MS Access Security Problem

I have set up security in a MS Access database and now EVERY time I use MS Access (no matter which database) it needs a login. Help! How do I reset it?

Buit in Access Security is NOT database dependent. It is Computer Dependent. Therefore everytime you use that machine you will have to login, and everytime you open the database you want secure on another machine there will be no login.

Security in access only works if every user launches access from the same network .exe, but applies to all.

Program you security with VBA.

S

Hali,

I am sorry to argue against ***sbaxter's opinion again, but I must to say that it's not true.

Built-in security of Access is NOT computer dependent. And I have met many-many people (even program writers) that don't understand the method of securing an Access database.

Note carefully: each Access database's security is depending on the Workgroup Informaton file (.mdw) associated with it.

When you install Access, the default .mdw file is usually %SystemDir%\system.mdw, or %UserProfilePath%\system.mdw.
Access stores database user information in this file by default, but YOU CAN CREATE an other .mdw file by using the Workgroup Administrator. As I understood, you've done this.
It's true, when you join to an .mdw file, it will be applied to Access itself, and not to a particular database.

BUT if follow the steps below, you will not have problems with this anymore:
1. Open your database you wish to secure.
2. Create a new .mdw file using the Workgroup Administrator, and stay joined to it.
3. Create the user groups, users, and set permissions etc.
4. Create a User into the Admins group, and grant full access to everything to this new user.
5. Close the database.
6. Open the database again, and log on as the new administrator User.
7. Take the ownership of all opjects in the database.
8. Restrict all rights of the original Admin user.
9. Set a password. (When you create a user it's default password is blank.)
10. Run the User-level security wizard. This is the step when your database will be really secured. The wizard will make a backup copy of your unsecured database, so if you realized later that something's wrong with the permissions, you can rethink and modify them.
11. Now, open Access with an other, or a blank database. It will require password, that's normal. Log on as the new administrator user.
12. Join to the default .mdw file NOW, and close the database.

In this way, if you open your secured database, it will open with the default .mdw file. If you have restricted the default Admin user's rights as I told in point 7. and 8. above, then you will not

be able to make any design changes, because now, you are that Admin user.

Afterall, Your secured database must be opened with the /wrkgrp switcher.

So you need to create a shortcut to your secured database, and the target property of the shortcut should look like this: "C:\DataBases\MyDataBase.mdb" /wrkgrp "C:\DataBases\MyDataBase.mdw"

Believe me, I've done it for many Access databases and it WORKS.

I hope this helps you all.

BRegs,

TBÁrpi

Look I tried to follow your directions and everybody elses I could find. I could not get it to work. I am not stupid(i dont think I am anyway) and I know I am not a rocket scientist but damn this security thing is not as simple as one would think it would be. Your experiences with others having the same conclusion as I should give you the same feeling.

Anyway I have secured the database I think according to the instructions. But between step 2 and 3 the database closes on me if I try to place the WIF somewhere other than default. What am I doing wrong?

If i use the default and copy the database to a usb key and travel to another machine it opens up just fine. To me that means the database is computer dependent. Let me know if I have this whole thing screwed up in my head.

thx
ken

Check the URL below where I posted a detailed explanation of securing a database:

How to secure an MS-Access Database?

Hi all,

I have the security set up on my database and I was wondering whether you knew about the limitations of access when it comes to identifiying the logged in user (via vba) and dictating what they have access to and what they can edit individually etc....

Chris

I usually use a table where I add all the User Groups I created earlier and define the access for them to each control on each form.

The table just holds the following fields:
UserGroup
FormName
ControlName
Hidden
ReadOnly

And the OnOpen event of each form calls a procedure that looks through the form, captures the control names and sets the permission regarding the User Group where the current user belongs.

If the control is indicated as Hidden then I set the Visible property to False and if the control is indicated as ReadOnly then I set the Locked Property to True etc.

In this way you can set the permission on control-level.

However, You need to set this table to Read-Only for ordinary users.