Changing one MDW file for multiple databases

[Kristen]

Hi, I'm not sure if this can be done or not but here goes...

I write an application that uses Access and an MDW file to control who
can open the database. Right now I have a bunch of different customers
and we distribute the same MDW file to each customer. This MDW file has
one username/password in it that gives access to an Administrator to
open the database and make changes. None of the customers have this
username/password, just me.

I would like to add a user to the MDW file that has Read Only access.
So that customers are able to use this username/password to open their
database in Access to read data and write their own "SELECT" queries.
However, I can't figure out how to change the MDW file and have it work
for any database. Is it even possible?

Right now I am able to open a specific database using my Admin
username/password, and add the new ReadOnly user using the User-Level
Security Wizard. After applying the changes I am able to use that new
username to open ONLY the database that I originally had open when I
made the changes. I can't use it to open another database that also
uses the same MDW file.

The guy that had my job before me started this application and I am
guessing that he initially created the database and the MDW file.
Whenever a new customer came on board he copied the original database
and gave it to them. So that is probably how all the databases are OK
using the same MDW file. But thats just a guess. I am no Access
Security wizard.

So is it even possible to do what I want to do? I am hoping to be able
to just distribute a new MDW to everyone. It would be a huge process to
get everyone's database to manually go in and link that database with
the new MDW file.

Advice?

Thanks!

[Rick Brandt]

Kristen wrote:

Hi, I'm not sure if this can be done or not but here goes...

I write an application that uses Access and an MDW file to control who
can open the database. Right now I have a bunch of different customers
and we distribute the same MDW file to each customer. This MDW file
has one username/password in it that gives access to an Administrator
to open the database and make changes. None of the customers have this
username/password, just me.

I would like to add a user to the MDW file that has Read Only access.
So that customers are able to use this username/password to open their
database in Access to read data and write their own "SELECT" queries.
However, I can't figure out how to change the MDW file and have it
work for any database. Is it even possible?

Right now I am able to open a specific database using my Admin
username/password, and add the new ReadOnly user using the User-Level
Security Wizard. After applying the changes I am able to use that new
username to open ONLY the database that I originally had open when I
made the changes. I can't use it to open another database that also
uses the same MDW file.

Groups, Users, and Memberships are stored in the MDW. Permissions are
stored in the MDB so yes you will have to make this change in all of your
databases.

If you had initially created a read only GROUP (even if it had no members)
and given that group read only permissions to all objects as the databases
were created you could now add a new user to that group and only distribute
a new MDW file. This is why it is recommended to ONLY assign permissions to
groups and never to individual profiles. This allows you to accomodate new
users with changes only to the MDW file. It does require though that you
had the foresight to create all of your groups from the get-go.

Your databases can only recognize groups and users that were in existence
when they were created (unless you update them), but they will accept a user
they don't know anything about provided they are a member of a group that
they DO know about.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense. Security can quickly give you a migraine.

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I don't check the Email account attached
to this message. Send instead to...
RBrandt at Hunter dot com