Good evening everyone. I have set up my accounts with two users by going to accounts, highlighting users in the group window and clicking on new user. I went to permissions and set the appropriate permissions on each user. I changed the admin password so it will peompt for passwords. But, the only login it will take is the one for admin. did I miss a step? Thank You! I appreciate your time and help.
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How do you activate security? 1
- Thread starter MariaL
- Start date
You missed quite a lot of steps. You haven't really done any harm yet, though. Just delete the new user you added.
Then go look up "user-level security" in the Help file, and read! read! Read! the related topics until you understand how the security system works. After you understand it all, go back to the topic "secure your database with the user-level security wizard" and follow the directions very carefully. Be sure to read everything the security wizard tells you.
You can also search the FAQs for security information, though I think we're starting to have a glut of it. Try to pick a single one that's comprehensive but still intelligible to you.
One thing to keep in mind: The user-level security system is not intuitive and not "discoverable" (a Microsoft term that refers to us being able to figure out how something works by poking around at random). You really need to understand it before you use it.
Rick Sprague
Want the best answers? See faq181-2886
To write a program from scratch, first create the universe. - Paraphrased from Albert Einstein
Then go look up "user-level security" in the Help file, and read! read! Read! the related topics until you understand how the security system works. After you understand it all, go back to the topic "secure your database with the user-level security wizard" and follow the directions very carefully. Be sure to read everything the security wizard tells you.
You can also search the FAQs for security information, though I think we're starting to have a glut of it. Try to pick a single one that's comprehensive but still intelligible to you.
One thing to keep in mind: The user-level security system is not intuitive and not "discoverable" (a Microsoft term that refers to us being able to figure out how something works by poking around at random). You really need to understand it before you use it.
Rick Sprague
Want the best answers? See faq181-2886
To write a program from scratch, first create the universe. - Paraphrased from Albert Einstein
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1
- #3
FancyPrairie
Programmer
RickSpr, is right. You really need to understand the concept. Once you do it's pretty simple.
Having said that, this is some things you should consider. First, backup your FE db and BE db prior to implementing security. Also backup System.mdw. This way, if you mess up, you can always start over. Second, I don't grant privileges to any users. Rather I create group(s) and assign rights to the groups. Then I assign users to the groups. Third, when using the security wizard to create your workgroup file, keep it simple. I don't try to do everything with the wizard. Rather, after the wizard has created my workgroup, then I create user and group accounts and assign rights. Fourth, your workgroup file should reside on a server (generally where your BE db resides) so that all users have access to it. What follows is the steps I use to create the workgroup file via the security wizard (Access 2000).
The workgroup file contains your security information. By default, there is one user defined (Admin) and 2 groups (Admins and Users). User Admin is a member of both groups. As a member of the Admins group, user Admin has full rights over all objects in the database.
When you're finished securing your database, user Admin should no longer be a member of the Admins group and group Users should have no rights to anything.
To start, find and make a copy of the System.mdw file. Also make a backup copy of your FE and BE databases. The reason for this is in case you mess up, you can start over with a clean slate.
Open your database and goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts. Select the Users tab and select the button New... You want to create a new user who will ultimately be the owner of all of the objects in the database. In this example, I named the new user AdminMyCompanyLogo. Assign this new user to the Admins group.
Select the tab "Change Logon Password" and assign a new password to user Admin and type it in again to verify it. (Note that at the end of this document, you will remove the password.) Now when you open your database (or any database) Access will prompt your for your name and password. This is because user Admin has been assigned a password.
Exit Access and then reopen your database. When Access prompts you for your name and password, enter the name of the new user (AdminMyCompanyLogo). In this case, we haven't assigned this user a password, yet.
Select Tools | Security | User-Level Security Wizard..
1st Screen ... Titled: "Do you want to create a new workgroup information file or use the current one?
Check the box entitled "Create a new workgroup information file"
Press Next
2nd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
Enter (or browse) the name you want for your new workgroup file (.mdw). I would specify a path that all users have access to (i.e. server).
Also, check the box entitled "I want to create a shortcut to open my secured database".
Press Next
DO NOT check the box entitled "I want to make this my default workgroup information file. If you do, then your System Registry will be changed to point to this workgroup. Therefore, every database you have created, and will create, will be using this workgroup file rather than System.mdw.
3rd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
All objects should be checked.
Press Next
4th Screen ... Titled: "What groups do you want to include in your workgroup information file".
Don't check anything here. (We'll worry about permissions later.)
Press Next
5th Screen ... Title: "Would you like to grant the users some group permissions"
Check the box "No, the Users group should not have any permissions".
Press Next
6th Screen ... Title: "What users do you want included in your workgroup information file"
This screen asks you to identify the users you want in your workgroup information file. Select <Add New user> (on the left) and enter AdminMYCompanyLogo in the box entitled "User Name". (If you've assigned a password to this user (we haven't yet), then enter the password.) Now select the button entitled "Add this user to the list"
Access displays your NT login name as one of the users. Select your NT login name and select the button labled "Delete user from list".
Press Next
7th Screen ... Title: "Now you can assign users to groups in the workgroup information file"
Check the box "Select a user and assign the user to groups". In the "Group or User Name" box, enter AdminMYCompanyLogo. And make sure that the Admins group is checked.
Press Next
8th Screen ... That's all folks! Press Finish. After Access finishes it creates a report with all of the info needed to recreate the workgroup file. Print it and save it.
Now add a short cut on your desktop and set the properties to this:
"\\Path\MsAccess.exe" "\\path\YourDatabase.mdb" /wrkgrp "\\Path\YourWorkgroup.mdw"
Open your database, via the shortcut, and login as the new user (AdminMyCompanyLogo). Then select Tools | Security | User Groups and Permissions. Then select the tab "Change Owner". You should see that the owner of all of the objects in the database is AdminMyCompanyLogo. If not, then you did something wrong and you should start over with the original version of the System.mdw and your FE and BE.
To be safe, you could make a copy of your new workgroup file and FE at this point, so if you mess anything up from this point on, you can start back here rather than the beginning.
Securing your Back-end
Close your database (do not exit Access because this instance of Access is pointing to your new workgroup file that you just assigned permissions to). Now, open the backend database,
goto Tools | Security | User-Level Security Wizard.
1st Screen ... Titled: "Do you want to create a new workgroup information file or use the current one?"
Check "Modify my current workgroup information file". Press Next
2nd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
All database objects should be checked. Press Next
3rd Screen ... Titled: "What groups do you want to include in your workgroup information file".
Don't check anything. Press Next
4th Screen ... Title: "Would you like to grant the users some group permissions"
Check "No, the Users group should not have any permissions". Press Next
5th Screen ... Title: "What users do you want included in your workgroup information file"
Press Next
6th Screen ... Title: "Now you can assign users to groups in the workgroup information file"
Check "Select a user and assign the user to groups"
User name should be AdminMyCompanyLogo and group Admins should be checked.
7th Screen ... That's All Folks! Press Finish
Creating group and user accounts
The next thing you want to do is to create one or more groups to which users will be assigned. Goto Tools | Security | User Groups and Accounts. Select the Groups tab and select new. Enter the name of the group.
Now assign permissions for the group (Tools | Security | User and Group Permissions). You will need to assign permissions to objects in both the FE and BE databases.
After you have your permissions assigned to each of your groups, goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts and add your users. You don't need to assign any permissions for the users, simply assign the users to the appropriate group. Note that a user can be assigned to more than one group. The user's permissions will be based on the group that has the highest permissions.
At this point you can assign a password to the owner of the database objects (AdminMYCompanyLogo).
Launch Microsoft Access (NOT via your new shortcut) and login as user Admin (using the password you gave user Admin earlier). At this point, the workgroup file that is in effect is System.mdw. Goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts and select the Change Password tab. Select the button labeled "Clear Password". Now when you open unsecured databases, you will not be prompted to enter your name and password.
Having said that, this is some things you should consider. First, backup your FE db and BE db prior to implementing security. Also backup System.mdw. This way, if you mess up, you can always start over. Second, I don't grant privileges to any users. Rather I create group(s) and assign rights to the groups. Then I assign users to the groups. Third, when using the security wizard to create your workgroup file, keep it simple. I don't try to do everything with the wizard. Rather, after the wizard has created my workgroup, then I create user and group accounts and assign rights. Fourth, your workgroup file should reside on a server (generally where your BE db resides) so that all users have access to it. What follows is the steps I use to create the workgroup file via the security wizard (Access 2000).
The workgroup file contains your security information. By default, there is one user defined (Admin) and 2 groups (Admins and Users). User Admin is a member of both groups. As a member of the Admins group, user Admin has full rights over all objects in the database.
When you're finished securing your database, user Admin should no longer be a member of the Admins group and group Users should have no rights to anything.
To start, find and make a copy of the System.mdw file. Also make a backup copy of your FE and BE databases. The reason for this is in case you mess up, you can start over with a clean slate.
Open your database and goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts. Select the Users tab and select the button New... You want to create a new user who will ultimately be the owner of all of the objects in the database. In this example, I named the new user AdminMyCompanyLogo. Assign this new user to the Admins group.
Select the tab "Change Logon Password" and assign a new password to user Admin and type it in again to verify it. (Note that at the end of this document, you will remove the password.) Now when you open your database (or any database) Access will prompt your for your name and password. This is because user Admin has been assigned a password.
Exit Access and then reopen your database. When Access prompts you for your name and password, enter the name of the new user (AdminMyCompanyLogo). In this case, we haven't assigned this user a password, yet.
Select Tools | Security | User-Level Security Wizard..
1st Screen ... Titled: "Do you want to create a new workgroup information file or use the current one?
Check the box entitled "Create a new workgroup information file"
Press Next
2nd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
Enter (or browse) the name you want for your new workgroup file (.mdw). I would specify a path that all users have access to (i.e. server).
Also, check the box entitled "I want to create a shortcut to open my secured database".
Press Next
DO NOT check the box entitled "I want to make this my default workgroup information file. If you do, then your System Registry will be changed to point to this workgroup. Therefore, every database you have created, and will create, will be using this workgroup file rather than System.mdw.
3rd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
All objects should be checked.
Press Next
4th Screen ... Titled: "What groups do you want to include in your workgroup information file".
Don't check anything here. (We'll worry about permissions later.)
Press Next
5th Screen ... Title: "Would you like to grant the users some group permissions"
Check the box "No, the Users group should not have any permissions".
Press Next
6th Screen ... Title: "What users do you want included in your workgroup information file"
This screen asks you to identify the users you want in your workgroup information file. Select <Add New user> (on the left) and enter AdminMYCompanyLogo in the box entitled "User Name". (If you've assigned a password to this user (we haven't yet), then enter the password.) Now select the button entitled "Add this user to the list"
Access displays your NT login name as one of the users. Select your NT login name and select the button labled "Delete user from list".
Press Next
7th Screen ... Title: "Now you can assign users to groups in the workgroup information file"
Check the box "Select a user and assign the user to groups". In the "Group or User Name" box, enter AdminMYCompanyLogo. And make sure that the Admins group is checked.
Press Next
8th Screen ... That's all folks! Press Finish. After Access finishes it creates a report with all of the info needed to recreate the workgroup file. Print it and save it.
Now add a short cut on your desktop and set the properties to this:
"\\Path\MsAccess.exe" "\\path\YourDatabase.mdb" /wrkgrp "\\Path\YourWorkgroup.mdw"
Open your database, via the shortcut, and login as the new user (AdminMyCompanyLogo). Then select Tools | Security | User Groups and Permissions. Then select the tab "Change Owner". You should see that the owner of all of the objects in the database is AdminMyCompanyLogo. If not, then you did something wrong and you should start over with the original version of the System.mdw and your FE and BE.
To be safe, you could make a copy of your new workgroup file and FE at this point, so if you mess anything up from this point on, you can start back here rather than the beginning.
Securing your Back-end
Close your database (do not exit Access because this instance of Access is pointing to your new workgroup file that you just assigned permissions to). Now, open the backend database,
goto Tools | Security | User-Level Security Wizard.
1st Screen ... Titled: "Do you want to create a new workgroup information file or use the current one?"
Check "Modify my current workgroup information file". Press Next
2nd Screen ... Titled: "What database Objects to you want to secure?"
All database objects should be checked. Press Next
3rd Screen ... Titled: "What groups do you want to include in your workgroup information file".
Don't check anything. Press Next
4th Screen ... Title: "Would you like to grant the users some group permissions"
Check "No, the Users group should not have any permissions". Press Next
5th Screen ... Title: "What users do you want included in your workgroup information file"
Press Next
6th Screen ... Title: "Now you can assign users to groups in the workgroup information file"
Check "Select a user and assign the user to groups"
User name should be AdminMyCompanyLogo and group Admins should be checked.
7th Screen ... That's All Folks! Press Finish
Creating group and user accounts
The next thing you want to do is to create one or more groups to which users will be assigned. Goto Tools | Security | User Groups and Accounts. Select the Groups tab and select new. Enter the name of the group.
Now assign permissions for the group (Tools | Security | User and Group Permissions). You will need to assign permissions to objects in both the FE and BE databases.
After you have your permissions assigned to each of your groups, goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts and add your users. You don't need to assign any permissions for the users, simply assign the users to the appropriate group. Note that a user can be assigned to more than one group. The user's permissions will be based on the group that has the highest permissions.
At this point you can assign a password to the owner of the database objects (AdminMYCompanyLogo).
Launch Microsoft Access (NOT via your new shortcut) and login as user Admin (using the password you gave user Admin earlier). At this point, the workgroup file that is in effect is System.mdw. Goto Tools | Security | User and Group Accounts and select the Change Password tab. Select the button labeled "Clear Password". Now when you open unsecured databases, you will not be prompted to enter your name and password.
- Thread starter
- #4
Wow! These are wonderful instructions. Thank you so much for taking the time to spell it out for me. I need all the help I can get. One more question. Is it true that security is set to the application and not the database? If I set up a situation to practice with on my computer before doing this on the business computer, will it mess up my application uses for the other databases?
Thank you for your help.
Thank you for your help.
FancyPrairie
Programmer
I don't quite understand your question (application vs database). But, note that every database uses security. By default, System.mdw is the workgroup file everyone uses.
This is what I would suggest you do. Copy the FE db and BE db to your machine. Make a backup copy of the file System.mdw. Now attempt to go thru the steps of securing a database (see my previous post). Since you are only working with copies of your FE and BE, it's no big deal if you screw up. Just start from the beginning (copy FE and BE to your machine, etc).
Once you have security setup like you want, then either go thru the steps again with the live databases, or make your copies the live (note that BE db may have changed though), or make your copy of the FE the live db and redo the BE.
This is what I would suggest you do. Copy the FE db and BE db to your machine. Make a backup copy of the file System.mdw. Now attempt to go thru the steps of securing a database (see my previous post). Since you are only working with copies of your FE and BE, it's no big deal if you screw up. Just start from the beginning (copy FE and BE to your machine, etc).
Once you have security setup like you want, then either go thru the steps again with the live databases, or make your copies the live (note that BE db may have changed though), or make your copy of the FE the live db and redo the BE.
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