Quick View of Active Users on the Sitecore Content Manager Server

Before you perform upgrades of your Sitecore deployment, it is useful to know if anyone is active on the system.  Also, if you need to do your upgrade now, you want to know who to inform that you will be disrupting them.

This is extremely common when you have a global site and content editors have working hours 24 hours long.

Depending on the version of Sitecore you are running, you can see the active users from these links:

Prior to 8.x
http://cm.sitcore/sitecore/shell/Applications/Login/Users/Kick.aspx

8.x (MVC page)
http://cm.sitcore/sitecore/client/Applications/LicenseOptions/KickUser

A coworker realized that the LaunchPad in 8.x is a convenient place to add a link for admins to see active users.  You don't need to keep a bookmark in each of your browsers anymore.

Connect to the Core database and add a new LaunchPad-Button under the path /sitecore/client/Applications/Launchpad/PageSettings/Buttons/Security.

Give it some Text, choose an Icon, and set the Link to the KickUser page.

That's it.

Presumably you'll already have security set correctly at a higher level.  So, this should appear for the same Sitecore users as would already have access to user management.