Don't need no stinking workgroup file! :-)

[Anil Gupte]

Hi:

I set the administrator password for my Access database, and nothing else -
i.e. did not ask that it be encrypted or anything. So, as far as I know, it
did not create an MDE file. Now, when I open it in Access 2000 it asks for a
password and opens just fine when I type it in. However, in my VB
application it tells me the workgroup file is missing or in use. I thought
the workgroup file (mde?) is only created for advanced security such as when
you want the database encrypted. I don't want to distribute an MDE file
because if it gets deleted, the app will not work and I just want a minimal
level of security anyway.

Any pointers? TIA.

 

[BruceM]

A workgroup file is an mdw file. Regarding mde files, this is from Help:
"If your database contains Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
code, saving your Microsoft Access database as an MDE file compiles all
modules, removes all editable source code, and compacts the destination
database. Your Visual Basic code will continue to run, but it cannot be
viewed or edited."
An mde file can be completely unsecured, although it does provide some
security in that the VB code is inaccessible to the user.
Microsoft Access always uses a workgroup file. The default workgroup file
is System.mdw. Unless you change the settings, security is lax to the point
of being non-existant.
User-level security is a fairly complex business, but at the simplest level
the workgroup file idenitifes who you are, and the permissions are assigned
in the database (mdb) file. If you do not specify otherwise, you log in
without challenge as the Admin user, who by default is a member of the Users
group, which by default has full permissions to the database.
The database password would provide a very minimum level of security, but
setting it does not involve changing anything in the workgroup file.
This is by way of background explanation. Now for my questions. What do
you mean by "Administrator Password"? How did you set the password? What
is "my VB Application"? How does it tell you the workgroup file is missing?
Does every database ask for a password?

 

[Anil Gupte]

Dude, thanx for that very detailed explanation. Yes, I actually meant an
mdw file. Anyway, I simply set a password for the database - I assumed this
is an admin password because there is no username associated with it. Now,
I don't really need anything more than that as far as security goes - the
local database is just a temporary repository until we post to the main
(remote) database. So, can I just distribute the mdb file and no other file
with it?

Thanx,

 

[BruceM]

That should do it. There are no other files. There would be with
user-level security, but that isn't what you have done. The password you
set is most commonly known as a database password. It helps keeps honest
people honest.

 

[Anil Gupte]

Then why am I getting that message?

 

[Joan Wild]

Every session of Access uses a workgroup file. It sounds as though the user running the code doesn't have Windows permission on the folder where the standard system.mdw is located.