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Last modified by Carina Enke on 13.03.2026
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3 Expert rules let you evaluate user attributes and thus control the visibility and access of a course section or course element. To do this, use the expert rules **hasAttribute, isInAttribute** or **getUserProperty**.
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6 All of the following example rules can be created for both the **visibility** and** access** of a course element. To simplify matters, only one scenario is described in each of the following examples. To learn more about the difference between visibility and access, see the page [[Publishing within courses (visibility and access)>>doc:LMS.Benutzerhandbuch OPAL.Lehren.Kurs.Freigabe von Kursen und Kursinhalten.Freigabe innerhalb von Kursen Sichtbarkeit und Zugang.WebHome||shape="rect"]].
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17
18 == General user attributes ==
19
20 The following user attributes are available in the learning platform and can be used for expert rules:
21
22 |=(((
23 Attribut
24 )))|=(((
25 Contains the user-specific value
26 )))
27 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
28 (((
29 firstName
30 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
31 (((
32 First name
33 )))
34 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
35 (((
36 lastName
37 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
38 (((
39 Last name
40 )))
41 |=(((
42 username / userid
43 )))|(((
44 User name
45 )))
46 |=(((
47 email
48 )))|(((
49 Email address
50 )))
51 |=(((
52 institutionalName
53 )))|(((
54 Institution / University
55 )))
56 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
57 (((
58 institutionalUserIdentifier
59 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
60 (((
61 Matriculation number / User number at the institution
62 )))
63 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
64 (((
65 standort
66 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
67 (((
68 Location
69 )))
70 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
71 (((
72 termsOfStudy
73 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
74 (((
75 Term of study
76 )))
77 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
78 (((
79 studySubject
80 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
81 (((
82 Study programme
83 )))
84 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
85 (((
86 studyGroup
87 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
88 (((
89 Study group
90 )))
91 |=(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
92 (((
93 orgUnit
94 )))|(% colspan="1" %)(% colspan="1" %)
95 (((
96 Organisation unit
97 )))
98
99 {{note}}
100 === Institution-specific user attributes ===
101
102 Apart from the general user attributes, there are also institution-specific restrictions or extensions possible. Therefore, check which of the user attributes are available in your platform before using it. Please refer to the page [[Overview of OPAL Shibboleth Attributes>>doc:LMS.Benutzerhandbuch OPAL.Administration.OPAL Shibboleth Attribute.WebHome||shape="rect"]] for an overview of these usable attributes and corresponding example values.
103 {{/note}}
104
105
106 == Checking for a user attribute ==
107
108 In general,
109
110
111 * **hasAttribute** is used to check whether a user has a specific attribute or not. The function returns true when the attribute exists, regardless of its value. This rule is suitable for simple existence checks.
112 * ​i**sInAttribute** is used when you want to pass on whether the attribute value is included in a list of permitted values. The rule checks multi-value lists or enumerations, e.g. roles or group memberships.
113 * **getUserProperty** is used when the exact value of a user attribute needs to be retrieved and then compared with a condition. It is ideal for exact value comparisons or dynamic calculations with attribute values.
114
115 |=Syntax in general|=Example of an expert rule|=Result of this rule
116 |(% colspan="1" rowspan="2" %)//isInAttribute("//[AttrName]//","//[string]//")//|isInAttribute("studySubject","Chemie")|(((
117 If this rule has been defined in the tab Access, the course element is accessible for all persons whose attribute Study programme contains the letter sequence "Chemistry".
118
119 This means that users with the study programme “Chemistry BA" or “Chemistry MA" can use the course element. Users with the study subject “Chemical water treatment”, however, cannot.
120 )))
121 |isInAttribute("language","de")|If this rule has been entered in the Access tab, the course element is accessible to all persons whose user language is German.
122 |//getUserProperty("//[string]//")//|getUserProperty("orgUnit") = "Marketing"|Only users from the "Marketing" organisation unit can see the course element if this rule has been used in the Visibility tab.
123 |(% colspan="1" rowspan="2" %)//hasAttribute("//[AttrName]//","//[string]//")//|hasAttribute("email","muster.mann@opal.de")|(((
124 Only a user with this email address will get access to the course section.
125 )))
126 |hasAttribute("language","en")|Only persons with the selected [[user language>>doc:LMS.Benutzerhandbuch OPAL.Meine Lernplattform.Meine Einstellungen.System Settings.WebHome]] ‘English’ will be granted access to the course section.
127
128 Create additional rules by using expert syntax. A tabular overview is provided on the [[Expert>>doc:LMS.Benutzerhandbuch OPAL.Lehren.Kurs.Freigabe von Kursen und Kursinhalten.Expertenmodus zur Freigabe innerhalb von Kursen.Expertensyntax.WebHome]] [[syntax>>doc:LMS.Benutzerhandbuch OPAL.Lehren.Kurs.Freigabe von Kursen und Kursinhalten.Expertenmodus zur Freigabe innerhalb von Kursen.Expertensyntax.WebHome]] help page.