Gopher for Users improves the efficiency with which Google Workspace admins can mass-create users from existing data sources, like SIS exports or employee information systems. The specific advantages Gopher for Users provides over the admin console includes the ability to mass create users:
- Directly into the correct organizational unit (rather than root).
- Populated with all key user properties, contact information, and employee details.
- With the power of Google Sheets formulas to assist in data population via extra data columns.
- With pre-defined domain group memberships.
- With random, auto-generated "kid friendly" passwords.
- With the ability to distribute printer-friendly passwords to staff points of contact.
- With the ability PREVIEW all users before they are created.
Step 1: Deciding which method to create users by
To begin using these features, open the Gopher for Users sidebar and navigate to the Bulk User Actions tab, and select Create users. This will open the Create users workflow stepper and instantiate a new tab in the spreadsheet named "Create New Users."
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The stepper will walk you through populating and validating data within the "Create New Users" tab. Populating user info Manually in sheet requires a minimum of Last name and First name. Given the formula-powers of Google Sheets, don't be afraid to add your own custom columns, such as Student ID, that may be useful when constructing email addresses, for example.
In general, exports from 3rd party student or employee information should be handled via the From CSV option.
For use in Gopher for Users, CSV data files:
- Must contain:
- unique headers in row one.
- at minimum, First name and Last name data.
- May contain:
- any header values you want (the mapper will let you save mappings)
- (optionally) columns that will get directly mapped onto any colored column in the Sheet.
- unmapped columns, such as Phone 1 and Student ID (above), that will get automatically appended to the right of colored columns in the Sheet, and can be integrated into Sheets formulas for any purpose.
Clicking Edit import mappings in the sidebar will launch the field mapper. The mappings you define in one Google Sheet for User Gopher will be saved to your user profile and get re-used each time you run an import, saving precious time.
Unmapped columns in your CSV can be optionally imported (see checkbox at bottom of mapper) into the "Create New Users" tab to the right of all colored headers. Any column in the Sheet can be used with combinations of text formulas like =LEFT(), =RIGHT(), =LOWER() and concatenation operators like "&" (see example below).
Pro-tip: If you build column-referenced formulas like this, for columns like user email, if you leave your Row 3 formulas in the Sheet they will be auto-preserved and applied to all rows during your future CSV uploads! Time saver!!!
Step 2: Creating and validating email addresses
After you've populated the First name and Last name columns, the next step will ask you to generate and validate email addresses. To validate email addresses, Gopher for Users checks for the following potential errors:
- Email address already exists
- Duplicates exist in the sheet
- Invalid domain name was provided
- Email address is not an email address
This validation check can provide a great way to identify name collisions and filter out pre-existing users or users with name collisions that need to be manually resolved.
All of these validation issues must be resolved in the sheet (or have their rows deleted) before you can proceed to user creation.
Step 3: Generate passwords
Once all email addresses have been determined valid, you will be able to proceed to the Generate new passwords step, where you can generate passwords directly in the Sheet, or via a "memory-friendly" rules.
For younger students, it's generally preferable not to force a password change. This can be accomplished by setting a blank value in the Sheet. Gopher for Users will also allow distribution of multiple passwords to a single point of contact via a "printer friendly" email.
Step 4: Setting user properties and attributes
Next, populate properties and attributes. Here you can also include enabled custom user attributes like Student ID, that might be useful to associate as a part of Google Workspace user profiles.
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Step 5: Adding users to domain groups
Next, use the sheet to populate any Google Workspace domain groups to which you want users added. Use commas to separate multiple group email address.
Step 6: Preview and create users
Clicking Next will load a preview of all users to be created, along with any errors that will prevent specific users from being generated...
Clicking Create Users will generate the accounts, perform additional actions such as group-additions and password sends, and note the status in the row.
Note: When passwords are sent to points of contact with new user emails, they look like this:
