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Password-Protecting the Project – Password Manager

To easily protect access to a project, you can assign a password. In combination with user and permission management, you can define in detail which users have access and which permissions they have in the project.

You can restrict the allowed number of login attempts for a user in the project and configure the use of the more secure hash format for passwords.

CODESYS provides a password manager for managing user passwords.

Important

For good know-how protection, you should always encrypt the project with a certificate (or dongle).

Assigning passwords

Caution

If you forget the encryption password, then you can no longer open or restore the project.

Requirement: The project is open.

  1. Click Project → Project Settings and then the Security category.

    The Project Settings: Security dialog opens.

  2. Select the Encryption and Password options.

    The input fields for the encryption password appear.

  3. In the New Password input field, specify the encryption password.

  4. In the Confirm new password input field, specify the the encryption password again to confirm.

  5. Click OK and save the project.

    CODESYS saves the encryption password for the project. You need to specify this password in order to open the project again, even if it should be loaded as a library reference.

Secure login: Settings for user login in the project

Requirement: The project is open. Note: Only a user with the corresponding permissions (by default from the Owner group) can open the project for this purpose.

  1. Open the Project Settings dialog, Users and Groups category, Settings tab, and configure the Maximum number of authentication trials and the Automatic Logout option.

  2. Recommendation: Select the New hash format for passwords option.

For more information about the dialog, see: Project Settings: Users and Groups

Logging in with a user account – Using a password manager

Procedure. Logging in to the project without using the password manager functions

Requirement: A project is open. You want to log in as a defined user for this project or for a library integrated in it in order to edit one or the other with specific permissions. You have the required credentials for the respective project or the library.

  1. Select the Project → User Management → User Login command. Alternatively, you could also double-click the Current user field in the status bar.

    The Login dialog opens.

  2. Select the project file from Project/Library and specify the required credentials (User name and Password).

  3. Click OK to log in.

    You are logged in. If another user was already logged in, then this user will be automatically logged out by the new login.

Procedure. Setting a master password for the password manager

Important

If you have forgotten your master password, then you no longer have any possibility to access the credentials already saved. In this case, you can only reset the password manager. After that, you need to start over to save passwords in the manager.

Requirement: A project is open. You want to log in as a defined user for the project or an integrated library in order to work with specific permissions. You want to use the password manager in order to save credentials.

  1. Select the Project → User Management → User Login command.

  2. In the Login dialog, click the _cds_icon_password_manager.png button.

    If you are working with the password manager for the first time, then the Password Manager Setup dialog opens.

  3. Enter a string as the future master password. Confirm it in the second line and click OK.

    CODESYS remembers the master password until you end the current CODESYS session. You always need to specify this password when you want to log in to the password manager for the first time during a new session, or after you have changed it.

Procedure. Saving credentials in the password manager

Requirement: A project is open. You want to log in as a defined user for this project or for a library integrated in it in order to edit one or the other with specific permissions. You have the required credentials for the respective project or the library. These credentials have not yet been saved in the password manager.

  1. Click Project → User Management → Log In User to open the Login dialog.

  2. Select the project file from Project/Library.

  3. Specify the user name and password for the project or the library.

  4. Click the _cds_icon_password_manager.png button.

    If you are working for the first time with the password manager, then you will be prompted to define a master password. See the instructions above: Setting a master password for the password manager.

    When you call the password manager for the first time in this CODESYS session, you will be prompted to enter the master password.

  5. Enter the master password when prompted.

    The password manager menu is displayed.

  6. Select the Save the credentials locally on this computer option.

    The login is completed. The credentials are saved in the password manager.

Note

In CODESYS V3.5.21.0 and higher, the password manager can also be used for credentials when logging in to the PLC.

Procedure. Getting the credentials from the password manager

Requirement: A project is open. You want to log in as a defined user for this project or for a library integrated in it in order to edit one or the other with specific permissions. The credentials required for this are already saved in the password manager.

  1. Click Project → User Management → Log In User to open the Login dialog.

    Note

    The fields in the Login dialog are already automatically filled with user name and password if only one user is stored in the password manager for this project.

  2. Click the _cds_icon_password_manager.png button.

    If you are working for the first time with the password manager, then you will be prompted to define a master password. See the instructions above: "Setting a master password for the password manager".

    When you call the password manager for the first time in this CODESYS session, you will be prompted to enter the master password.

  3. Enter the master password when prompted.

    The password manager menu is displayed.

  4. Select the matching Use saved credentials for <user name> entry.

    The login is done automatically with the credentials read from the password manager.

Procedure. Opening the password manager – Changing saved passwords

Requirement: A project is open. You want to open the password manager in order to view and/or edit the entries or to change the master password. You have already logged in before with the master password.

  1. Click Project → User Management → Log In User to open the Login dialog.

  2. Click the _cds_icon_password_manager.png button. Select Open the Password Manager.

    The password manager window opens.

  3. With the _cds_icon_three_dots.png button next to an entry, you can display or hide the respective password in plain text.

  4. With the _cds_icon_delete_from_list.png button, you can delete the entry from the password manager.

  5. With the Change Master Password button, you can change the master password.

Procedure. Logging out from the project

Requirement: A project is open. A user is logged in, which is recognizable by a name entry in the field Current user in the status bar.

  • Select Project → User Management → User Logout. Alternatively, you could also double-click the Current user field in the status bar and click the Log out button in the dialog.

    If the user is logged in to only one project, then that user will now be logged out without further interaction. (nobody) appears again in the Current user field in the status bar.

    If the user is logged in to multiple projects, then the Logout dialog opens. In the dialog, select the specific project or library project from which the user should be logged out.

For more information, see: Configuring a User Management and Permissions for a Project and Objects

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