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PennNames Web Client - SearchOverviewAfter PennKey authenticating yourself, an authorized user can use the PennNames Web Client to search the PennNames database. A user can search the PennNames database using either a PennName, PennID or SSN. To request access to the PennNames Web Client, please fill out our online request form. Whether you choose to search by either the PennName, PennID, or SSN, the search results will try to include all information about the PennName and a person that may be associated with that PennName, including additional PennNames that may have belonged to that person and are now expired or PennNames that are being held for that person. The search results will also include all sponsor information that is available for the PennName(s). For example, one could search for the PennName "testuser" and find that it belongs to a person with the PennID, "12345678". The search also finds that "oldtest" had been assigned to "12345678" but is now expired. The search results will include information not only on "testuser" but also the archival information available for "oldtest".
Conversely one could have searched for the PennID "12345678" or the SSN for this person and received the same search results. PennNames InformationThe PennNames information that is displayed includes:
PennCommunity InformationWe query PennCommunity and the Directory to present information about the user. While we allow you to search by the SSN, we do not return any part of the SSN in our search results. The PennCommunity information that is displayed includes:
If you need additional information for a user, please check with your PennKey administrator for more possible information that may be available in PennCommunity. Reserved PennNamesIf a PennName is reserved, you will see a list of all sponsorhips for that PennName, whether active or expired.
Held PennNamesIf a PennName is held, you will see search results like:
PennNames that are held are not active PennNames because they have not yet been assigned to a person. In the case of "testing8", the sponsor ACS has put a hold on the name. While the hold is in place, no other sponsor can assign "testing8" to a user. Since this was a hold placed by the sponsor and not for an individual, there is only a 15 minute hold on "testing8". You can determine if the hold is still in place by looking at the timestamp on the hold. If you search for a PennNames that is being held for an individual, the search results will include not only information on the held PennName but all information about the individual. In this example, "testing7" has been held for the user with the PennID of "12345678" by the Pobox sponsor. When you search for "testing7", you will see all information about the user with the PennID of "12345678" and you will see that the hold on "testing7" is a 3 day hold since the hold was placed for an individual. Please note that the term "3 day hold" appears in red since the hold is still active. While the hold is in place no sponsor can assign "testing7" to a user other than the user with the PennID of "12345678" including Pobox even though Pobox created the hold. The name can only be assigned to the user with the PennID of "12345678" and it can be assigned by any sponsor. You can determine if the hold is still in place by looking at the timestamp on the hold. |
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