The new credentials dialog can be invoked from the Credentials menu, by typing Ctrl + N, using the context menu in the credentials window or using the context menu in the NetIDMgr icon in the system notification area.
Once invoked, you will be presented with a dialog similar to the following:
New credentials dialog with a valid identity selected.
If the Kerberos v5 identity provider is used, the dialog will ask for a username and a realm to determine the identity for which new credentials will be obtained for. Depending on the selected identity, you may be required to provide a password or other form of authentication for new credentials to be obtained.
Below the prompts is the credentials summary window. This window provides an overview of the credentials that will be obtained when the dialog is completed.
If you click any of the credentials type hyperlinks in the credentials summary window or select the >> button, the dialog will switch to the expanded view. An example of this is shown below:
Expanded view of the new credentials dialogg
The expanded view provides access to additional options available for each credential provider. For example, the Kerberos v5 credentials provider allows you to set the lifetime of the obtained Kerberos ticket as well as ticket flags such as renewable or forwardable.
Note that the above screenshot is from an instance of NetIDMgr with Kerberos v5, Kerberos v4, OpenAFS and Kerberized Certificate Authority providers with a Kerberos v5 identity provider. Actual display may be different depending on the providers that are active.
The credentials summary window provides an overview of the credentials that will be obtained after the successful completion of the new credentials dialog. The window contains hyperlinks that will take you to the corresponding credentials option panels where you will be able to set additional options for each type.
If there is a problem with the selected identity, the credentials window will display a message describing the problem. For example:
The above is an example of what you would see if the provided identity is invalid. Once the identity provider (in this case, Kerberos v5) indicates that the identity is invalid, it will be displayed as above along with a brief description of why the identity was found to be invalid. Here, the Kerberos v5 identity provider is reporting that the specified principal does not exist in the Kerberos database.
The new credentials dialog can be invoked from the command line using the -i or --kinit command line option. Additionally, if you specify the -a or --autoinit command line option, the new credentials dialog will be displayed if there are no credentials available.
Setting the Obtain new credentials at startup (if none are present) option in the General configuration panel causes NetIDMgr to behave as if the --autoinit option is specified at each execution.