Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 18-15. The Edit Account window needs just three things: an account name, a password, and
a privilege set. You can ignore the “Account is authenticated via” pop-up menu for now. Option-
ally, you can make an account inactive (but that's not common when you've just created it) or add
a short description to help you remember whom the account belongs to.
UP TO SPEED: THE GUEST ACCOUNT
FileMaker has one built-in account called [Guest] that you can't rename or delete. Normally it's as-
signed to the [Read-Only Access] privilege set, but you can change it to any privilege set you want.
The [Guest] account is also normally
inactive
. In other words, it exists, but it doesn't work until you
turn it on.
If you want to let some people access your database even if they don't have an account, activate the
[Guest] account by turning on the checkbox by its name. (Or you can bring up the Edit Account dia-
log box and, in the Account Status option, choose “Active,” but that's more steps.) When the guest
account is turned on, the normal Log In dialog box includes a Guest Account radio button.
Someone can choose this option and then click OK without entering an account name or a password.
FileMaker gives her access according to the privilege set you assigned to the guest account.
You don't have to have an account called Admin, so most people avoid the security risk and
change that default account name right away. On the other hand, you
are
required to have an
account with full access. If you try to close the Manage Security dialog box without one,
then FileMaker will show a warning. Finally, each time you click OK, FileMaker wants to
make sure you know an account name and password with full access, so it asks you to enter
them. If you don't get it right, then FileMaker doesn't let you save your changes. This pass-
word box is the final layer of protection from losing your file forever, because once you for-
get a password, you have no way to retrieve it.
