Advanced Configuration - Booking Rules

Overview of Booking Rules in MyPC Cloud

Booking rules in MyPC Cloud are created by linking User Tags with Resource Tags. These tag associations define who can access which computers, offering powerful and flexible control across your environment.

Default Rule: All Users ⇄ All Computers

MyPC Cloud includes a built in default booking rule that applies automatically when no specific tag associations are defined for a user or a computer.
You can view this rule by navigating to:

Computer Tools → Booking Rules

The default rule functions as a catch‑all. It applies in the following scenarios:

A user has no assigned User Tag
A computer has no assigned Resource Tag

When either case is true, the system falls back to this default to determine the user’s booking permissions.

Rule Inheritance

When you create a booking rule but do not configure all available options, the system automatically inherits those settings from the rule above it in the hierarchy.

The inheritance order is as follows:

All Users ⇄ All Computers
User Tag ⇄ All Computers
All Users ⇄ Computer Tag
User Tag ⇄ Computer Tag

This ensures that booking rules remain consistent and predictable, even when some options are left unconfigured.

Validating Booking Rules

To verify how booking rules apply to specific users, you can use the Booking Rules Summary tool. This provides a clear view of the effective rules after inheritance and tag associations.

Important Note:

Booking rules apply to Owner, Super Admin, and Admin accounts as well. This can be leveraged to hide computers from administrators who do not need to manage or view, maintaining a cleaner and more focused interface for staff. A practical example of this is preventing staff in one location from seeing computers in another location.

Example Scenario: Configuring Child Only Access and Booking Limits

Scenario Overview

A library has a dedicated Children's Area with computers that must not be accessible to adults.
Children should also be restricted by the following global booking rules (across all computers in the library):

Maximum daily usage: 120 minutes
Maximum bookings per day: 2
Advance booking limit: 1 day

User Groups

Users are assumed to belong to one of the following defined age-based groups:

Child Groups

0–5
6–13
14–17

Adult Group

For this configuration, it is assumed that every user has been assigned to exactly one of these User Tags.

Planning the Booking Rules

To implement these rules, we must consider:

Global booking restrictions that apply to all children on all computers.
Explicit access control for the Child only computers.
Per-PC controls, such as maximum session time and extension permissions on the child-designated machines.

Because MyPC Cloud supports granular, tag-based control, we can implement rules at both the global and specific PC level.

Building the Booking Rules

Step 1: Tag the Child Only Computers

Create a Computer Tag for all PCs in the children's area, for example:

Computer Tag: Children PC

Assign this tag to each relevant computer.

Step 2: Restrict Adults to prevent access Child Only Computers

Create a rule denying adult access:

Rule: 18+ ⇄ Children PC
Setting: access = No

This prevents any user tagged 18+ from logging in to computers labelled Children PC.

Step 3: Apply Global Rules for All Child Groups

Next, create global rules that apply across all library computers.
These rules define each group’s overall daily booking limits.

Create the following rules:

0–5 ⇄ All Computers
6–13 ⇄ All Computers
14–17 ⇄ All Computers

For each of these rules, configure:

access: Yes
maximum number of bookings per day: 2
maximum time allowed per day: 120 minutes
maximum period to book in advance: 1 day

These global rules set the baseline restrictions for all child users, regardless of which computer they use.

Step 4: Configure Session Settings for Child

Finally, create rules that apply specifically to the Children PC group.
These rules can define per session limits and extension permissions.

Create the following:

0–5 ⇄ Children PC
6–13 ⇄ Children PC
14–17 ⇄ Children PC

In these rules, configure:

maximum booking duration (per login)
Whether extensions are allowed
Any additional PC specific settings you want to override

Any settings you do not explicitly configure will be inherited from the higher rule level.

Verifying the Configuration

Use the Booking Rules Summary tool to confirm how the system interprets the hierarchy. This allows you to verify:

Access permissions for each group
Inherited and overridden settings
Effective rules for each user type on each computer

After confirming that the configuration is correct, you can replicate these settings on additional computers designated as Children PCs. To do this, use the Copy Properties tool located under Tools → Computer Tools.ontent here.