User profile settings apply across all workstations and all logins. The database stores the values and they follow a user no matter which computer they log in to.
In a future release, we hope to allow users to have multiple profiles.
When you set a default value for a user profile entry, you can select a specific record or a related field. For example if you have a user profile entry for a person's name, you can select the relationship for the person rather than selecting the Person record; User and Person would need to be linked in the database.
If a user has more than one role at the same level in the role hierarchy and each role has default values set, the System Administrator sets the priority order the roles which determine the defaults that display to the user. The user can still change this default value, as normal.
The system inherits the user profile entries applied to roles above it in the hierarchy. If there is conflict between user profile entries in the role hierarchy, the role nearest or at the root (parent) node of the hierarchy takes priority (except filters which will accumulate).
When a user logs in and creates a workflow record, the defaults and filters associated with their user profile populate the relevant fields. If a System Administrator forces the user to update their profile, their user profile page displays where they can make changes or accept the default values provided by the System Administrator. When the user next logs in, a message displays telling them that a new user profile value has been set, or that they must set a value for a mandatory user profile.
