You are now stepping into that realm of secureing both front and back end I was talking about....this gets tricky and confusing very fast.
I generally go with this...if security is that much of an issue, one database with one .mdw, and everyone has shortcuts....
Here's why....
You have back end on server and one .mdw stored somewhere. You give each user a copy of front end, but also have to provide shortcut to force them to connect through .mdw. Some user may not use the shortcut and all you security is gone.....On the back end, there is no security. If you want to add security to the back end, we are going to throw another kink in the works, because you are actually connecting to the back end through a linked table.....
As you can see, it gets difficult to set it all up. And maintenance is a real nightmare. So if you need the security, go with one database and shortcuts.
As a side note, I would like to stress that the .mdw security solution is by no means secure. If the user is connecting through a shortcut, then as soon as they close that database, or open any other, they are using the default security file, which has no security. If they can navigate to the file on the server and just click on it, then they are bypassing your security also. There are many programs and I even have several Access functions that can break passwords out of Access and give someone the ability log in as Admin anyway. So take the security lightly. It is designed for stopping the Average Joe User from mucking up your stuff. I generally only use the .mdw security to "protect" my forms and objects, by not giving them design Access and to stop a company non-authorized employee from open the database.
I kind of create my own security on the fly per database I develop. If I need an "admin" section, I include a user/password/security level table in my database and compare against this. And using the .mdw file, I, the developer, am the only person that can go near that table....I give the superuser command buttons with functions to edit the data, but only I can even get to and see this table in its raw format.
As you can see, you are stumbling into the lovely world of Access Security. Everyone has a different approach and everyone will recommend you different things. Take them all the ear and decide which is best for you.
As always, let me know if I can help in any way. The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein
Robert L. Johnson III, A+, Network+, MCP
Access Developer/Programmer
robert.l.johnson.iii@citigroup.com