Create and Change Aliases

To set an alias for Users, from the navigation, select Settings > Users & Groups > User Aliases. 

To set an Alias for Computers, from the left-hand menu inside ActivTrak, navigate to Settings > Users > Computer Aliases.

The reports and dashboards in ActivTrak are useful tools for gaining quick insights into workforce trends. To make reports and dashboards easier to read and interpret, we recommend creating aliases for users and computers. 

An alias changes the name of a user or computer Agent that is derived from a computer’s user profile (user ID). When you create an alias, such as a user’s name, the underlying user ID stays the same, but the alias will appear in place of the user ID in all ActivTrak reports and dashboards. See an example of a user ID and user alias below.

Additionally, aliases can be used to combine data from multiple devices into a single report, for example, if a user works with both a PC and a Mac or logs in remotely to a server.

NOTE: This will not affect license count numbers and is not an effective way to reclaim licenses. To learn more about managing your ActivTrak licenses, click here.

Setting User or Computer Aliases

To set an alias for Users, from the navigation, select Settings > Users & Groups > User Aliases. 

From here, type the desired alias (max 50 characters) into the blank space next to the User ID. A red indicator will appear in the upper left reminding you that changes have not been applied, as shown in the image below. Once done adding or modifying aliases, hit the green ‘Apply’ button in the upper left of the page to save your changes.

If a user has multiple domains, creating a user alias will allow all of the user's domains to be viewed together in a single report. By making aliases the same, the alias names will appear under the report selection screen.

Below is an example of two users being combined for reporting purposes. In this example, Roberto sometimes uses his PC (DESKTOP-OQB2L2U) while logged in with User ID ‘Roberto ActivTrak’, and sometimes uses his MacBook Pro while logged in with User ID ‘Roberto Molins’.

Since the computers are not on the same domain, these appear as two separate users and consume two licenses. By giving both users the exact same User Alias ‘Roberto M’, they will now be combined in reports. The alias ‘Roberto M’ will appear as an option in the report filters, and as in the example Top Users report below, all of the data collected from both of Roberto’s users are combined into one entry under ‘Roberto M’.

An alias can only be edited under the User Aliases page, but any aliases assigned will appear in parentheses on the User Agents page next to the User ID:

To set an Alias for Computers, from the left-hand menu inside ActivTrak, navigate to Settings > Users > Computer Aliases.

From here, type the desired alias (max 50 characters) into the blank space next to the Computer. A red indicator will appear in the upper left reminding you that changes have not been applied. Once done adding or modifying aliases, hit the green ‘Apply’ button in the upper left of the page to save your changes.

Instead of having computer names that are unrecognizable, creating an alias allows for easier readability when viewing the machines. 

Computer aliases must be unique and are therefore not able to combine inside reports like user aliases. However, creating a computer alias is helpful when trying to quickly identify computers when viewing an alarm or an entry on the activity log.

Learn More:

• Managing User Agents
• Managing Computer Agents
• Creating and Managing Groups
• About ActivTrak Licensing