When people should have temporary access to a computer within your team you can use the Guest Access feature instead of adding them to the team. Guest Access can also be used internally within your Teams tenant.
Table of contents
Overview
Guest Credits
Purchase Guest Credits
Configuring Computers for Guest Access
Team Computers
Enabling Guest Access
Sending Guest Invites
Guest Access Coordinators
Manage Invitations
Exporting transaction history
Testing Guest Access
Overview
Guest invites allow one specific Parsec account to connect to one specific computer. You send invites from the 'Guest Access' page in the Teams dashboard.
Through the Guest Access feature you can schedule a time window, up to 5 days long, during which a guest can connect to a dedicated machine. When you create the invite the guest receives an email containing:
- An invite message
- An explanation how Parsec works
- The time window during which they can connect
- The link they will use to connect
- A configurable message from you
15 minutes before the invite becomes valid the guest receives a reminder window.
Guest Credits
Guest access is paid for with Guest Credits, unless the Guest Access invite is sent to a member of your Teams tenant.
Credits must be bought before sending invites and can be purchased in specific amounts or in a discounted bundle. If you need a large number of invites please contact the sales team.
Each guest invite consumes one credit. If the invite is cancelled or unused the credit is refunded.
Purchase Guest Credits
- Navigate to the 'Guest Access' tab in your Teams portal.
- Click 'Purchase Guest Credits'
- Provide the quantity of guest credits to purchase
- Review purchase details, and click 'Confirm Purchase'.
Configuring Computers for Guest Access
In order for computers to be available for guest access, each computer will need to have 'Allow Guest Access' enabled.
Team Computers
Computers configured as Team Computers with Guest Access enabled show here. Guest Access enabled Team Computers are shared among all administrators and guest access coordinators.
Starting in January 2023, Guest Access no longer allows users consuming a guest access token to connect to a computer provisioned as a "My Computer". Users consuming guest access tokens must connect to a computer that is provisioned as a Team Computer.
Warning: If you log out or switch account after the invite was sent, but before it was used, the invite becomes unusable. To make sure the correct account is logged in to Parsec it is safest to only schedule invites for online computers.
Enabling Guest Access
- Navigate to the 'Team Computers' tab
- Find the relevant computer(s)
- Click icon under 'Guest Access'. Ensure it says 'ON'
- Click the 'Guest Access' tab.
- Ensure the desired computer(s) appear.
Sending Guest Invites
Each guest invite has the following requirements:
Emails
Who is the invite for? Invites are one user to one computer, but you can enter multiple emails at once if they should have simultaneous access to the computer, which will result in multiple invites. Only the Parsec account(s) with matching emails will be able to use the invite.
Schedule
The time window during which the guest can connect to the computer. An invite can be valid for a maximum of 5 days. During this time window the invite can be used multiple times. Once the time window expires the guest is automatically kicked.
The time window is set in the selected time zone. This time zone is also used when communicating the time window to the guest.
The end time can be updated any time, the start time can be updated until a guest has used the link. When updating the time window an email will automatically be sent to the guest notifying them of the change.
Permissions
Permissions determine what peripherals the guest will be able to use when connected to the computer. Permissions can be edited at any time but if the guest is already connected updated permissions will not apply until the guest disconnects and reconnects.
To configure invites:
- Click 'Invite Guests' on relevant computer
- Provide email address(es) of guests. You can provide multiple emails in comma delimited format.
- Provide start and end time. Ensure the appropriate timezone is configured.
- Assign permissions.
- Click 'Next'
- Provide a title for the email invitation
- Include a message/instructions for the recipient. This message must be plain text, HTML is not supported.
- Confirm 'Guest Access' configuration.
One credit is used for each external guest. Inviting existing team members is free. The credits are deducted when the link is scheduled. If the link is canceled or unused the credit is refunded.
Guest Access Coordinators
Team owners can give team members guest coordinator permissions through the Groups & Members page. Guest access coordinators can:
- View the Guest Access page
- See the teams Guest Credit balance
- Use Guest Credits to schedule invites to their own computers or Team Computers
- Edit/cancel invites
Guest access coordinators can not purchase Guest Credits or download the transaction history.
Manage Invitations
It's possible to modify an invitation after it has been sent. To edit an invitation, follow the steps below:
- Expand the row containing the relevant computer
- Edit 'Guest Access' details
- Click the ellipsis '...' to edit expiration time or revoke access
- Enable/disable permissions
- Kick guest
Exporting transaction history
The team owner can export a transaction history CSV from the Guest Access page that contains all events that credited or debited Guest Credits. For each event it lists:
- The reason for the credit/debit
- The email of the administrator who created the invite or purchased credits
- The email of the guest (when applicable)
- The timestamp of the event
Testing Guest Access
To test the feature you can send invites to yourself or other team members for free. Some caveats when sending invites to yourself:
- You can connect through the link but the time window is ignored since you can always connect to yourself
- You will always have full permissions since you're connecting to yourself