Sending Invitations to Create Friend Guest Accounts

This document provides instructions for inviting people to create Friend guest accounts for the purpose of providing them with access to a specific resource. Members of the U-M community can use an online tool to send invitations through email that:

  • Grant access to the recipient to use your Shibboleth-protected Web resource
  • Invite the recipient to create a Friend guest account
  • Direct the recipient to your web page about creation of the account

Sending an Invitation

  1. Use your web browser to connect to the invitation creation page.
  2. Login with your uniqname and UMICH (Level-1) password.
  3. Fill in the required information for your invitation. You will need to indicate:
    • The email address from which the invitation should be sent. Your own email address will appear in this field. You can change it to a group address if you wish.
    • The URL to which you wish to direct invitation recipient(s) after creation of the Friend Guest account.
    • The email address(es) to which you wish to send invitations. You can send multiple invitations.
    You may also provide some text to be added to the default invitation text.
  4. Click the Next button.
  5. You will be asked to confirm the information you provided.
    • Click Edit to make any changes.
    • If the information is correct, click Invite to send the invitations.

Frequently Asked Questions About Friend Invitations

What is a Friend guest account invitation?
It is an email message inviting someone who does not have a uniqname and UMICH (Level-1) password to create a guest account that will allow him/her to log in to U-M web resources. The invitation contains a link that the recipient can click to create the account. Note that the account created allows the recipient only to authenticate, or login, to U-M Web resources. The individual will also need to be authorized by the resource provider to use any particular resource.

Who is eligible to send Friend invitations?
Anyone with a uniqname and UMICH password can send a Friend invitation.

To whom can I send Friend invitations?
To anyone with a non-university email address (that is, the address must not end in @umich.edu).

What happens if I send an invitation to someone who already has a Friend account?
Instead of receiving an invitation to create a Friend account, that person will receive an invitation to use his/her existing Friend account to visit and log in to your website. Here is the text of the message the person will receive:

Greetings from the University of Michigan,
<If you provided text for the message, it will appear here.>

<email address of sender> has invited you to use your U-M Friend guest account to access a protected U-M web resource located at:

<URL you provided>

Your login is your entire email address including the part after the '@' symbol. If you forgot your password, you can reset it by visiting:

https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/account/.

By using this service you agree to adhere to U-M computing policies and guidelines.

U-M Friend Accounts

Do the invitations expire?
Yes. The account-creation link in the invitation message is only good for 24 hours. If the recipient clicks the link after it has expired, the account creation process will fail. The recipient can still create a Friend account by following the instructions in Create a Friend Account for Guest Access to U-M Computing Resources.

One of my recipients did not receive the invitation I sent. What happened?
Most likely, the message was caught by the recipient's anti-spam filters. Ask the recipient to check his or her Junk, Spam, or other spam-catching folder to see it the message is there.

What does the standard invitation message say?
Here is a sample message:

FRIEND ACCOUNT INVITATION

<If you provided text for the message, it will appear here.>

<email address of sender> has requested that your email address be used as the account name for a new University of Michigan Friend guest account. If you would like to continue the account creation process, please visit the following link:

<Create Friend Account>

This new account will grant you access to a number of web-based resources at the University of Michigan. By using this service you agree to adhere to U-M computing policies and guidelines.

Note if the creation link is not clickable please continue by visiting:

<actual URL is provided here>

What message will my recipient(s) receive after they create their Friend accounts?
Here is a sample message:

FRIEND ACCOUNT CREATED

Thank you for creating a new U-M Friend guest account. You were invited to use the U-M web service located at:

<the URL you provided will appear here>

Because <sender's email address> invited you, please contact him or her if you have trouble logging in or accessing the web service.

You can also visit the following URL to log in with your new Friend account:

http://weblogin.umich.edu/

Your login name is: <recipient's email address>

Your password is whatever you just set it to; you can change it to a new password by visiting:

http://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/passwd/

If you forget your password at any point, you can reset it to something you know by visiting:

https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/account/

Questions about access to specific protected websites at the University of Michigan should be directed to the maintainers of those sites. You may find it helpful to keep this message for future reference.

One of my recipients says he or she didn't receive the welcome message after creating a Friend account. What happened?
Most likely, the message was caught by the recipient's anti-spam filters. Ask the recipient to check his or her Junk, Spam, or other spam-catching folder to see it the message is there.

Do people have to receive an invitation in order to create a Friend account?
No. People can create an account without an invitation by following the instructions in Create a Friend Account for Guest Access to U-M Computing Resources.

Last Updated: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023