Schoolbox Integration

Prerequisites

• Schoolbox integration module needs to be purchased

• A dedicated SQL login account with appropriate permissions. see Schoolbox documentation

  • Schoolbox Help - Synergetic Integration

• If Schoolbox is required to provide SSO access to the Synergetic Community Portal, SAML authentication is required.

  • From Community Portal version 71.62 onwards, Forms Authentication (Web Form Authentication) is no longer supported for Schoolbox Community Portal integrations due to security enhancements.
  • Schoolbox Help - Synergetic Community Portal Integration

Integration information

Application Authentication

Schoolbox requires a dedicated SQL login with the permissions documented by Schoolbox to access the Synergetic database. Creation and maintenance of this account is typically performed by the school's IT team or database administrator. Please refer to the Schoolbox Synergetic Integration KB for further details with sample script and health check option to test the SQL user and permissions. Please check with Schoolbox support for the required information. 

User Authentication

To provide Single Sign-On access from Schoolbox to the Synergetic Community Portal, SAML authentication should be used. Both Schoolbox and Community Portal should be configured to authenticate against the same Identity Provider (for example, Microsoft Entra ID, ADFS or Google Workspace), and link these with Community Portal IDs. 

NOTE: 

Prior to Community Portal version 71.62, Schoolbox could provide SSO to Community Portal using Forms Authentication. In this configuration, user passwords were stored in both Schoolbox and Synergetic, with Schoolbox synchronising password changes between the systems.

From Community Portal version 71.62 onwards, Forms Authentication is no longer supported due to security enhancements. Schools using Community Portal SSO should instead implement SAML authentication. Continuation of this method, will load the login screen, requiring the user to authenticate using the stored Synergetic credentials.

LDAP or Windows-based authentication methods do not support Schoolbox Community Portal SSO. Schools requiring SSO should implement SAML authentication using a supported Identity Provider.

Embedding Community Portal within iFrame

When embedding iframes into Schoolbox you need to first whitelist the source as this protects malicious sites being embedded by students.  To whitelist you go to the Safe Iframe Sources in Admin -> Security and add the domain of the site you are trying to embed. There is also a specific format for the URL required that also performs SSO to the Community Portal with a redirect using the Schoolbox /synRedir.php. Clients should check with Schoolbox documentation and support if assistance is required.

If using the Schoolbox accounts (not SAML) with the Community Portal SSO then sections can be embedded within iFrames but the link must route through the synRedir.php page in order for the authentication step to occur. Below is an example link to the MyDetails page via an iFrame in Schoolbox:

https://<em><strong>schoolboxurlhere.schooldomain.com</strong></em>/synRedir.php?page=MyDetails</a>" style="height:500px; width:100%">

Note there is also a dedicated page that will do this for you if not wanting to embed within an iFrame.  This can be added to a Schoolbox TILE link with sample link as follows: https://schoolboxurlhere.schooldomain.com/synergetic/MyDetails

You can also add /nomenu to this URL to hide the Community Portal menu.

Hide the Community Portal header if required using a Configuration Key.

SchoolBox Website

https://schoolbox.com.au

https://help.schoolbox.com.au
Schoolbox Help - Synergetic Community Portal Integration

Upgrade and Troubleshoot

Contact school sysadmin and advise them to notify Schoolbox about the upgrade. You can also provide the client this link and they can finalise the integration. 

https://help.schoolbox.com.au/homepage/495#textbox499