Parent Username Format

 

Quick Reference

Field	Value
Setting Name	Parent username format
Setting ID	SchoolPortal_Morfi_Onomatos_Xristi_Gonea
Location in System	Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles
Setting Type	Text (template / formula)
Applies Per Institution	Yes — each institution can define its own format independently
Applies Per Academic Year	No
K-12 Label	Parent username format
Higher Education Label	Parent username format

 

Overview

The “Parent username format” setting controls how Classter automatically suggests a login username when a new parent (guardian) account is created in the system. Instead of requiring an administrator to type a username manually for every new parent, Classter reads a configurable text formula and generates a consistent, readable suggestion based on the parent’s own name and profile details.

This setting is part of the Accounts and Roles configuration within Security Settings and belongs to the Core module. It applies each time a new parent account is created — whether manually by an administrator, via bulk import, or through any other account creation workflow available to the institution.

 

What This Setting Does

This setting accepts a text formula made up of tokens — special placeholder codes that represent parts of the parent’s personal information (such as first name or last name). When a new parent account is being created, Classter reads this formula and generates a suggested username by substituting each token with the corresponding value from the parent’s profile.

Key behaviors:

• The suggested username is a proposal, not a locked value. The person creating the account can still change it manually before saving.
• If the generated username already exists in the system, Classter automatically appends an incrementing number at the end (for example, if “aroberts” already exists, Classter suggests “aroberts1”, then “aroberts2”, and so on).
• The formula is configured once and then applies automatically to every new parent account created from that point forward.
• Changing this setting after accounts have already been created will not retroactively update existing usernames. Only new accounts created after the change will use the updated format.
• The setting is configured per institution, meaning different schools or campuses within the same Classter environment can each use their own parent username format independently.

 

Where It Is Used

 

Location in the system

To find and configure this setting, navigate to:

Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles

Within the Accounts and Roles section, scroll down to the field labelled “Parent username format”. Click the three-dots button (…) next to the field to open the pattern builder popup, where you can compose the format interactively, preview the result with a sample name, and access character conversion options.

 

Where the format is applied

The format is applied automatically in the following situations:

• When an administrator manually creates a new parent account.
• When parent accounts are created as part of a bulk import or data migration.
• When a parent is registered through any other account creation workflow configured for the institution.

The generated username appears as a pre-filled suggestion in the username field during account creation. It can be accepted as-is or overridden by the person completing the registration.

 

Business Logic and Behavior

 

How the format is built — tokens

The format is defined using tokens. Each token is a placeholder enclosed in square brackets that Classter replaces with a real value from the parent’s profile when the account is created. Tokens can be combined with each other and with static separators such as a dot (.) or underscore (_).

The most commonly used tokens are:

Token	What it represents	Example output (N = 1)
[SchoolPortal.FirstName(N)]	First N characters of the parent’s first name	“A” from “Anna”
[SchoolPortal.LastName(N)]	First N characters of the parent’s last name	“R” from “Roberts”
[SchoolPortal.Code(N)]	First N characters of the parent’s internal ID code	Institution-specific
[SchoolPortal.CrossCode(N)]	Alternative or cross-reference code	Institution-specific

 

Understanding the N parameter

The number N inside each token controls how many characters are taken from the field:

• A positive integer (e.g., 1, 5, 10) takes the first N characters of the field.
• Using a large number such as 10 effectively means “use the full field value” for most names.
• The special form (0,‘ ’) instructs Classter to extract only the first word of a name field, stopping at the first space. This is useful when parents have compound first or last names.

 

Combining tokens with separators

Tokens can be placed next to each other or separated by a static character:

[SchoolPortal.FirstName(1)][SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]   =>   aroberts [SchoolPortal.FirstName(1)].[SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]   =>   a.roberts [SchoolPortal.FirstName(10)][SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]   =>   annaroberts

 

Conflict handling

If the generated username already exists in the system, Classter automatically appends an incrementing integer at the end of the name until a unique username is found:

aroberts   =>   aroberts1   =>   aroberts2   =>   …

 

Character conversion

The pattern builder popup includes special functions for character conversion. These ensure that generated usernames are compatible with system requirements even when a parent’s name contains accented characters, special symbols, or letters from non-Latin alphabets. For example, accented characters are converted to their plain Latin equivalents. These options are accessible via the popup form opened from the three-dots button.

If parents at your institution frequently have names with special characters, review these conversion options before finalising the format to avoid generating usernames that contain unsupported characters.

 

K-12 mode vs. Higher Education mode

The “Parent username format” setting works identically in both K-12 mode and Higher Education mode (when the “Enable Configuration for Higher Education” setting is enabled). The underlying behavior — username suggestion, conflict resolution, and format token logic — is the same regardless of the operating mode.

The label of the setting and its location in the system do not change between modes. In Higher Education mode, the concept of parent (guardian) accounts may be used less frequently, as students are typically adults managing their own access; however, the setting remains fully available and functional for institutions that still register guardians in that mode.

 

Examples

Example 1 — Standard first initial plus last name (most common format)

This is the most widely used format. It produces short, email-like usernames.

Item	Value
Format configured	[SchoolPortal.FirstName(1)][SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]
Parent name	Anna Roberts
Generated username	aroberts
If already taken	aroberts1, then aroberts2, and so on

 

Example 2 — Dot-separated format

A dot between the first initial and last name gives a more formal, professional appearance.

Item	Value
Format configured	[SchoolPortal.FirstName(1)].[SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]
Parent name	Michael Fernandez
Generated username	m.fernandez
If already taken	m.fernandez1, then m.fernandez2, and so on

 

Example 3 — Full first name and last name

Using a larger N value includes the full name (up to N characters) in the username.

Item	Value
Format configured	[SchoolPortal.FirstName(10)][SchoolPortal.LastName(10)]
Parent name	Laura Mitchell
Generated username	lauramitchell
If already taken	lauramitchell1, then lauramitchell2, and so on

 

Example 4 — Compound names (first word only)

When parents frequently have compound first or last names (two or more words), using the (0,‘ ’) parameter ensures only the first word of each name field is used, producing clean and consistent usernames.

Item	Value
Format configured	[SchoolPortal.FirstName(0,’ ‘)].[SchoolPortal.LastName(0,’ ‘)]
Parent name	Anne Marie De Santos
Generated username	anne.de
Note	Only the first word of each name field is used

 

Example 5 — Three parents sharing the same initial and last name

Illustrates how Classter handles username conflicts automatically when multiple parents share the same first initial and last name.

Parent name	Username assigned
Carlos Rivera	crivera
Clara Rivera	crivera1
Christina Rivera	crivera2

No manual intervention is required. Classter detects the conflict and appends the next available number automatically.

 

When to Use

This setting is a text formula rather than a simple on/off toggle, so the question is not whether to enable or disable it, but rather when and how to configure it.

 

Configure this setting when

• You are setting up Classter for the first time and need to define a naming convention for parent accounts before any accounts are created.
• Your institution is about to perform a bulk import of parent data and wants all generated usernames to follow a consistent pattern.
• You are migrating from another system and need to match the username format already in use there.
• Your institution’s IT or security policy requires a specific username format (for example, no dots in usernames, or usernames based on ID codes rather than names).
• Parents at your institution frequently have compound or multi-word names and you need to use the first-word-only option to avoid overly long or inconsistent usernames.
• Parent names include accented or special characters and you need to configure character conversion to ensure system-compatible usernames.

 

Review or update this setting when

• Your institution’s naming convention changes (note: existing usernames will not be affected — only new accounts will use the updated format).
• You notice that auto-generated usernames are too long, too short, or producing conflicts more often than expected.
• A suffix is being added to all usernames via the related “Append a suffix to the username account” setting, and you want to adjust the base format accordingly.

 

Important: timing matters

Decide on the username format before creating parent accounts at scale. Once a username has been assigned to an account, changing this setting will not update that username. If a format change is needed after accounts already exist, affected usernames would need to be updated individually.

 

Notes

 

Prerequisites

• The Core module must be active in your Classter environment.
• Parent (guardian) portal access should be enabled for the institution, meaning parents are expected to have login accounts.
• If an email domain suffix is configured for the institution, Classter will automatically append it to the generated username to form a full email address (for example, aroberts@myschool.com).
• Agree on the naming convention with relevant stakeholders before creating accounts at scale, as changing the format afterwards will not update already-created usernames.

 

General notes

• This setting is configured per institution. In a multi-institution environment, each institution can define its own parent username format independently.
• The generated username is a suggestion only. It can be modified manually at the moment of account creation before saving.
• Conflict resolution (appending 1, 2, 3…) is automatic and requires no manual action.
• If a parent’s name contains accented or special characters, review the character conversion options in the popup form before finalising the format.
• Changing the format after accounts have been created does not update those accounts. Only accounts created after the change will use the new format.

 

Related settings

The following settings are found in the same location (Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles) and control username generation for other user types. They work in exactly the same way but apply to different user categories. Changes to any one of these settings do not affect the others:

• Student (Pupil) username format  —  Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles  —  SchoolPortal_Morfi_Onomatos_Xristi_Mathiti
• Teacher username format  —  Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles  —  SchoolPortal_Morfi_Onomatos_Xristi_Kathigiti
• Employee username format  —  Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles
• Partner / Employer username format  —  Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles

The following setting is found in a different section and complements username formatting:

• Append a suffix to the username account  —  Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > External Sync  —  SchoolPortal_Onomasia_Kentrou
  Adds a fixed suffix (for example, the institution’s short name) to all generated usernames. This is useful in multi-institution environments where multiple campuses share the same platform and need to ensure username uniqueness across all of them.