User manual

82 FileMaker Pro User’s Guide
Accounts, privilege sets, and extended privileges
Accounts authenticate users who are attempting to open a protected
file. Each account specifies an account name and usually a password.
Any user that cannot specify valid account information won’t be able
to open a protected file.
Each database file contains two predefined accounts: Admin and
Guest. For more information, see
“About the predefined accounts”
on page 83.
You may want to create an account for every individual who accesses
a file, or you may want to create a small number of accounts that are
shared among many individuals, such as a “Marketing” account and
a “Sales” account.
1 Create accounts for individuals when it is necessary to verify the
identities of particular users and you want to manage access at an
individual level.
1 Create shared accounts when you want fewer accounts to maintain
and you are less concerned about managing individual access to the
database file.
If you host files on FileMaker Server, you can create External Server
accounts that obtain authentication information from an
authentication server such as an Apple OpenDirectory or Windows
Domain. For more information, see
“Creating accounts that
authenticate via an external server” on page 87.
A privilege set specifies a level of access to a database file. Each
database file contains three predefined privilege sets for common
types of access levels: Full Access, Data Entry Only, and Read-Only
Access. When you create a privilege set, there are many options
available that you can use to limit database access, such as which
layouts are viewable, which menus are available, and whether
printing is permitted. Privilege sets can also restrict access to records
or fields from particular tables within a file. Each account is assigned
a privilege set, which determines the level of access when someone
opens a file using that account.
You can create as many privilege sets as you need to define the types
of access you want to permit to a file. For more information about
privilege sets, see
“About the predefined privilege sets” on page 83.
Extended privileges determine the data sharing options that are
permitted by a privilege set, such as whether a privilege set permits
users to open a shared file or view a database in a web browser.
The following table lists the default extended privileges that are
available. (FileMaker as well as third-party developers may define
additional extended privileges to manage access for other software
products designed to work with FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server.)
When a user attempts to open or access a protected file using one of
the above methods, the user will be prompted to provide account
information. If the privilege set for the account does not permit the
type of extended privilege access the user is requesting, the user will
get an error indicating that they cannot access the file.
All extended privileges for a file are disabled by default, even in the
Full Access privilege set.
Extended privilege
Determines if a privilege
permits
Access via FileMaker Network Opening a networked shared file
(either a file hosted by FileMaker Pro
or FileMaker Server)
Access via ODBC/JDBC Accessing a database file from
another application via ODBC or
JDBC.
Access via Instant Web Publishing Accessing a database file from a web
browser via Instant Web Publishing.
Access via FileMaker Mobile Accessing a database file with
FileMaker Mobile software.