In this article

The Collections feature allows administrators to group users and apply specific policies, filtering schedules, and block pages to users within a collection.

Reports and query logs can also be filtered on a per-collection basis, enabling more detailed reporting and troubleshooting.

Environment Preparation

• Sync Active Directory Users with the DNSFilter dashboard 
• Deploy a Roaming Client for each user
• User must login to the device
• The device has communicated with the DNSFilter dashboard at least once after the User has logged in

Create a Collection

User Collections do not load deleted AD users and works in a "load on demand" system, paginating content to more reliably load information. Note that this system may alter search behavior: the search function can only search what is loaded.  

By default, users in new Collections will inherit the policy and block page settings from the Roaming Client policy.

Without Active Directory

1. From the DNSFilter dashboard, navigate to Deployments and select Collections
2. Select New Collection 
3. Choose Type as Manual
4. Provide a Name
5. Select Add Collection 
   Once the Collection has been added, a Users section appears below
6. In the Users section, select the users to include in this Collection

Users are automatically saved to the Collection when selected (look for the check mark next to the selected users ). Repeat to add additional Collections.

If a User is not found, confirm there is a related Roaming Client that has checked in with DNSFilter and is in an Active status.

With Active Directory

The Active Directory Sync Tool migrates pre-made groups from AD into the Collections tab in the DNSFilter dashboard.

⚡️ Users not showing up under Collections? Try a forced full sync to resolve the issue. 

1. From the DNSFilter dashboard, navigate to Deployments and select Collections
2. Select New Collection 
3. Choose Type as Managed
4. Provide a Name
5. Select Add Collection 
   Once the Collection has been added, a Users section appears below
6. In the Users section, navigate left-to-right to the level of granularity needed for the Collection—select the checkbox(es) next to the needed level of granularity
   
7. Select Save Changes

Repeat to add additional Collections.

Change a Policy and Block page

Create any required Policies, Filtering Schedules, and Block Pages before proceeding.

1. From the DNSFilter dashboard, navigate to Deployments and select Collections
2. Edit the Policy / Schedule and Block Page columns to apply a specific policy, schedule, and block page

Set Collection priority

Users can belong to multiple Collections, but only one policy will apply to their web traffic. DNSFilter uses Collection priority to determine which policy and block page take effect. The highest-priority Collection assigned to a user defines the active policy.

To adjust a Collection’s priority, drag it up or down using the icon on the far left. The higher a Collection appears in the list, the higher its priority. Confirm the current order in the Priority column.