sequence. (ex: Wiegand 26-bit will be from 00001 to 65536)
  6. Format: Select the card format (26-bit, 30-bit, 44-bit or Track 2).

Options

  1.  Create Unassigned Cards: When selected, this option will create unassigned cards only. The cards will appear in the Cards menu but are not assigned to a user. When a new user (card holder) is added to the ATRIUM database, simply click the Assign button in the Credentials tab to select an unassigned card from a list to assign it to the User.
  2. Create 1 User per Card: When selected, this option will create one user per card. You can also assign an access level for all users that will be created. See the Additional Information section below to automatically attribute an access level to the created users. Each new user will be named according to the facility number and card number.
  3. Assign Cards to Existing User: When selected, the created cards will be assigned to the same user. See the Additional Information section below to select the user.
A detailed report will be displayed at the end of the batch load process only if one or more cards to be  added already exist in the system.

Additional Information

  1. Access Levels: Select the access level to which all created users will be assigned. This option is only available when Create 1 User per Card option is selected.
  2. User: Select the user to which all created cards will be assigned. This option is only available when Assign Cards to Existing User option is selected.

Card Enrolment

This option allows you to add one or multiples cards sequentially through the selected door reader.
To use the card enrolment feature:
  1. Select the Listen for New Cards on Reader check box to enable this feature.
  2. Select a card reader from the list.
  3. Present, one by one, the new cards to be added to the system to the reader.
  4. For each card presented, a Card Properties window pops up.
  5. For each card, set its name and configure the other parameters as required. See the Adding a Card section in this article for more information.
  6. Each added card has the following settings by default:
    1. Enabled
    2. Not assigned
    3. No expiry date
    4. Card number and format automatically set
  7. Click on Save to complete the addition of the card.
The Card Enrolment mode ends automatically when no new card is presented for 5 minutes or when the Listen for  New Cards on Reader check box is cleared.

Next, learn how to define and manage holidays in the ATRIUM software.

    • Related Articles

    • Managing users in the ATRIUM software

      Programming a user allows to define the details pertaining to the user. Any individual that needs to access an area (room) must be defined in the system as a user. Once defined, a credential can be assigned to a user. Users Overview From the ...

    • Managing the lockdown function in the ATRIUM software

      Introduction Lockdown parameters are put in place to secure a building against an active threat by instantly locking all doors. Any new access to these doors is prevented (or limited) until lockdown is ended. Configuring lockdown options allows you ...

    • How do I set up a new user in ATRIUM and assign credentials and access levels?

      To set up a new user in the ATRIUM portal and assign them access cards/tags and access levels, follow the steps below. NOTE: In order to complete this process, you will need to pre-load credentials and pre-define access levels. First, open the ATRIUM ...

    • How do I add a card or tag to my ATRIUM installation from the reader?

      To register a new access credential (card/tag) on your ATRIUM system, follow these steps:  First, open the ATRIUM web portal on your device. Then, hold the credential you wish to add up to the installed reader. The reader will not recognise the ...

    • Managing access level groups in the ATRIUM software

      Access levels groups determine which access levels a user with Operator rights will have access to create users and cards. This is done by creating a group of access levels. In order to define access level groups, you must first create Access Levels ...