Re: Pathname to access and usernames in shortcut

From: Lynn Trapp (ltrappNoSpam_at_ltcomputerdesigns.com)
Date: 07/08/04 

Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 16:57:55 -0500

Answers inline below. 

-- 
Lynn Trapp
MS Access MVP
www.ltcomputerdesigns.com
Access Security: www.ltcomputerdesigns.com/Security.htm
"Help" <anonym@whoknowswhere.osh> wrote in message
news:40eda228$0$7794$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Hi,
>
> We are about to deploy a database on our network (Windows/2000 servers
> with Active Directory and Win2K, WinXp and Win9x clients).
>
> The database is split front-end and back-end but both will be on a
> network drive (for maintenance reasons initially, I may move the
> front-end to the client machines once its stable).
Maintenance of a front-end on individual user machines is much less of a
headache than the problems you can encounter if you have a shared front-end
on a network drive. You're best off to go ahead and bite the bullet and
install the front-end on the user pc's from the git-go.
>
> We have added the security and have a .mdw file and can start it from a
> shortcut.
>
> The security is intended more to stop people accidentally
> corrupting/changing things than to stop people hacking into the
> database. If they want to do that they can, but they are trusted. We are
> using usernames but no passwords.
Are you preventing the users from changing their own passwords? If not, then
your schema below will likely not work, if someone changes their password.
>
>
> I have two questions at the moment:
>
> 1) We want users to be logged in automatically with their Windows login.
> I know that we can't synchronise the userid/password combinations and
> that the security is different between access and active directory.
> What we are thinking of is having a batch file or command file which
> gets the current username from the system and then calls access (via the
>   same command as we would use for a shortcut) but with the username
> included.
>
> Has anyone tried this and can point me to any examples. Also, ca you see
> any potential problems with this idea ?
I've never tried it. You should test it and see if it works. That's the best
way I know to find out if something works. I'm not sure why that's better
than just letting the users press enter on the Access logon screen, assuming
you have prevented them from changing their passwords.
>
>
> 2) The access databases and shortcut (or command file) will be on a
> network drive. This means that the pathnames will need to be common. The
> path to the database and .mdw file are not a problem as everyone will
> have the drive already networked.
> However, it occurred to me that people may have installed access in
> different places on their machines. So, if the shortcut has <path to
> access> as "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" as
> would be the default, that means that someone using the shortcut who has
>   office instaled on their D: drive wouldn't be able to use it.
>
> So, my question is, is there a way of referring to "the place where
> access is installed" in the shortcut (or the command file).
Again, I would say don't put the front-end on the server -- you will most
likely regret it later. I don't know if there is a way to locate the path of
a file via a batch file. The best thing to do is have your IS Department do
ALL installs of ALL programs on user PC's and then you will always know
where they are located.

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