design tweak possible?

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Guest

I designed my database, did some testing and it has been working fine. My
manager would like to have the database open to everyone in the department.
This will mean that the pay rate needs to be kept hidden. The payrate has
been on a subform attached to the date so any changes in pay won't affect the
accuracy of the charges.

If I move the pay rate field to the main form the problem is that any change
in the pay rate for previous weeks means the total charges will not be
accurate.

Is there a way I can get around this? My "in-the-box" thinking says I cannot
and I may have to export the data to Excel.

Cheers in advance.
 
If you have Pay Rates in the table, you have bigger problems than forms
because an Access database can be broken into easily unless you implement
user level security. Tables can be viewed independently of the application

I hope you don't have social security numbers in this table as well !!!
-Dorian
 
Split the database. Keep the back end on a secure server (which you should
anyway, considering the information that exists on the database). Make a
front end that will be distributed, that is locked to prevent anyone from
opening the tables on the back end, and only shows the forms that have the
information that you want people to see. Make a copy of the front end,
before you lock it down, so that you have a copy that you can modify when you
want to distribute a new front end to users.
 
This will mean that the pay rate needs to be kept hidden. The payrate has
been on a subform attached to the date so any changes in pay won't affect the
accuracy of the charges.
Click to expand...

You can make any field on a form or subform "not visible" so that people
can't see it. It is part of the properties menu.
 
Although thats not the answer I was looking, I will stay on the subject! I
have included start-up options that prevents people from looking at tables
and I have also included a password to enable the shift bypass for myself.

So how can tables be viewed independently of Access? As far as I am aware
nobody else in the department has that level of Access knowledge.
 
I have included start-up options that prevents people from looking at tables
and I have also included a password to enable the shift bypass for myself.
So how can tables be viewed independently of Access? As far as I am aware
nobody else in the department has that level of Access knowledge.
Click to expand...

http://www.tomdownload.com/utilities/security_encryption/access_password_recovery_master.htm

Access Password Recovery Master, $19.95

Do not underestimate the ability of people to be curious. This software
doesn't require any knowledge other than the ability to do a google search
and pay $20 to someone.

Better to split your database, and then publish your information in an
abbreviated form as a web page that is only accessible from inside the
company. I assume that the only information you want to show is a person's
name, and the time they have worked, which is pretty trivial to put into a
web page. Simply work with your IT people, they can limit who can view any
particular share on your company server.

If you show the time they worked and how much they got paid for it, then
that is the same as advertising what their hourly wage is.
 
It sounds very appealing but when it comes to something of this complexity I
don't know where to start. The database is on a shared-drive at the moment.

The main table is for employee info and there are two subforms: one of
temporary staff and one for permanent staff. The hours would be added on a
weekly basis (or daily basis as I am now considering). I could put the front
end on to the company intranet as a web page which would look great but I am
not sure how I would deal with the way I have the forms at the moment.







http://www.tomdownload.com/utilities/security_encryption/access_password_recovery_master.htm
 
If you haven't split your database, this may be a good time to do that. Go
to the Tools menu, choose Database Utilities, and then click Database
Splitter. A wizard will come up that walks you through the process. You
will then have your tables in the back end, and queries/forms/reports in the
front end. Place the back end on your shared drive. Open your front end
database, go to the Tools menu, choose Database Utilities, and then click
Linked Table Manager. You will need to update the path to your tables to
where the back end is on the shared drive.

Now, in the front end, create some new forms (probably just make copies of
your current forms), that will be the forms that can be seen by your fellow
workers. Go in and simplify the forms, so that they only contain the fields
that should be seen by everyone. Probably just name and hours worked, I
would imagine.

The problem is, who will be entering time for people? If just one person
enters time, then that simplifies the problem, because the front end that you
distribute to everyone else can be locked so that no entries can be made.
They will be read-only. If everyone is to enter their own time, then you
have the problem of people entering the wrong time, or people entering time
for someone else. Would be simpler to have one data-entry person, but allow
everyone to see the times that are being entered.

Once you have forms set up, you can just make copies of them, and then
modify them for a particular application. You are not limited to just a few
forms.
 
Just a thought: Make sure that you are backing up your database regularly.
While you are doing development, do it several times a day. Once it is being
used in production, then once a day, or once a week, would be good.

Access immediately processes changes that you make. This is both good and
bad. It is possible to completely ruin a form or report, and if you haven't
backed up the database, then you must simply make the form/report from
scratch. It is also possible to delete data permanently. Backup early,
backup often.
 
I would create a third mdb backend that would have the sensitive data (pay
rate, ss #, etc.) Only the frontends that should have this data would have
access to this BE. All FEs would have acces to the BE with the other data.
This way the data is hidden completely to snoopers to the non-sensitive FE's.
Set the Window's permissions on the sensitive to allow access by only those
users who need it.
I believe that all of the methods presented so far could be circumvented by
anyone who really wanted to.
 
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