Executing a "touch" Command on Users

The "touch" command is a standard command used in UNIX/Linux operating systems to modify the timestamps of certain objects. By executing a "touch" command on users, you are effectively tricking the system into thinking that the user has been modified (even though the only modification is the "timemodified" value) and therefore triggering events that would normally only take place when a user's profile changes, such as assessing their data against program business rules, cohort business rules, and so on.

Step-by-step guide

To execute a "touch" command on one or more users

1. Go to Site Administration > Users > Accounts > Bulk user actions

2. Using the filters, find the user(s) in question

3. In the "Users in list" section, click on the "Add all" button or alternatively, if you do not want to add all the users, select the users and click on "Add to selection" button

4. In the "With selected users" pulldown menu, select "Touch selected users" and click on "Go"

5. Confirm your action on the subsequent page

Using the screenshot below as an example, the system would execute a touch command against the "Student One" and "Teacher One" users.

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