How many places at once one person may stay signed in, counted separately for the web application and for mobile.
When to use it
When somebody with a real reason to be signed in on two machines keeps getting signed out, such as a supervisor at a counter and in the back office. Also when you want to tighten one account that is being shared.
Before you start
The user must already exist. You are raising or lowering a limit for one person, not creating access. Decide which one you mean: web and mobile are counted separately and need a row each.
Where to find it
Setup > System Customization > User Session Limits.
The fields on this screen
| Field (on screen) | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---|
| User | The user this limit applies to | No |
| Surface | Web and mobile are counted separately | No |
| Max Sessions | 1 or more. Signing in beyond this ends the oldest session on that surface. | No |
| Reason | Why this user needs more than the default | No |
How it works
Every time somebody signs in, their limit on that surface is worked out in this order:
- the row you set here for that user and surface;
- if there is none, your organisation's default for that surface;
- if there is none, 1.
So a user with no row here gets the company default, and a company with no default lets everybody hold one session per surface.
Going over the limit does not refuse the new sign-in. Instead it signs out that user's oldest session on that surface. The person at the keyboard always gets in. The older session is the one dropped, whether that is their other machine or a colleague sharing the account. This is on purpose: refusing the login would leave somebody who has lost a device with no way back in.
A dropped session cannot renew itself, but it does not go blank the same second. It can keep working for a short while, until its current access expires. That does not mean the limit has failed.
Web and mobile do not compete. A limit of 1 on the web still lets the same person use the phone application at the same time.
If the limit cannot be read for any reason, the sign-in still goes ahead on the default of 1. A failure makes it stricter, never looser, and never blocks anyone from signing in.
Tips and common mistakes
- One row covers one user on one surface. Somebody who needs two web sessions and two mobile sessions needs two rows.
- Lowering a limit does not sign anybody out straight away. It takes effect at the next sign-in, when the oldest session over the new limit is dropped.
- "I keep getting logged out" usually means a shared account, not a fault. Two people on one login with a limit of 1 will take turns signing each other out all day.
Related guides
See also User master, Form & Table Customization and Workflow Variants.