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Adobe User Sync Tool Guide

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Synchronizing Users to Adobe Sign

Table of contents
  1. Overview
  2. Capabilities
  3. Using Sign Sync
    1. Moving From Post-Sync
    2. Sign Sync Configuration File
      1. Example
      2. A Closer Look
    3. Sign Connector Config
      1. Securing the API Key
  4. Use Cases
    1. Sign Enterprise
      1. Upstream User Sync
      2. Using Sign Sync with Admin Console Sync
    2. Standalone Sign
  5. API Key Setup

Overview

The Sign Sync Connector is an optional component of the User Sync Tool used to manage Adobe Sign users.

It is capable of synchronizing users from any identity source directly to Sign. It can manage the full user lifecycle of users belonging to standalone Sign account and can also manage Sign Enterprise users.

Capabilities

  • Manage users directly from identity source (ldap, csv, adobe_console or okta)
  • Target multiple Sign accounts
  • Manage full lifecycle for users in standalone accounts
    • User creation
    • Manage primary user groups
    • Manage group admin status
    • Manage account admin status
    • User deactivation
  • Manage groups and admin role status of Sign Enterprise users
    • Manage primary user groups
    • Manage account admin status
    • Manage group admin status
  • Sign-only user management (similar to Adobe-only user management)

Using Sign Sync

Sign Sync is started with the sign-sync command.

$ ./user-sync sign-sync

When the User Sync Tool is run with the sign-sync command, it uses a different sync engine than a sync with the Admin Console. It uses a different main config file (sign-sync-config.yml) and Sign connector config file connector-sign.yml.

Moving From Post-Sync

The post-sync connector is no longer implemented or supported. Any attempt to run the Sync Tool with post_sync configured in user-sync-config.yml will produce an error.

This impacts Sign Sync because in prior UST releases, Sign Sync was facilitated with the post-sync connector.

You can use the migrate-post-sync command to migrate your post-sync config. This will create a sign-sync-config.yml file and one or more connector config files (e.g. connector-sign.yml).

Usage example:

$ ./user-sync migrate-post-sync

After you provide required input, the command will perform migration actions, generate new config files, and provide a summary of actions taken and new files generated.

The command takes three optional parameters. You will be prompted to provide input if any option is omitted.

  • --config-filename path to post-sync config file (e.g. connector-sign-sync.yml)
  • --connector-type type of identity connector to use (ldap, csv, okta, or adobe_console)
  • --connector-filename path to identity connector filename (e.g. connector-ldap.yml)

IMPORTANT - after the new config is generated, be sure to review sign-sync-config.yml and make any necessary manual adjustments to ensure accuracy. Take a close look at the group mappings defined in user_management as they may not be optimally defined by the migration tool.

One the new config files are created, be sure to remove the post_sync definition from user-sync-config.yml. You can also delete connector-sign-sync.yml (the Sign post-sync config file) if desired.

Finally, run the Sign Sync process in test mode to ensure that the new config works as desired.

$ ./user-sync sign-sync -t

Sign Sync Configuration File

The Sight Sync process depends on a primary config file, which defines Sign sync behavior. Like the User Sync config, it defines API connections, sync behavior and logging options.

sign-sync-config.yml serves as the main configuration file for Sign Sync. If the User Sync Tool is invoked with the sign-sync command, it will look for sign-sync-config.yml in the current working directory. If the config file exists in a different directory, use the -c/--config-filename option to specify the path to the config file.

./user-sync sign-sync -c /path/to/sign-sync-config.yml

Example 

# Sign API Connections
sign_orgs:
  primary: connector-sign.yml
  
# Similar to "directory_users.connectors" in user-sync-config.yml
identity_source:
  type: ldap
  connector: connector-ldap.yml
  
# Options that govern the synchronization of users
user_sync:
  sign_only_limit: 100
  sign_only_user_action: reset

# Storage location of Sign data cache. This contains cached users, groups and user assignent info
# The cache will refresh after 24 hours
cache:
  path: cache/sign
 
# User management group/role mappings
user_management:
  - directory_group: Sign Users 1
    sign_group: Group 1
    group_admin: False
    account_admin: False
  - directory_group: Sign Users 1 Admins
    sign_group: Group 1
    group_admin: True
    account_admin: False
  - directory_group: Sign Admins
    sign_group:
    group_admin: False
    account_admin: True

# Logging options
logging:
  log_to_file: True
  file_log_directory: sign_logs
  file_log_name_format: '{:%Y-%m-%d}-sign.log'
  file_log_level: info
  console_log_level: debug
  
# Defaults for options that can be passed as CLI options
invocation_defaults:
  users: mapped
  test_mode: False

A Closer Look

sign_orgs

Specify one or more config files that contain Sign API credentials and other information about the Sign connection. This option consists of one or more keys that each identify a Sign API connection. Each key should point to a unique Sign connector config. More information.

One connection must be labeled primary to identify the primary connection. Any target group in the group mapping not using the org:: prefix will be targeted to the primary connector.

sign_orgs:
  primary: connector-sign.yml

Additional targets can be defined with any label other than primary.

sign_orgs:
  primary: connector-sign.yml
  org2: connector-sign-org2.yml

identity_source

Define the connection to an identity source. Any type supported by Admin Console Sync is supported by Sign Sync - ldap, csv, adobe_console and okta. NOTE: Unlike Admin Console Sync, Sign Sync requires a config file be specified for csv.

identity_source:
  type: ldap
  connector: connector-ldap.yml

user_sync

Define general sync behavior.

user_sync:
  sign_only_limit: 100
  sign_only_user_action: reset
  • sign_only_limit - similar to max_adobe_only_users in user-sync-config.yml. Defines the maximum number of Adobe-only users allowed for sign_only_user_action to execute. Can also be defined as a percentage of total users.

  • sign_only_user_action - define what to do with users found in Sign but not in the identity source.

    Action Description
    reset Reset the user to a “default” state. Reset primary group to Default Group and remove group/account admin status if needed.
    deactivate Deactivate the user. Note: This will only work for users on standalone Sign accounts. Sign Enterprise users cannot be deactivated directly in Sign
    exclude Take no action on Sign-only users
    remove_groups Reset user to Default Group, but do not modify admin roles
    remove_roles Remove admin roles, but do not change group membership

cache

User, Group and Group Assignment data retrieved from the Sign API is cached locally on the filesystem. This ensures the sync tool can manage users and groups more quickly while the cache is fresh.

The cache will refresh after 24 hours. In some cases, individual users may be refreshed more often than once every 24 hours.

Example:

cache:
  path: cache/sign

The cache path is defined by cache.path. The path will be checked relative to the directory of sign-sync-config.yml. If cache.path does not exist, the sync tool will create the directory and initialize the cache. The sync tool will also initialize a new cache if the directory exists, but the cache database files do not The cache will refresh if more than 24 hours have elapsed since the last time it was refreshed.

user_management

Define rules for management of group and admin role status for Sign users. Consists of a list of one or more key/value sets that each define a rule for which group and/or admin roles to manage for a given directory group.

Note that mutiple group assignment is not currently supported. Users are assigned to a single group. If user_management rules resolve such that a user is targeted to multiple Sign groups, then precedence is assigned according to the order in which the management rules are specified.

user_management:
  - directory_group: Sign Users 1
    sign_group: Group 1
    group_admin: False
    account_admin: False
  - directory_group: Sign Users 1 Admins
    sign_group: Group 1
    group_admin: True
    account_admin: False
  - directory_group: Sign Admins
    sign_group:
    group_admin: False
    account_admin: True
  • directory_group - name of group from identity source. Users belonging to this group are subject to management according to the rule settings.
  • sign_group - assign directory_group users to this group. This can be blank if no group is to be assigned for a given rule.
  • group_admin - enable group admin privileges for a user’s primary group. Note that this applies even if a user isn’t targeted to a group assignment in any given rule. In that case, the user will get group admin status on their current primary group.
  • account_admin - enable account admin privileges for users.

logging

The logging options in sign-sync-config.yml are identical to the logging options in user-sync-config.yml.

logging:
  log_to_file: True
  file_log_directory: sign_logs
  file_log_name_format: '{:%Y-%m-%d}-sign.log'
  file_log_level: info
  console_log_level: debug
  • log_to_file - if True, then the tool will write logs to a file in file_log_directory with the filename defined in file_log_name_format
  • file_log_directory - directory that contains the log files if log_to_file is True. Path is relative to config file location.
  • file_log_name_format - format of log filename.
  • file_log_level - verbosity level of file log. info logs common messages. debug logs additional information.
  • console_log_level - verbosity level of log to console/stdout.

invocation_defaults

Invocation defaults in Sign Sync work the way they do in Admin Console Sync. Each option provides a default value for a corresponding command-line option. When Sign Sync is run, it will use the defaults defined in invocation_defaults so the tool can be run without additional command-line options.

  • test_mode - if True, Sign Sync will run in test mode by default

  • users - define scope of users to query from identity source

    Option Description
    all Query all users from identity source
    group Query users for given comma-delimited group list
    mapped Query users for directory groups specified in user_management rules

Sign Connector Config

Details around the Sign API connection are defined in connector-sign.yml.

host: api.echosign.com
integration_key: xzy12345
admin_email: user@example.com
create_users: False
deactivate_users: False
  • host: Hostname of Sign API
  • integration_key: Required for API authentication. See below for information on creating a key.
  • admin_email: Email address of admin user that owns the integration key. Prevents Sign Sync from operating on that user.
  • create_users: If True, Sign Sync will create new users. This should be set to False for Sign Enterprise accounts because users linked to an Admin Console are automatically provisioned by the platform when they are added to a Sign Enterprise profile.
  • deactivate: If True and sign_only_user_action is deactivate, then Sign-only users are deactivated. This should be set to False for Sign Enterprise accounts because users removed from a Sign Enterprise profile in the Admin Console are automatically deactivated in Sign.

Securing the API Key

The integration_key can be stored in an OS keychain or other secret storage backend. Instead of storing the key itself, the connector config can be set up to contain a reference to the key in the keychain.

See this documentation for more information.

For the Sign connector, the user or account in the OS keychain should be the admin email as specified in the connector config. The integration_key config key should not be specified. The reference to the OS keychain credential is specified in secure_integration_key_key.

Use Cases

Sign Enterprise

Admin Consoles with a Sign Enterprise plan do not need to use the Sync Tool for basic Sign user provisioning. Users assigned to a Sign Enterprise product profile will be automatically provisioned to the Default Group with normal user privileges.

The Admin Console UI can manage account admin status, but cannot manage Sign groups or group admin status. However, the User Management API does not allow management of admin account status via the Admin Console. The Sign Sync Connector can manage group assignments, group admin status and account admin status directly in Sign.

Upstream User Sync

The Sign Sync Connector will not sync users to the Admin Console. Users can be provisioned to the Admin Console in a variety of ways.

  • Manually in the Admin Console UI
  • User Sync Tool in Admin Console Sync mode (./user-sync or ./user-sync sync)
  • Azure AD Sync
  • Google Sync
  • CSV Bulk Upload
  • Using the User Management API directly

In any case, to manage Sign Enterprise users, you should use the adobe_console identity connector.

Using Sign Sync with Admin Console Sync

If you already use the User Sync Tool to synchronize users to the Adobe Admin Console, all you need to do is ensure that you have a group mapping to entitle Sign Enterprise users. Then, when your Sign Sync config is set up, just invoke Sign Sync after the main Admin Console Sync completes. We recommend using a batch file or shell script to run the two sync processes in sequence.

Windows batch example:

mode 155,50
cd /D "%~dp0"

REM Run main sync to Admin Console
user-sync.exe

REM Run Sign Sync
user-sync.exe sign-sync

Bash example:

#!/bin/sh

# Run main sync to Admin Console
./user-sync

# Run Sign Sync
./user-sync sign-sync

Standalone Sign

To manage Sign users for standalone Sign accounts, it is generally recommended to enable the create_users and deactivate_users options in connector-sign.yml. This ensures the sync tool can manage the full user lifecycle.

And while any Sign-only-user option is valid, deactivate is generally the best choice for standalone Sign user management.

API Key Setup

Any Sign connection defined in connector-sign.yml must specify an integration key for authenticating Sign API calls. New keys can be created by an Admin user for a given Sign account.

  1. Log into Adobe Sign
  2. Click “Accout” on the top navigation bar
  3. On the left-hand menu, click “Adobe Sign API”

  4. On the “API Information” page, find the “Integration Key” link

    If you don’t see this link, please contact Sign support

  5. On the “Create Integration Key” page, give the integration a name and select the user_read and user_write scopes
  6. Save the integration
  7. On the “Access Tokens” list, select the integration you just created

  8. Click “Integration Key” to display the integration key. This is used in the Sign Sync connector config file.

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