Multiple users question

[Niniel]

Hello,

I have this database that I'm working on that wasn't designed specifically as a "multi-user" application. But it's now to be used by various people across a network, and I'm wondering what, if anything, I need to do to make this work. I don't really have any security concerns, I just want to end up with a system where more than one person can create new records at a time, and browse through existing records, edit them, and print reports off the record they are viewing.
Access help make it sound rather easy - just set "Open Mode" to "Shared", and "Default Record Locking" to "Edited Record". "Open Databases Using Record-Level Locking" is also checked. It sounds like that beyond that, all I have to do is make the application available on shared network drive, and that's it.
Could it really be that easy, or what else needs to be done?

Thank you for your advice.

 

[boblarson]

I would highly suggest that you use a frontend/backend setup with the frontend available on every user's computer. Otherwise you are sure to find yourself with issues fairly quickly.

Check this post out too:
http://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=118133&highlight=front+end

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Niniel, even though you probably didn't want to go this far, you really want to implement Access security if you are sharing your DB. That is because you want the system to be able to use the full force of the security system to keep things straight. Setting access mode to "Shared" for everyone else and "Exclusive" for the maintainer isn't automatic UNLESS you implement security. So what would happen if you aren't careful is that your first user comes in through a non-shared contact point and opens the DB - as the Admin account, because that is the default for non-secured DBs. And the Admin account ALWAYS has Exclusive access - whether it says that or not. (At least, it CAN have exclusive access - because the Admin in an unsecured database can always grant him/herself that permission.)

If you SECURE the database, you have a way to limit the users to Shared access and still give yourself Exclusive access when you need it. I strongly recommend searching the forum for issues on Access Security and Access Workgroups. If you don't implement security then you are saying you trust everyone to NOT be a thumb-fingered idiot whose dog could probably type faster and with fewer errors. You trust everyone to treat the database with the respect you think it so richly deserves. (Remembering, of course, that at least some of your users probably could not possibly care less.)

Treat this as one man's opinion, but backed by 30+ years of experience in user management and 35+ years of experience in machine operations.

 

[Niniel]

Thank you, Bob and Doc Man.

And yes, Doc Man, you are right - I was hoping I didn't have to invest all that much effort to let multiple users work with the db. But you raised some interesting points, so I'll look into the security issue.

Thanks again.