"Sorry selected email address is already taken"

[Karl]

Bug or feature?

I wanted to add a contact and during save I get: "Failed to save object because some of its properties are not valid  Sorry selected email address is already taken".

I's right, the email address I was going to enter IS already taken by an user but still I want to add this address to a contact. So OpenGoo does not allow me to do this. Therefore it's a bug for me.

What do you think?

Karl

[ignacio]

Maybe it wasn't the neatest choice, but it was done purposely, because there can't be more than one user with the same email address, and users can be created from contacts.

If you are trying to create a contact for an existing user you can do this from the user's view, by selecting "Create contact from user data". If a user already has a contact you will see instead "Go to contact data". When creating a new user you are given the option to automatically create this contact, and it is selected by default. You can also create a user from contact data.

[Karl]

Thanks. But I don't find a "user's view". Do you mean in Administration where I can edit users? If yes, I don't find "Create contact from user data".

[Karl]

OK, I found that ALL users have contact data (obviously automatically). Therefore there is no "Create contact from user data" at all.

[ignacio]

The neat solution to this problem would be that when you try to create a user with an email that is assigned to a contact you would be asked if you want to associate that contact to that user. I'll put this as a feature request.

[Karl]

The neat solution to this problem would be that when you try to create a user with an email that is assigned to a contact you would be asked if you want to associate that contact to that user. I'll put this as a feature request.

Thanks. That would be nice.

[technomensch]

I actually would like to disagree slightly with this, and here is why:

Let's say, for example that I create a User with a UserID of "admin" and my email address.  However, I want that user as a "master" administrator as a potential backup so I don't have to login with my own personal ID each time.  However, I also want a User with my UserID and give it administrative rights.

Both users have the same email address.

This was a feature I liked in Joomla, and decided to use it manually.

So there are 2 things I'm looking at here:

1) Requesting the ability to at least set a single User with the same email address as the Administrator.  I'm not sure if that can be restricted to a single User or not.

I know it does sounds contradictory, but please understand that some people do have a need for this configuration.

2) Create "aliases" of a UserID so that Users can create multiple "identities" to log in with.

 I can create a new user with <<fname_lname>> (different name).  But that user, in their administration, could maybe personalize their own login.  Then, they can log in using either UserID/Password, but they have the same email address and when they login they are still the same UserID assigned by the Admin.

You might be asking, why not set the UserID as an alias of the Admin.  The reason is I want to keep the Admin UserID completely separate from my personal ID even though I am the admin.

Thanks in advance.

Marc K.

[Karl]

Hi Marc,

I second your opinion.

Gruß
Karl

[ignacio]

Actually, some days ago we were talking about using email addresses as login ID and ditching usernames. I guess we'll have to postpone this decision.

As a temporary solution, could you consider creating an email alias to your address and using that as your email address? If you are using GMail (GoogleMail) you could use a trick that lets you append a plus sign and some text after your username in your email address. For example, if your email address is john@gmail.com you could use as your admin's email address john+admin@gmail.com, and you will receive email sent to both addresses.

[Karl]

Actually, some days ago we were talking about using email addresses as login ID and ditching usernames. I guess we'll have to postpone this decision.

I don't like this idea. I really don't like sites where I have to use an email address as login ID. Sometimes for some reasons I like to change my email address but I don't want to change my login too   

[ignacio]

Valid point.