Selfservice Portal
General FAQ and Troubleshooting for the MPCDF SelfService platform.
Accepting a Guest invitation
MPCDF users invite guests to let them gain access to specific services provided by the MPCDF in order to let them participate in projects or share files. Guests use the credentials they chose when registering on this platform to log in to those backend services. Access to the services may be granted or revoked on a per-service basis at any point.
Once you received an invitation from an MPCDF user you have 7 days to go to the provided link and register as a guest user. After 7 days the link expires and your data is deleted from the database. The link also expires after a successful registration. If you have lost your invitation mail please ask your inviter to resend it.
On the registration page you have the chance to correct any spelling mistakes in your name. You are provided with a preliminary username that you can change to your liking. Note that any username you choose will always start with ‘g-’. For the username you may use any latin character and arabic numbers, for your full name a range of European characters and dashes are allowed.
You will need to set a password for your account. Please consult our password policy for password requirements and make sure you use a password that can’t be guessed easily. Also note that reusing existing passwords is not allowed since this makes your account very vulnerable to password reuse attacks.
After you have accepted the Terms of Use you can activate your account. Please note it can take up to 20 minutes for your account to be synchronized to the backend services. After this period you will be able to log in to the services you were invited to use.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
For all questions regarding the setup and use of two-factor authentication, please refer to the 2FA Page.
Login Issues
I recently changed my password and cannot log in.
Your password is likely locked temporarily due to multiple failed attempts by background services (like email clients) using your old credentials. Wait at least 5 minutes and ensure all devices are updated.
I haven’t changed my password recently or My Password/Account has expired
Your password or account may have expired. Please request a password reset (account restoration), see below:
Users: Please request a Password Reset.
Guests: Please ask your inviter to extend your account validity.
Password Changes
The “Change password” button is not clickable. The button remains disabled until the new password meets all security requirements.
Look for the red X symbols next to the input field.
The password is only accepted once all symbols turn into green checkmarks.
Browser Compatibility: Ensure you are using a modern browser (Firefox 55+, Chrome 58+, Edge 16+, Safari 12.1+).
JavaScript: Ensure JavaScript is enabled; otherwise, the validation logic cannot run.
My current password is not accepted. Ensure you have selected the correct account from the dropdown menu. If you are changing a secondary/functional account, the password is not the same as your primary login. Use the “eye” icon to check for typos.
Locked Accounts
If there are too many failed login attempts, your account is locked for temporarily. This sometimes happens after a password change and is often caused by client software that still has the old password saved. When your password is locked you won’t be able to authenticate or change your password.
Please check all your programs, apps, and devices and delete the old password everywhere. Such software could be:
Email clients (Thunderbird, Outlook)
The Email app on your phone
SFTP/SCP file transfer clients
Automated scripts
Calendar apps that sync with DataShare
Note that programs like Thunderbird have an internal password store, and you might have to delete the password from there. Please see the documentation for the according program on how to do this. Please delete the old password from these services before attempting to log in again. After all old passwords are removed you’ll need to wait 5 minutes for the password to become unlocked again.
Windows Password Sync
If you see an error updating your Windows password, your Kerberos and Windows passwords may be out of sync. Please request a Password Reset to re-sync them.
Forgotten Passwords
If you have forgotten your password, please request a Password Reset.
With 2FA: You will be prompted for an OTP.
Without OTP: If your token is unavailable, click “Token unavailable.” Note that this requires manual verification therefore the process might take longer.
My Inviter’s Account is locked
For Guest users, if your inviter’s account is locked, please contact support to have your guest account transferred to a different “inviter”.
Export Control Administration of Accounts
In case of questions, please contact support@mpcdf.mpg.de
Other FAQs
My regular user account is about to be closed and I still need access to some resources
You can have another regular MPCDF user invite you as a guest with a private email address. However, note that it is not possible to create a guest account with an email address that used to be associated with your regular user account. You will also not be able to access any data associated with your regular user account from your guest account.
I don’t continuously need an MPCDF account but always need access to certain resources like a git repository
It is not possible to grant access to resources that belong to a locked user. Therefore, to ensure that a person always has access to certain resources even if the person’s regular account is locked please create a dedicated guest account with the appropriate access rights. Please note that transferring resources between the two accounts or accessing one from the other is not possible due to security considerations. Please do not ask support for exceptions as requests will not be considered.