Guest portal (public links)

The guest portal refers here to the viewing of a timetable by someone who has no Omniscol account at the school. The common case is the signed public link: a URL restricted to a precise scope, open in read-only mode.

Access modes

Depending on the need, choose between:

• Signed public link — a URL containing a secret token gives access to a specific timetable (a student, a class, a classroom, a teacher) without authentication. Convenient for sharing with a parent: a single link, no password to remember. See Public share links.
• Restricted Omniscol account — if the person needs lasting, authenticated or multi-scope access, create an account with the appropriate role and rights instead. Do not present this case as an anonymous public link.

What a guest sees

The guest sees the timetable in strictly read-only mode:

• no changes possible,
• no absence declaration,
• no availability entry,
• no access to timetables beyond the scope included in the link.

The link opens the intended viewing screen, in read-only mode. For a timetable, the display is automatically stripped down — without the top banner or the application menu — which gives a page focused on the calendar alone. This presentation corresponds to the raw=true URL parameter: set by default on timetable links, optional on other screens, and one an experienced user can add by hand. It changes neither the authentication nor the scope of the link.

Some share links serve a targeted action rather than a viewing: the teacher availability entry link allows only the intended form, until its expiration date.

Use case: student's parent (K-12)

The typical scenario in middle and high school:

1. The administrator (or the student themselves) generates the share link for the student's timetable.
2. The link is sent to the parent by email.
3. The parent opens the link: they see their child's timetable.
4. From that same link, they can subscribe via iCal and have the timetable directly in Google Calendar / Apple Calendar.

No account to create, no password to manage.

Use case: permanent observer

If an external educational advisor needs to follow a program throughout the year, avoid the anonymous public link by default. Create an Omniscol account restricted to the necessary scope, or set up a signed share with a short expiration and controlled renewal.

Security

• A signed public link remains usable until its expiration date. It is invalidated if the password of the account it is attached to changes (or if that account is deactivated); an iCal link is also invalidated by rotating the school's access key.
• A restricted Omniscol account can be deactivated like any other user account.
• Access through a public link must not be treated as an authenticated internal user.