All Infobase Platform URLs support the use of the aid= parameter. This is a unique account ID number that facilitates remote authentication. This value is your Infobase account number, and corresponds to your account record in our account management system. Each account has a preferred remote authentication method that the account ID will point to if no IP authentication is possible. After authentication, the user will land directly on the page they were trying to access.
The account ID approach means that no proxy or other authentication value will be visible in your record URLs. This is by design, as the links will not need to be updated in your LMS, courses, MARC records, etc. if the authentication information changes.
The Preferred Remote Authentication method must be set by Infobase Support in your account, as this setting is managed in our internal records system, not in the Infobase Admin. The remote authentication options are proxy, referring URL, library barcode, or username and password.
How to find your ID
There are a few ways to find your account’s aid= value.
- Ask Infobase Support: Simply email productsupport@infobase.com and we’ll be happy to provide you with the correct aid number.
-
Check your Infobase permalinks:
The permalinks are found in one of three places depending on what area of the site you're in:
- The "Share" option at the upper right of search results pages
- The "Share" option in the entry menu
- The URL in the citation - under "Cite" in the entry menu
Copy the link, paste it into a text program or browser address bar, and look for ‘?aid=’ in the URL.
- Log into your Infobase Admin account: the information will be in the upper left corner.
How to use
The correct format for the AID to be added is ?aid=***, or in a URL that already has a ?, &aid=***. The permalink function will add this in the correct format automatically.
Linking to the home page:
https://access.infobase.com/?aid=1234
Linking to an entry page:
https://access.infobase.com/title/Q2xpcDoyMTQ0MDc=?aid=1234
Linking to a search results page:
https://access.infobase.com/search?q=gold&aid=1234
What Users Will See
If a user is on-campus, they will authenticate via IP without hitting the remote authentication method prompt.
If a user is off-campus, there are different scenarios based on your preferred remote authentication type:
- Proxy: they will be sent directly to the log-in page for that system without seeing a Infobase page.
- Library barcode or username and password: they will be prompted for the information on the Infobase log-in page.
- Referring URL is not eligible for this type of redirect, although the aid= URLs can be used on the specified referrer page for seamless access.
If you are experiencing any issues with this function please email productsupport@infobase.com.