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Remove user-level security (MDB)

Note  The information in this topic applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

1. Start Microsoft Access.
2. Open the database that employs user-level security.
3. Log on as a workgroup administrator (a member of the Admins group).
4. Give the Users group full permissions on all tables, queries, forms, reports, and macros in the database.

   How?

   1. Open the database.

      The workgroup information file in use when you log on must contain the user or group accounts that you want to assign permissions for at this time; however, you can assign permissions to groups and add users to those groups later.

   2. On the Tools menu, point to Security, and then click User And Group Permissions.
   3. On the Permissions tab, click Users or Groups, and then in the User/Group Name box, click the user or group that you want to assign permissions to.
   4. Click the type of object in the Object Type box, and then click the name of the object to assign permissions for in the Object Name box. Select multiple objects in the Object Name box by dragging through the objects you want to select, or by holding down CTRL and clicking the objects you want.

      Note  Hidden objects aren't displayed in the Object Name box unless you select Hidden objects on the View tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu).

   5. Under Permissions, select the permissions you want to assign, or clear the permissions you want to remove for the group or user, and then click Apply. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to assign or remove permissions for additional objects for the current user or group.

   6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for any additional users or groups.

   Notes

   • Some permissions automatically imply the selection of others. For example, the Modify Data permission for a table automatically implies the Read Data and Read Design permissions because you need these to modify the data in a table. Modify Design and Read Data imply Read Design. For macros, Read Design implies Open/Run.
   • When you edit an object and save it, it retains its assigned permissions. However, if an object is saved with a new name, it is now a new object, and so has the default permissions defined for that object type rather than the permissions of the original object.
5. Exit and restart Microsoft Access and then log on as Admin.
6. Create a new blank database, and leave it open.
7. Import all the objects from the original database into the new database.

   How?

   1. Open the database or switch to the Database window for the open database.
   2. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, and then click Import.
   3. In the Files Of Type box, make sure Microsoft Access (*.mdb; *.adp; *.mda; *.mde; *.ade) is selected.
   4. Click the arrow to the right of the Look In box, select the drive and folder where the Microsoft Access database (.mdb) or Microsoft Access project (.adp) that you want to import from is located, and then double-click the database's icon.
   5. In the Import Objects dialog box, click the tab for the kind of object that you want to import, and then click each object that you want to import, or click Select All to import all objects of the desired type. Repeat this step for each kind of object that you want to import.

      To import just the tables' definitions (not the data that they contain), click Options, and then under Import Tables, click Definition Only.

      To import select queries as tables (for example, to create a read-only database), click Options, and then under Import Queries, click As Tables. Action queries import as queries no matter how this option is set.

      To include relationships, custom menus and toolbars, or import/export specifications (Access database only), click Options, and then, under Import, select the items you want included. Microsoft Access won't import a toolbar, menu bar, or shortcut menu if it has the same name as one in the Access file that you're importing to.

8. If users will be using the current workgroup information file when they open the database, clear the password for Admin to turn off the Logon dialog box for the current workgroup. This is not necessary if users will be using the default workgroup information file created when they install Microsoft Access.

The new database is now completely unsecured. The workgroup information file that was current when the new database was created in step 6 defines the Admins group for the new database.