EPortal.config Settings

EPortal.config stores site-specific system parameters for the Employee Portal, such as SQL Server connection details, security options, and session controls . Maintained locally at the customer’s site, it provides IT personnel with a central place to configure system behaviour and manage settings to meet the organization’s operational and security requirements.

Minimal EPortal.config settings

These settings specify how EPortal connects to its application database.

data source

Specifies the SQL Server name and instance, or the server’s IP address and TCP port.

Example using a named instance:

Example using an IP address and TCP port:

In the second example, tcp: specifies the connection protocol, 192.168.0.1 is the server’s IP address, and 1433 is the TCP port. Replace these values with those used by your SQL Server.

initial catalog

Specifies the name of the HRPro application database on the SQL Server

user id

Specifies the SQL Server login account that HRPro uses to connect to the database. This is a database login, not an HRPro user account.

password

Specifies the plain-text password for the SQL Server login account defined in user id.

password encrypted

Specifies the encrypted password for the SQL Server login account defined in user id, as an alternative to storing the password in plain text.

Refer to the “How to enable SQL Server Password Encryption” guide for instructions on generating the encrypted password.

Important notes

Replace all example values with your actual database connection details.
Back up EPortal.config before making changes.
Restrict access to the file to authorized IT personnel because it contains sensitive database connection information.
If you change the SQL Server login password, update the corresponding password setting in HRPro.config.

Completed EPortal.config settings

<appSettings> <add key="AllowSimultaneouslyLogin" value="false" /> <add key="AnnounceNoticeContent" value="Please click below to login Employee Portal to view the Notice."/> <add key="AnnounceNoticeHeading" value="Dear [EE_NAME],"/> <add key="AnnounceNoticeRegards" value="Regards,"/> <add key="AttendanceRecordNoOfPeriods" value="12"/> <add key="AzureOpenAIApiKey" value="" /> <add key="AzureOpenAIEndpoint" value="" /> <add key="AzureOpenAIModel" value="" /><add key="data source" value="tcp:218.253.68.18,1433"/> <add key="dbCommandTimeOut" value="600"/> <add key="DefaultThemeColor" value="Original Blue" /> <add key="DirectoryEntryPassword" value="" /> <add key="DirectoryEntryUsername" value="" /> <add key="DisableAllExceptPayrollRelated" value="false" /> <add key="DisableAllExceptPunchCard" value="false" /> <add key="DisablePayrollRelated" value="false" /> <add key="DisablePunchCard" value="false" /> <add key="DisAllowRepunchCallbackInTime" value="false" /> <add key="DisAllowRepunchMealInTime" value="false" /> <add key="DisAllowRepunchRestInTime" value="false" /> <add key="DisAllowRepunchWorkInTime" value="false" /> <add key="domain" value="" /> <add key="EmailNotificationStyle" value="<style type='text/css'>table {font-size: small;font-family: Verdana, Arial;} p {font-size: small;font-family: Verdana, Arial}</style>"/> <add key="EmailSubjectPrefix" value="EPortal: " /> <add key="EPortalRootURL" value="https://eportal20170801.azurewebsites.net" /> <add key="GoogleSignInClientID" value=""/> <add key="iCalAfterMonths" value="12"/> <add key="iCalBeforeMonths" value="3"/> <add key="initial catalog" value="dbDemo2016"/> <add key="IsDebug" value="false"/> <add key="IsDisableTwoStepVerification" value="false" /> <add key="IsSingleCompanyLogin" value="false"/> <add key="LoginNotificationClosing" value="HRPro Online Security"/> <add key="LoginNotificationContent1" value="You have successfully logged in to Employee Portal on [LOGIN_TIME]."/> <add key="LoginNotificationContent2" value="You're getting this email to make sure it was you."/> <add key="LoginNotificationHeading" value="Dear [EE_NAME],"/> <add key="LoginNotificationStyle" value="<style type='text/css'>body {font-size: large;font-family: 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial;}</style>"/> <add key="LoginNotificationSubject" value="Employee Portal Login Notification"/> <add key="MainThemeColor" value="#4285F4"/> <add key="MainThemeColorDark" value="#0d47a1"/> <add key="MainThemeColorLight" value="#bbdefb"/> <add key="MainThemeColorPale" value="#82b1ff"/> <add key="MaternityLeaveDays" value="98" /> <add key="MaxUploadFileSize" value="41943040" /> <add key="MicrosoftSignInClientID" value=""/> <add key="MicrosoftSignInClientSecret" value=""/> <add key="output to jpg" value="false"/> <add key="PassCodeExpiryMinutes" value="5"/> <add key="password encrypted" value="1211711591811841881451421479868" /> <add key="password" value="P@ssword123456"/> <add key="PAYSLIP_LEFT_MARGIN" value="-1"/> <add key="PAYSLIP_TOP_MARGIN" value="-1"/> <add key="PDFReportUseFontFile" value="true"/> <add key="ScreenMaxWidth" value="1680px" /> <add key="SessionTimeOut" value="600"/> <add key="SMTP Connection delayBetweenAttempts" value="5000" /> <add key="SMTP Connection maxAttempts" value="3" /> <add key="SMTP from name" value="HR Department"/> <add key="SMTP from" value="hr@hrpro.hk"/> <add key="SMTP network host" value="smtp.gmail.com"/> <add key="SMTP network port" value="587"/> <add key="SMTP password encrypted" value="1611631901952041952051889141" /> <add key="SMTP password" value="P@ssword123456"/> <add key="SMTP SecureSocketOptions" value="Auto"/> <add key="SMTP SecureSocketOptions" value="None" /> <add key="SMTP SecureSocketOptions" value="SslOnConnect"/> <add key="SMTP SecureSocketOptions" value="StartTls"/> <add key="SMTP SecureSocketOptions" value="StartTlsWhenAvailable"/> <add key="smtp send wait" value="0" /> <add key="SMTP SslProtocols" value="Ssl2"/> <add key="SMTP SslProtocols" value="Ssl3"/> <add key="SMTP SslProtocols" value="Tls"/> <add key="SMTP SslProtocols" value="Tls11"/> <add key="SMTP SslProtocols" value="Tls12"/> <add key="SMTP Timeout" value="100000"/> <add key="SMTP userName" value="hr@hrpro.hk"/> <add key="SqlConnectionEncrypt" value="false" /> <add key="SqlConnectionTrustServerCertificate" value="false" /> <add key="user id" value="sa"/> <add key="UseSecureCookies" value="false" /></appSettings>

The completed EPortal.config settings of your EPortal version can be found in EPortal.full.config inside the App_Data folder of your website.

You can only put the keys you require into EPortal.config. If the key is missing in EPortal.config, the system will use its default setting.

AllowSimultaneouslyLogin: When set to true, the same User ID can be logged in to multiple devices/browsers at the same time. It is not recommended to turn it on as it will produce weird results if both devices/browsers are operating the same function at the same time.
DefaultThemeColor: The possible values are Blue, Red, Green, Grey, Amber, Brown, Pink, Teal, Blue Grey, and Original Blue (See also Theme Colour in Employee Portal)
dbCommandTimeout: Specifies the maximum duration (in seconds) a database command can run before timing out. By default, this is set to 600 seconds (10 minutes). If a query or operation exceeds this limit, HRPro will raise a timeout exception, indicating that the command took too long to execute.
dbConnectionTimeOut: Defines how long (in seconds) the system should wait while trying to establish a connection to the SQL Server before giving up and throwing an error.
DisableAllExceptPayrollRelated: If set to true, the following options will be available on the Employee Portal menu: Payroll History, Mid-Month Payroll History, Download IR56B, and Download IR56M.
DisableAllExceptPunchCard: If set to true, Punch Card will be available on the Employee Portal menu.
DisablePayrollRelated: If set to true, Payroll History, Mid-Month Payroll History, Download IR56B, and Download IR56M will not be available on the Employee Portal menu.
DisablePunchCard: If set to true, Punch Card will not be available on the Employee Portal menu.
EPortalRootURL: When defined, it will replace the URL domain that is usually retrieved from the URL of the browser on all hyperlinks in all Email Notifications.
IsSingleCompanyLogin: If set to true, the company selection combo box on the Home Page will be disabled.
PDFReportUseFontFile: If set to true, it is supported to export PDF with Chinese Characters normally without requiring the installation of Arial Unicode MS to the Server. Reference: Common Issues with HRPro PDF Reports and Fixes.
SessionTimeOut: It is the number of minutes that the session times out when no activity. The default is 600 minutes, i.e. 10 hours. If the user does not refresh or request a page within the timeout period, the session will end and return to the login page. This setting should work with the "Idle Time-out (minutes)" in IIS Application Pool, Advanced Settings.
SMTP send wait: This is the number of seconds of delay between two outgoing emails. This setting is to overcome the throttling limitation of some SMTP servers when submitting the message.
SqlConnectionEncrypt: This setting enables SSL encryption for the connection between HRPro and SQL Server. When set to True, the client negotiates a TLS/SSL session with SQL Server so that traffic (login, queries, results) is encrypted on the wire. Ensure the issuing CA is trusted on the web server.
SqlConnectionTrustServerCertificate: TrustServerCertificate controls whether the client verifies the server’s TLS certificate or simply accepts it without validation. When set to True, the client skips validation of the server’s TLS certificate (hostname match, chain to a trusted CA, expiration, etc.) and still encrypts the channel.
UseSecureCookies: This option ensures that cookies are only sent over secure HTTPS connections, which utilize SSL/TLS protocols to encrypt the data being transmitted. This option is specifically applicable to an SSL/TLS connection.

For database-specific settings, you can put the database name in front of the Key and separate it with a space, e.g

Permission issues when saving EPortal.config

If you cannot save changes to EPortal.config because of insufficient permissions, open Notepad using Run as administrator:

Search for “Notepad” in the Windows Start menu.
Right-click Notepad and select “Run as administrator”.
Approve the permission prompt or enter administrator credentials if requested.
In Notepad, select “File > Open” and browse to EPortal.config (Usually C:\inetpub\wwwroot\EPortal\EPortal.config). Select “All files (.)” if the file is not displayed.
Open the file, make your changes, and save it.

If you do not have the required permissions, contact your IT administrator.

Applying changes to EPortal.config

After updating EPortal.config, recycle the IIS application pool associated with EPortal to ensure the updated settings take effect. Restarting IIS or the server is not required. Schedule the recycle during a suitable maintenance period, as it may interrupt active user sessions.

To recycle the application pool:

Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the Connections pane, expand the server name and select “Application Pools”.
Select the application pool associated with EPortal.
In the Actions pane, click “Recycle”.

Select “Recycle” to recycle the application pool immediately, not “Recycling…”, which opens the automatic recycling settings.