Connect to Gate Controller

This guide explains how to connect a group session to a Gate Controller for access control. Gate Controllers allow you to restrict when and how users can access your application based on time, variables, or preconditions.

---

Overview

Connecting a session to a Gate Controller enables:

• Time-based access control - Restrict access to specific time windows
• Variable-based locks - Control access based on user data values
• Precondition requirements - Require certain conditions before allowing access

---

Prerequisites

Before connecting:

1. A Group Session exists with users added
2. A Gate Controller template has been created
3. You understand the gate rules you want to apply

---

Connecting a Session to Gate Controller

Step 1: Navigate to User Data

1. Go to Dashboard → Account → Variable Center → User Data
2. Select your Application
3. Select the Group Session you want to configure

Step 2: Locate Gate Controller Panel

In the User Data view, find the Gate Controller panel. This panel allows you to:

• View currently connected gate controller
• Select a different gate controller
• Configure gate-specific settings

Step 3: Select a Gate Controller

1. Click the Gate Controller dropdown
2. Choose from available Gate Controller templates
3. The selected controller's rules now apply to this session

Step 4: Configure Gate Settings

Depending on your Gate Controller configuration:

• Set any gate-specific variable values
• Review the access rules that will apply
• Verify the configuration matches your needs

---

Gate Controller Types

Time Lock

Restricts access based on date and time:

Setting	Description
Start Time	When access opens
End Time	When access closes
Time Zone	Reference time zone

Variable Lock

Restricts access based on variable values:

Setting	Description
Variable	Which variable to check
Condition	Comparison operation (equals, greater than, etc.)
Value	Value to compare against

Precondition Lock

Requires conditions to be met before access:

Setting	Description
Precondition	What must be completed first
Check Type	How to verify the condition

---

How Access Control Works

When a gate is connected:

1. User attempts access - Opens the application
2. Gate checks conditions - Evaluates all configured rules
3. Access granted or denied:
   • If all conditions pass → User can proceed
   • If any condition fails → User sees appropriate message

---

Viewing Gate Status

In the User Data grid, you may see gate-related indicators:

• Which users meet gate conditions
• Which users are currently locked out
• Reason for access restrictions

---

Two Different Grids on the User Data Page — Don't Confuse Them

The User Data page shows up to two separate grids for a session, and they serve different purposes:

	Top grid ("Add gate controller section")	Bottom grid ("Group session participants")
One row per	Session (one value, shared by everyone)	Participant
What appears there	Only variable names already used as a Start Time Variable by the assigned Gate Controller template	Every variable added to this session via Add Variables
How you set a value	Enter it once	Enter it on every participant's row — there is no single shared "group" row

A brand-new variable you just created in Variable Center → Settings → Variables will not appear in the top grid automatically, even if you intend it as a cycle-open time — it only shows up there once some gate's Start Time Variable is actually re-pointed at it (see Set Time Lock). If you want a custom-named variable (e.g. a "Cycle 2 Open Time") to work through the top grid, re-point the relevant gate first; otherwise use the bottom grid and enter the value on each participant's row.

A value entered in the top grid is automatically copied into every participant's own data, including a participant who joins the session later — you do not need to also enter it in the bottom grid.

---

Showing a Live Countdown in Your Own Text

Before building a custom countdown, check whether the built-in one already covers what you need: every time-locked gate can show a live "This page opens in Xd Xh Xm" status automatically in its own Display Element, with no variable required at all — see Set Display Element. This is almost always the simpler option, and it's the first thing to check if a gate used to show a countdown and stopped.

If you want a countdown to appear somewhere other than the gate's own overlay — for example, proactively on an earlier page, before anyone has been blocked by anything — you have two options. Use the gate-reference tokens below unless you already have a good reason to use the older variable-based tokens further down.

Option A — Reference the Gate Directly (recommended, zero setup)

This is the simplest option: no variable to create, no value to enter per session, and it works the moment the gate is configured.

1. Open the gate in Gate Controller whose countdown you want to show elsewhere
2. Copy its Gate ID — a read-only field near the top of the gate editor, with a Copy button next to it
3. On any Info element, on any page, add text using:
   • [countdown: gate:<id> | fmt=hh:mm] → "3 hours and 45 minutes"
   • [time: gate:<id> | fmt=absolute] → "Sep 16, 2026, 3:00 PM"
   • fmt is optional — hh:mm is the default for countdown, absolute for time
4. Paste the copied id in place of <id> — e.g. [countdown: gate:294c32c4-97f9-44b9-93d1-2b65e8f7912a | fmt=hh:mm]

This works from any page, not just the gate's own page — the same gate can be referenced from as many pages as you like (e.g. a holding page showing "the next cycle opens in..." while participants wait). Nothing needs to be added to Variable Center, and nothing needs to be re-entered per session — the gate's own schedule is the only thing that matters. If the gate is edited later (retimed, or its target page changed), every page referencing it updates automatically, since they all point at the same gate id.

Option B — Build One From a Variable (older method, still supported)

Use this only when there's no real gate backing the timing — e.g. a custom milestone that isn't itself gating any content:

1. Give the variable a value (top grid if it is a real gate's Start Time Variable, otherwise the bottom grid, on every participant's row — see the table above)
2. On any Info element, add text using the countdown tokens:
   • [countdown: VarName] → "3 hours and 45 minutes"
   • [countdown-hours: VarName] → "3" (total whole hours, can exceed 24)
   • [countdown-minutes: VarName] → "45"
   • [VarName] on its own renders the raw date/time itself, not a countdown
3. VarName is the exact variable name — e.g. [countdown-hours: GC-Start-Cycle-Time]

The token ticks on its own (re-renders every minute) once the variable has a value. If it never leaves the page as literal bracketed text, the variable simply has no value yet for that participant — go back and check which of the two grids above it needs to be entered into.

Unlike Option A, this value has to be entered separately for every session (and, for the bottom grid, every participant) — that per-session step is exactly what Option A skips.

---

Modifying Gate Connection

Change Gate Controller

1. Open the Gate Controller panel
2. Select a different controller from the dropdown
3. New rules apply immediately

Remove Gate Controller

1. Open the Gate Controller panel
2. Select "None" or clear the selection
3. Access restrictions are removed

---

Best Practices

1. Test before production - Verify gate rules with a test user before going live

2. Communicate restrictions - Let users know about access windows and requirements

3. Consider time zones - Set times appropriate for your user base

4. Use meaningful messages - Configure helpful error messages for locked users

5. Review regularly - Check that gate rules still match your needs

---

Troubleshooting

Users Can't Access When They Should

1. Check the session start/end dates
2. Verify Gate Controller time settings
3. Confirm user meets all variable conditions
4. Check for precondition requirements

Gate Not Applying

1. Verify a Gate Controller is selected
2. Check that the gate is configured correctly
3. Ensure the session is active

---

Questions?

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Alternatively, you can submit an issue on this platform.

Useful Links:

Gate Controller - https://help.acenji.com/#/./shared-concepts/gate-controller/index User Data - https://help.acenji.com/#/./shared-concepts/variable-center/user-data/index Group Session - https://help.acenji.com/#/./shared-concepts/variable-center/settings/group-session/index

Was this article helpful?