Multiple Rights and Switchboards & Server

[Hey Lucy]

I am currently developing an Access database for a client. Clients wants different switchboards for different users. This would also mean that each different user would have different rights and their personal switchboard, of course, would allow access only to the parts they have rights to.

My question is whether or not this can be done? And if so, can it be done from a server level? Client wants server for remote access, but within office database would be accessed through a mapped drive.

Is this possible? I haven't gotten to the point in the design yet where it is ready to be split like that, but before I go too far I need to know if I can give the client exactly what he wants.

I only know Access programming, so MYSQL and VBA are not helpful to me. :-(

Thanks for any answers, help, suggestions you can give me!

 

[DJkarl]

What does "server level" mean in this context?

Also without VBA knowledge I think pulling this off will be difficult/impossible.

 

[Hey Lucy]

Thanks for your response. I guess what I meant by "server level" was sort of an incongruous statement now that I realize what it says. I just meant could the database be set up on the server so that users accessing it could only access the parts they have rights to via a switchboard.

 

[DJkarl]

I think the answer is yes, you can have a switchboard that only allows access to certain functions based on the user. This typically requires VBA code to hide/unhide certain components or determine the correct switchboard to open.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I only know Access programming, so MYSQL and VBA are not helpful to me.

VBA is what is used to program in Access so if you don't know VBA, you don't know Access programming and you are not going to get very far with this project.

You'll need tables to define users and others to define security. Then you'll need code (VBA) in EVERY form that validates the security. Rather than hard coding the menus, I would enhance the concept of the built-inswitchboard by adding a user level to the Switchboard Items table and use this column in conjunction with the security level defined for the user to populate the switchboard form.

 

[Hey Lucy]

How hard is it to learn VBA? I suppose I can get one of those "Dummies Books". Up to this point I've only used Access to develop local databases, but I can see now that I need to probably learn both VBA and MySQL if I intend to continue in this field. I have been successful so far in giving every client what they asked for and I taught myself Access with trial and error. Off to Barnes and Noble, I guess. Thanks for responses. Like I said, I'm not at the point just yet to worry about users and security, but it will come. My biggest challenge right now is data migration. Client has 3 different Excel spreadsheets the data comes from, none of them formatted the same, of course. Couldn't be that easy! LOL One of these spreadsheets can be converted and discarded, but the other two come from daily downloads he makes from two different websites. So far what I've been able to do is write macros in each spreadsheet to re-organize and change field names to match the names in the Main table in the database. After that, I have a macro in Access, which I will make a menu item on a switchboard later on that will import the Excel worksheet into the main table in Access. Arrrrgggghhhh....but this is frustrating and I suspect some VBA knowledge would help with all I'm trying to accomplish! Thanks!