Is this possible to allow the users to create their username and password by customizing the aggregate and odk collect?
We have to allow more than 20000 users to collect the spatial data using odk collect app. So it would be really great if users able to register by their mobile number, username and password.
Hello @munees_mariappan
I've never done this with 20,000 users before so the methods I want to suggest may be messy - at least they will spark a conversation 
Method 1: Hard code usernames and passwords to aggregate:
This is probably the messiest of all the ideas. If you open aggregate and enter all 20,000 usernames and passwords and assign then 'form collection privileges' they will only be able to sign into the app on their device once and use it to collect and send forms.
PROS: All users get their own unique user id and you can control it directly from aggregate
CONS: It's is extremely taxing to enter 20,000 usernames and passwords into aggregate, and managing them afterwards would be quite hectic.
Method 2: Manually code usernames and passwords to survey form and sort by geo location
To do this, assign all the 20,000 users a username, and mobile number; and further group them into geographical locations using cascade lists. At the beginning of each form, have users choose the location in which they are working and have that filter the lists down till a list of say 5-10 usernames. Have users select their names from a list to continue to do the survey. The form data will come with a column that has all usernames and mobile numbers listed in one column.
PROS:
- You do not have to provide all users with a unique username to access aggregate, they can use the same username but distinguish their forms by selecting their correct username.
CONS:
- It is extremely taxing to manually enter 20,000 user records into an ODK form manually.
- Users may choose the wrong usernames than what was assigned to them
- This does not allow users to set their own usernames and passwords as you require.
Method 3: Use a device administrator function to manage users
You will have to install ODK Central on your server (how to do this is here), you can then permit and revoke access to your 20,000 data collectors using their email addresses - they will then be able to download forms and upload form submissions as long as you grant them access. How to do that can be found here.
PROS:
- You have central management of all users of your form and can add and remove privileges easily, although you will have to do this 20,000 times
- The ODK Central console makes management of 20,000 users bearable
CONS:
- All users need email addresses
- ODK central install is quite technical (perhaps more so if you are using a server not specified in the above documentation.
- You still cannot allow users to create their own user profiles (i.e username, password and reg mobile number)
Hope this gives you some ideas, or at least sparks a response from users who may have a better and cleaner way of helping you do this.
Cheers
3 Likes
@Leangelindiku17 shares some really good options!
Do you absolutely need unique usernames and passwords for each surveyor? If so, could you please describe why?
I think the most common approach is to have a single username and password that all surveyors use and have the form pull the deviceID and/or phone number from the device the survey is completed on (see documentation). You can then have a mapping from deviceID/phone number to surveyor to use when processing submissions.
2 Likes
my question would be even broader: at the point you'd like open registration of 20k+ users, i'm sort of wondering "why have them sign up at all? maybe just allow open/anonymous submission?"
1 Like
Thanks for your suggestions!
Because they all going to collect state level data over an year. It would be better if everyone has their one credentials to check their data on aggregate. If I allow everything in one password then the collected data security will be a question.
They may have to edit or modify the entered data in aggregate and they are allo going to collect large amount of data. So it's better not to save everything in anonymous/ open