You can hide Turnkey's default external-login buttons in the navigation bar when you provide external authentication through your own account UI; this is for Turnkey administrators configuring social login or single sign-on.
What HideExternalLogin does
HideExternalLogin controls whether the default navigation-bar buttons for configured external authentication providers are shown.
Set it to True when your application has external login providers, such as Google, Facebook, or Microsoft, but you direct users to your own login page instead of exposing the default navigation-bar buttons.
This setting hides the default buttons. It does not configure an external identity provider and it does not remove the provider configuration itself. Configure providers first through external login services in MDriven Turnkey or follow Set Up Social Login with Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Choose the right setting
| Goal | Setting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Hide the default external-login buttons in the navigation bar while retaining external login for a custom account UI. | HideExternalLogin
|
Default navigation-bar buttons are hidden. |
| Require users to use external login rather than create or use a local password account. | HidePasswordLogin
|
The Register link is hidden and social-login icons are added to the main menu for direct access. |
| Hide the main menu or sidebar on a particular ViewModel. | ViewModel menu or sidebar settings and CSS | Changes page navigation; it is not an external-login configuration setting. |
Configure HideExternalLogin
TurnkeySettings.xml is located in the Turnkey application's App_Data folder. For an installation managed through portal.mdriven.net, the portal recreates TurnkeySettings.xml when you use SendSettingsAndRestart. For a standalone or local installation that the portal cannot reach, supply the settings file yourself.
- Open the applicable Turnkey settings configuration.
- Add or change the
HideExternalLoginvalue toTrue. - Restart or apply the settings using the mechanism for your installation.
- Open the application while logged out and confirm that the default external-login buttons no longer appear in the navigation bar.
- Verify that users can still reach and complete the external-login flow from your custom login UI.
Example:
<HideExternalLogin>True</HideExternalLogin>
Select the correct settings file
| Installation situation | Where to make the setting | Important behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Portal-managed Turnkey application | Configure the application settings in portal.mdriven.net and apply them with SendSettingsAndRestart.
|
The portal regenerates TurnkeySettings.xml.
|
| Local or standalone installation | Supply TurnkeySettings.xml in App_Data.
|
You manage the file yourself. |
| A local setting that must remain after the portal refreshes Turnkey settings | Use TurnkeySettingsOverride.xml in App_Data.
|
This file is read after TurnkeySettings.xml and is not overwritten by the portal refresh.
|
| A local or experimental setting that must be read before the generated settings | Use TurnkeySettingsExtra.xml in App_Data.
|
This file is read before TurnkeySettings.xml and is not created or changed by the portal.
|
Example: custom external-login page
A company configures Microsoft authentication and exposes a custom login page that starts the Microsoft sign-in flow. To prevent users from seeing a second entry point in the navigation bar, the administrator sets:
<HideExternalLogin>True</HideExternalLogin>
The company keeps its external-provider configuration in place. Users sign in through the custom page; the default navigation-bar external-login buttons remain hidden.
Related single sign-on settings
When you provide a single sign-on experience, review these settings together. They control different parts of the first-time external-login experience.
| Setting | Purpose | Example decision |
|---|---|---|
HideExternalLogin
|
Hides the default navigation-bar external-login buttons. | Set to True when a custom login page is the intended entry point.
|
HidePasswordLogin
|
Hides password-based login and registration entry points. | Set to True when users must authenticate through an external provider rather than create local password accounts.
|
AllowUserToChooseSocialLoginEmail
|
Controls whether a user can edit the email used when the local account is registered during first external login, or whether it is taken from the external user ID. | Enable it when users must be able to choose the email stored for the local account. |
SkipExternalAccountConfirmationScreen
|
Controls whether the first-time screen that confirms the local account is skipped. | Enable it only when the confirmation screen is not required in your sign-on flow. |
OpenIDConnectScope
|
Defines the OpenID Connect scopes requested from the identity provider. The default is openid profile when you do not supply a value.
|
Add email when the identity provider makes that scope available and your flow needs it.
|
For the full settings-file behavior and available settings, see Documentation:TurnkeySettings. For the built-in Turnkey login options and authentication packages, see Documentation:TurnkeyUserLogin and Documentation:SysUserAuthentication.
Troubleshooting
If an external-login user is redirected to or stuck on the Register page, do not treat HideExternalLogin as the fix. Old or incorrect SysUser or SysExternalLogin objects can cause that problem. Follow External login screen problem to remove the affected objects and ensure the user logs out and closes their browser before retrying.