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Secure Website Access

If a company implements a Website authentication tool such as eTrust® SiteMinder, administrators will need to append the Contributor application URL with "?=smforms "when using Contributor for Excel. This is because the secure website authentication tool may use a pop-up dialog or redirect users to a logon webpage.

Specifying "?=smforms" at the end of the URL turns off the automatic website monitoring logic built into Contributor for Excel that would detect whether or not a user has browsed to a valid Contributor Website.

Administrators should try to browse to the Contributor Website without appending their URL with "?=smforms" first because many third-party secure Website providers have many different authentication modes and some are seamless while others pop up dialog boxes or redirect to a logon webpage.

Important: By appending the URL with "?=smforms", you are disabling the validation logic and thereby allowing users to browse to other Websites.