Securing and Administering Access - Secure the Database with the User-Level Security Wizard

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The User-Level Security Wizard can secure any or all of the objects in your database. All the relationships and linked tables are kept intact when you secure the database with the Security Wizard. It also makes a backup copy of the original database in case you have forgotten to do so. The backup file has the same name with the .bak fi le extension.

With the Security Wizard, you can be specific about which users enjoy which permissions. You can also decide who belongs to which groups and edit user passwords and personal IDs (PIDs) as well. A PID is similar to a password and is used in combination with the user name to identify an account.

Start the User-Level Security Wizard
The database must be open before you can work with the User-Level Security Wizard.

1. Open the database whose objects you want to secure.
   
   
2. Click Tools | Security | User-Level Security Wizard.
   
   
   
   
3. In the first dialog box, as shown in Figure 9-1, either:
   
   
   • Select Create A New Workgroup Information File if one doesn’t exist.
     
     –Or–
     
     
   • Select Modify My Current Workgroup Information File to make changes in an existing WIF
     
     

     Figure 9-1: You can choose to create a new workgroup information fi le or edit an existing one, if available.
     

     
     
4. Click Next.
   
   
5. In the next dialog box, as shown in Figure 9-2, accept the workgroup ID (WID) the Security Wizard offers or enter a unique string in the WID box. The WID is a case sensitive string of between 4 and 20 alphabetic and numeric characters.
   
   

   Figure 9-2: The Security Wizard lets you choose where  to locate and what to name your Workgroup ID.
   
   
   

6. Select I Want To Create A Shortcut To Open My Security-Enhanced Database.
   
   
7. Click Next.

CAUTION  If you choose to make the WIF identifi ed in Figure 9-2 the default, every Access database you open will use it unless you specify that it be opened with a different WIF.

Secure Individual Objects
The third Security Wizard dialog box, shown in Figure 9-3, shows tabs for each of the objects in the current database. By default, all objects are secured by the wizard, but you can exclude some and keep the existing security measures in the others.

Figure 9-3: You can remove security from
objects that don’t need it.

1. Deselect the check box next to the object you want to leave as it is now.
   
   
2. Click the tab (such as Queries, Forms, or Reports) for any other object whose security selections you want to change.
   
   
3. When finished, click Next.
   
   
4. If you have secured your Visual Basic code with a password, the Security Wizard asks for the password in the next dialog box. If not, you move on to setting up group accounts.

TIP  Prior to using the Security Wizard, be sure to open the database in shared mode. If you open it in Exclusive mode, the Security Wizard will offer to reopen it in shared mode. Also, be sure to close any unsaved objects you have open.

NOTE  The Other tab in the third dialog box of the Security Wizard contains a list of new objects. You can choose to keep or to remove all new tables/queries, forms, reports, and macros from the Security Wizard’s security program.

This chapter is from Microsoft Office Access 2003 QuickSteps, by Cronan, Anderson, and Anderson (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004, ISBN: 0072232293). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now.

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