Introduction

In this article, you will learn how to bulk show and hide users in Google Workspace using xFanatical Foresight. As organizations grow, managing user visibility in Google Workspace becomes essential for privacy, security, and organizational policies. Hiding users prevents them from appearing in the global directory, ensuring sensitive accounts remain private and reducing unnecessary clutter. Manually hiding users one by one through the Google Admin Console can be time-consuming and inefficient.

Let’s take an example: A company wants to hide temporary contractor accounts and inactive employees from the global directory to maintain a clean and secure user list. Doing this manually for each user would be tedious and prone to errors. With xFanatical Foresight’s bulk user-hiding feature, IT admins can efficiently manage user visibility across multiple accounts, ensuring compliance with organizational policies while saving valuable time.
Illustration of how xFanatical Foresight automates the bulk hiding of users in Google Workspace.
Illustration of how xFanatical Foresight automates the bulk hiding of users in Google Workspace.

Introducing xFanatical Foresight Automation

xFanatical Foresight is a powerful automation platform designed specifically for Google Workspace. It enables administrators to efficiently hide users in bulk in Google Workspace, ensuring privacy and compliance with organizational policies. Instead of manually hiding users one by one in the Google Admin Console, you can seamlessly conceal multiple accounts at once, preventing them from appearing in the global directory. This enhances data security, reduces unnecessary visibility, and streamlines directory management. With xFanatical Foresight’s easy interface and powerful automation, bulk user hiding is fast, accurate, and hassle-free.

Automation Setup Instructions

In this section, we guide you through the automation setup in xFanatical Foresight. We have 2 ways to set up automation rules, Set up automation from a template and Set up automation from scratch. After completing the automation rule, verify whether the automation meets your requirements.

Set Up Automation From a Template

Set Up Automation From a Template

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite plan.

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Templates page.
  3. Search for Bulk hide users from directory and click on it.
    In the Templates search for Bulk hide users template in xFanatical Foresight.
  4. In the Templates > Bulk hide users from directory page, click Copy rule.
    In the Templates Bulk hide users page, click the 'Copy rule' button to duplicate the automation rule in xFanatical Foresight.
  5. For the first time use of the template rule, an dialog Action needed will display requesting necessary permissions required to copy the rule. Click Connect with Google and authorize the permissions.
  6. Upon authorization, a dialog titled Copy of bulk hide users from directory will display.
  7. Click Next. The rule is auto-configured. No configurations required. 
  8. Click Review.
  9. In the Review screen,
    In the Review page, provide rule name and create bulk hide users rule.
    1. In Rule name, customize the automation rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  10. The rule is created in the Rules page. 
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for bulk hiding users in Google Workspace
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for bulk hiding users in Google Workspace.
Set Up Automation From Scratch

Set Up Automation From Scratch

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite and Professional (Legacy).

  1. Create a Google Sheet with a User Primary Email column. Once completed, click File > Download > Comma Separated Values(.csv) to download the Google Sheet as a CSV file.
    Prepare a CSV file to upload into the bulk hide users rule
  2. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  3. Go to the Rules page. 
  4. Click the New Rule The New Rule button in xFanatical Foresight button.
  5. In the Select a trigger screen, select Data Uploaded trigger.
    Selecting Data uploaded trigger on Select a trigger screen
  6. Click the Choose a CSV file created in Step 1.
  7. Click the Next button.
  8. In the Select an action screen, select Update user directory sharing action.
    Select the update user directory sharing action for bulk hide users rule.
  9. In the Edit actions > Update user directory sharing screen,
    Configure the update user directory sharing action for bulk hide users rule
    1. In the Primary email field, select the User primary email variable from the Data uploaded trigger.
    2. In the Share user in the directory field, select false to hide the user.
    3. Click Review.
  10. In the Review screen,
    In the Review page, provide rule name and create bulk hide users rule.
    1. In Rule name, give your rule a name for easy identification.
    2. Click Create.
  11.  The automation rule is created.
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for bulk hiding users in Google Workspace
    xFanatical Foresight rule graph for bulk hiding users in Google Workspace.
Verify Automation

Verify Automation

To ensure that your rule setup automates as expected, it’s essential to conduct a simple test. The following instructions illustrate how xFanatical Foresight automates the bulk hiding of users in Google Workspace, streamlining user visibility management across the organization.

  1. Sign in to your Gmail account, click on Compose.
  2. In the To field, begin typing the user’s name or email. 
  3. Check if the user appears in the autocomplete list to confirm whether they are currently visible in the organization’s directory.
    Check if the user is visible in the organization's directory.
  4. Go to xFanatical Foresight.
  5. Go to the Templates page.
  6. Search the  Bulk hide users from directory template and click on it.
  7. Click on the Download sample CSV file button, or if you set up automation from scratch, then use the CSV file which you have created.
    Download CSV file from bulk hide users from directory template.
  8. In the downloaded CSV file, replace the sample data with the actual primary email addresses of the users whose directory sharing settings need to be updated in Google Workspace.
  9. Go to the Rules page.
  10. Click on the upload-button. of Bulk hide users from directory rule.
    Upload CSV file to bulk hide users from directory rule.
  11. Select the CSV file to upload, which is set up in Step 5.
  12. Wait for the CSV file to be processed and receive a notification in the top right of xFanatical Foresight. In the notification message, click View log.
    A notification will be triggered and sent upon the execution of the rule, informing users of the action taken.
  13. In the Logs > Log details page, the Rule history section explains the automation history and task xFanatical Foresight has automated on behalf of your Google account.
    A detailed log screen, sent upon the execution of the rule, informing users of the action taken.
  14. Check the user’s Gmail inbox and confirm that the automation has successfully updated the directory sharing settings, effectively hiding the user from the organization’s directory.
    Verify that the user is hidden in the organization's directory by the automation

Notes

  • Once the admin uploads CSV file to the rule, xFanatical Foresight seamlessly takes over, automatically hiding users in bulk within Google Workspace, ensuring efficient directory management with minimal effort.
  • Make sure the upload file to rule headers should be the same as sample CSV file downloaded from Bulk hide users from directory template.
  • In the Google Admin Console, go to Users > [User Name] > User Information > Directory sharing to review and verify the user's directory sharing settings. This ensures the user's visibility is correctly configured based on your organization's preferences.
  • To make users visible again, simply update the Share user in the directory field value to true, ensuring they reappear in the Google Workspace directory seamlessly.
  • At each time a rule is executed, you will receive a notification in the app telling you how it has happened to your rules and whether rules ran successfully or not.

Conclusion

Bulk hiding users in Google Workspace helps administrators maintain privacy, enhance security, and streamline user visibility management. Instead of manually adjusting directory settings for each user, xFanatical Foresight automates the process, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. By leveraging this automation, IT teams can effortlessly control which users appear in the directory, reducing administrative workload and improving organizational management. 

Try a 14-day free trial with xFanatical Foresight and manage your tasks.

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