User Impersonation

Owned by Becky Schwartz (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Aug 31, 2023
3 min read

User Impersonation allows Confluence users (even those without a Jira license) to view Jira data in charts on a Confluence Page.

This feature is NOT ENABLED BY DEFAULT. It must be manually turned on by a Confluence admin.

Watch User Impersonation in Action!

 

 

Steps to Enable User Impersonation Permissions

You must be a Confluence admin to enable these permissions.

  1. Click the Cog in the top right corner of Confluence

  2. In the Settings panel on the left, find the Custom Jira Charts section, and click Custom Jira Charts - Settings

  3. In the list of tabs under Custom Jira Charts - Settings, click User Impersonation

  4. Click the Permission - User Impersonation section to expand it (number 1 in the image above). In this section, you are choosing users who can select their own Jira account as the one to impersonate permissions when viewing Jira data on Custom Jira Charts on Confluence

    1. In the User Name search box, type in and select each user on an individual basis. Click Add to lock in each user

    2. In the Group Name search box, type in and select Jira groups of users. Click Add to lock in each group

Enable the Permission for Users to Impersonate Other Users

Users granted this permission can select ANY CONFLUENCE USER to impersonate when viewing Jira data on Custom Jira Charts.

This is a very powerful permission - for example:

  • Tom is an external contractor

  • Tom is granted the permission Impersonate Other Users for Custom Jira Charts

  • Tom creates a Custom Jira Chart on a Confluence page and impersonates Becky who is an administrator

  • The chart Tom creates shows the number of issues in the project “Top Secret” that only Becky should be able to see

This is a type of privilege escalation so you should be extremely careful when deciding who is given this permission.

  1. Follow steps 1-3 above

  2. Click the Permission - Impersonate Other User section to expand it (number 2 in the image above)

    1. In the User Name search box, type in and select each user on an individual basis. Click Add to lock in each user

    2. In the Group Name search box, type in and select Jira groups of users. Click Add to lock in each group

 

Steps to Enable User Impersonation on Charts

  1. With the Custom Charts or Issue List macro in Edit mode, click the User Impersonation icon on the right side (number 1 in the screenshot above)

  2. Click the USER IMPERSONATION radio button

  3. In the IMPERSONATION USER search box, type in the name of the Jira user who’s permissions should be used when loading charts

Customize User Impersonation Display Options on Charts

  1. With the Custom Charts or Issue List macro in Edit mode, click the Display options tab on the right side

  2. Scroll to the bottom of the section until you see User Impersonation

  3. Adjust your options if preferred:

    1. Show impersonation user under chart: if toggled off (grey), the chart will load without the User Impersonation details displayed (image below has the option toggled on)

    2. Allow click-through (requires Jira access): if toggled off (grey), chart viewers will not be able to click on the issue data and see it’s details in Jira (image below has the option toggled off)