Integration with Microsoft Entra ID

The Microsoft Entra ID integration synchronizes the organization’s users with the Microsoft directory. Changes in the directory are reflected in the application: a new Entra ID user is automatically added to the FlexiProject user list and can sign in with a Microsoft account, and a user removed from the directory is marked as deleted. With a Microsoft 365 package you can also pull all-day absences from the Outlook calendar.

An administrator configures the integration in System settings > Microsoft Entra ID (see System settings). The following sections describe registering the application in Entra ID, the connection, and the synchronization of users and calendars.

Note: when the organization uses an individual integration with a local Active Directory, users are synchronized only through it. An additional Microsoft Entra ID connection then enables only the Microsoft 365 integration and calendar synchronization.

Registering the application in Microsoft Entra ID

The first step is registering FlexiProject as an application in Microsoft Entra ID. Registration gives the administrator the connection parameters: Tenant ID, Client ID and Client Secret. The steps are done in the Microsoft portal, so item names depend on its current version.

1. Sign in with a Microsoft 365 account at office.com and open the Administrator tool.
2. In the menu on the left choose View all, and in the advanced menu, Microsoft Entra ID.
3. In the Microsoft Entra ID menu choose App registrations.
4. Click + New registration. The application registration form opens.
5. Enter a name for the application, for example “FlexiProject”, and choose the account type Single tenant.
6. Grant the application permissions to read calendars, groups and user information.
7. Click Register.

The connection data

After registration the portal opens the Overview section. Two values come from it: the Directory ID (Tenant ID) and the Application ID (Client ID). The third value, the client secret, still has to be generated:

1. Go to the Certificates & secrets module in the menu on the left.
2. Click + New client secret.
3. Choose an expiration time (two years is recommended) and enter a description that helps you recognize it.
4. Click Add. The generated secret appears on the Client secrets list; the Copy to clipboard button copies its value.

Note: when the secret expires, the connection stops working. The application then shows a message that the connection is invalid and the client secret may have expired, and you have to enter a new key (see Creating the connection).

Creating the connection

The connection needs three parameters from the Microsoft portal: Tenant ID, Client ID and Client Secret (see Registering the application in Microsoft Entra ID).

1. Open System settings (Administration menu) and go to the Microsoft Entra ID page.
2. Click Add connection. The Connection to Microsoft Entra ID window opens.
3. Enter the Tenant ID (the tenant identifier), Client ID (the application identifier) and Client Secret (the secret value copied in the portal).
4. Optionally, limit the imported users to selected groups — in the Import on the basis of user group IDs (separate with commas) field, enter Entra ID group object IDs separated by commas. Only IDs are accepted, not group names. An empty field means importing all users.
5. Click Save. With correct data the window closes and the message Connection to Microsoft Entra ID successfully established appears, and a row for the connection shows on the page. With incorrect data the message Failed to connect to Microsoft Entra ID appears and the window stays open.

Connection list

The table shows Tenant ID, Client ID, Status (Active, No connection or Synchronization error) and Last synchronization — the number of synchronized users and the time since synchronization. The row menu (three dots) contains the commands Edit, Sync (starts a synchronization right away) and Delete. In the edit window the client secret field stays empty unless you enter a new key; an expired key is replaced exactly that way.

Deleting the connection interrupts the synchronization of user accounts and their statuses with Microsoft Entra ID; the application asks for confirmation.

User synchronization

After the connection is created, FlexiProject synchronizes users periodically. Accounts with an e-mail address are pulled. The Sync button and the invitations switch are also available.

• A new user in Entra ID gets an account in FlexiProject and becomes an active user (an account disabled in Entra ID is not created).
• An existing FlexiProject user is linked with the Entra ID account by e-mail address.
• A user who is no longer in the directory is marked in FlexiProject as Deleted and loses access.
• A synchronized user has a sync icon by the status on the user list. A user added manually and absent from Entra ID has no such icon (see User list).

With the organizational structure switched on, synchronization can also build departments from managers in Entra ID (see Automatic import of the structure from Microsoft Entra ID).

Invitations for Entra ID users

The Invitation emails for Microsoft Entra ID users switch under the connection table turns on sending a welcome e-mail with an invitation to FlexiProject to every new user added automatically from Entra ID. Regardless of the setting, the user starts receiving the remaining e-mail notifications only after their first sign-in or after the first action that concerns them, for example being assigned to a task or mentioned in a comment (see Email notifications).

Outlook calendar synchronization

The Microsoft Entra ID connection also lets you record users’ all-day absences from the Outlook calendar (Microsoft 365) in their availability. The absences go to the user’s availability calendar in the Resources module.

1. Open System settings (Administration menu) and go to the Resources page.
2. Switch on the Outlook calendar connection option. The option is visible when the Microsoft Entra ID connection is active.

All-day events with the Free status entered in Outlook by synchronized users are saved in their availability. In the calendar in Resources they are marked with a sync icon, and such exceptions cannot be edited. They disappear automatically when the event is deleted in Outlook or when the option is switched off (see Resources module settings).