System.mdw - how do I find out which databases are using it?

[Guest]

Hey all! We have Access97 databases that are secured using a single
system.mdw file on our network. Multiple databases on our network have been
secured by different people over the years and some have left the company
etc. Now, we're trying to get a list of databases and their locations that
use this system.mdw file so we can upgrade them to SQL apps. I opened the
system.mdw file and the AccessPermissions table and I see some network paths
to some access database, but it seems all those databases have been moved or
deleted because they no longer exist at those locations. All the other
records have other characters in it which is useless to me. Is there a
utility to pull this info from system.mdw or another way to extract/find that
info? Only other option is to move the system.mdw file and see who calls the
Help Desk ;-) We'd like to avoid this if possible for obvious reasons.
Thanks!

 

[Rick Brandt]

Hey all! We have Access97 databases that are secured using a single
system.mdw file on our network. Multiple databases on our network
have been secured by different people over the years and some have
left the company etc. Now, we're trying to get a list of databases
and their locations that use this system.mdw file so we can upgrade
them to SQL apps. I opened the system.mdw file and the
AccessPermissions table and I see some network paths to some access
database, but it seems all those databases have been moved or deleted
because they no longer exist at those locations. All the other
records have other characters in it which is useless to me. Is there
a utility to pull this info from system.mdw or another way to
extract/find that info? Only other option is to move the system.mdw
file and see who calls the Help Desk ;-) We'd like to avoid this if
possible for obvious reasons. Thanks!

You're laboring under a misunderstanding of how Access security works. There is
no direct "link" between a secured file and an MDW file that can be used to run
it. Notice I typed "an MDW file" not "the MDW file".

A workgroup file contains groups, users, and memberships of users within groups.
At the start of an Access session the workgroup establishes "who you are" and
"what groups you belong to". This happens before an mdb file is even opened.

Now separately, the MDB contains data of "which users and/or groups are allowed
to open me". When you open the file that list is compared with the "who you
are" data established by the workgroup file but the MDB does not care what
workgroup file was used. Only that you logged into one with credentials that
allow access to the file.

It is true that in many cases there is exactly one workgroup file that will
contain groups and/or user accounts that allow access to a particular mdb file,
but that is somewhat coincidental. You could very easily create identical
groups and or users (same internal ids) in many workgroup files that would all
allow access to a particular MDB.

So... an MDB could be examined to determine "what groups/users have permissions
to use me?", but that would not tell you what workgroup file you would find
those users and groups in.

Conversely, an MDW file can be examined to see what users and groups are defined
within it, but that will not tell you what MDB files "care" about those
particular users or groups.

 

[Guest]

Rick,
I guess that's why you're an Access MVP and I'm not! ;-) Thanks for very
clearly explaining this to me and setting me straight! I understand
perfectly. Also appreciate the quick response!