API access is required for to use the Metasys Application Programming Interface (API) and for API calls to function. With API Access, users can retrieve information from the Metasys system network. Use API Access to read and write Metasys system data from a custom application with the same high level of security as when you access system data through the SMP UI.
To use the Metasys APIs to perform a data request using a custom application, you need a Metasys user account, such as local or Active Directory, with the API access type and the appropriate Metasys permissions and privileges assigned. Metasys user accounts with the Standard or Tenant access type cannot use the Metasys APIs.
Metasys users with API access type can also login to Metasys using the SMP UI and the Metasys UI. API users have limited functionality in the SMP UI, but full functionality in the Metasys UI depending on their assigned permissions and privileges.
We do not recommend that users with the API access type are given the ADMINISTRATOR role. If a user with the API access type is given the ADMINISTRATOR role, that user will have full administrator rights in the Metasys UI, and limited administrator rights in the SMP UI. In the SMP UI, an API user with administrator rights can create, view, and modify user accounts with the API access type, but cannot affect any other users. In the Metasys UI, an API user with administrator rights has the same capabilities as an administrator with the Standard access type and can manage all user accounts.