Managing External User Access Requests

In this article:

• Overview
• How it works
• For admins
• Setting up the Request Access experience
• FAQs

Overview

This process lets external users — such as vendors, agency partners, or anyone outside your company's single sign-on (SSO) — request access to your Experience Portal directly from the login page. As a portal admin, you’ll have the opportunity to review each request and approve or deny it from the Users area inside the Experience Portal itself.

How it works, step by step

1. The external user submits a request. From your portal's login page, they’ll click a “Request Account” link and fill out a short form (name, email, reason for access, and a terms-of-use acknowledgment). There's no password field on this form — passwords are never collected at this stage.

   

    

2. They’ll get instant confirmation. The user will see an on-screen message confirming receipt and receive an email, sent from donotreply@mediavalet.net. This email confirms their request is under review — it does not link to MediaValet directly, since the user isn't a MediaValet user yet.

   

    

3. You review the request. The request appears in the Users section of the Experience Portal CMS, alongside the requester's name, email, request date, and stated reason. No account is created until you approve a request. Until then, the request simply sits in a pending queue. Any Experience Portal admin can review, approve, and deny requests.

   

    

4. You approve or deny. To approve, select a user group (this sets the person's permissions), then confirm. You must choose a group — there's no default. To deny, confirm the denial.

    

5. The system takes it from there. If approved, MediaValet creates the account and emails the user a link to set their password; once set, they're taken back to your portal's login page. If denied, the user receives an email letting them know their request wasn't approved.

   

    

   

    

For admins: the Users area

The Users area in your CMS is your main hub for managing external access requests:

• Requested tab — This shows all pending requests with a count badge. A Show denied requests toggle is available if you need to review or reverse a past denial.
• Manage Users button — This opens the full users list in MediaValet in a new tab, for anything beyond approvals (e.g., removing existing users, managing groups, editing profiles).
• Show denied requests toggle — Click this to review and manage requests that have been denied or to delete requests.

• Detail view — Click any request’s name to see the full submission, including their stated reason and terms acceptance.

  

Setting up the Request Access experience

Before users can submit requests, you'll need to configure the Request Access experience in your Experience Portal.

1. Review the Request Access form in Forms and verify the information users will be asked to provide. Please note, only minor customizations are available.

   

    

2. Review the Request Access page to ensure the branding, content, and layout meet your organization's requirements. The form you reviewed will appear here automatically.

   

    

3. Finally, add a Request Access link to your portal's login page, directing users to the Request Access page.

   

    

Once configured, external users will be able to access the form from the login page and submit requests for administrator approval.

FAQs

Why does a request show an error message? 
If an approval fails to go through (for example, due to a temporary system issue), the request will show a Failed status with an error message, so you know to retry.

Can users re-request access after being denied?
If you deny a request, that email address is permanently blocked from submitting a new request until an admin manually deletes the original request record. This can be done by toggling on “Show denied requests” and deleting the request. Once deleted, the user can request access again.

Can I brand or customize the emails users receive?
Not at this time. The confirmation, approval, and denial emails use standard MediaValet branding and copy.

What should I do if an external user hasn’t received their set password email?
We recommend letting external users know to whitelist both donotreply@mediavalet.net and noreply@gotbeam.com and to check spam folders if emails aren’t received.

Is there a way to keep denied users from receiving an email letting them know they’ve been denied?
Not at this time. All user requests will receive either approval or denial emails.

Is this a way to limit which Experience Portal administrators can approve or deny requests? 
Not at this time. Anyone assigned to the Experience Portal Admin group can approve any pending request.

Can users edit their request after it’s submitted?
No, but an admin can delete the request and have the user re-request access.

Will admins receive a notice when a request has been submitted?
No, but once logged into the CMS, Admins will see a red badge on the Users section, indicating there are requests to be reviewed.