Limiting user access to a database

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Limiting user access to a database

When a database is created, all users are automatically assigned to the database through the "All User Groups" matter, and granted whatever rights are defined in their user accounts. If you have a database to which you need to restrict access to only a specific group of users, you can do so by using the associations between matters, databases and user groups. There are several steps involved when you first setup the associations, but once it is done, adding and removing users becomes a very simple and manageable task.

If you need to set restricted field rights and menu access for specific users on a specific database, you can use the following steps to associate the users with the database through a matter, and then use the User Management feature to set the specific field rights and menu restrictions for those users in the database. For more details on the User Management feature, see Restricting user field rights and menu access on databases.

To Limit User Access to a Specific Database

Step 1:  Create a Matter

1.Open the Admin Console on the Concordance Desktop server where the database is registered.

i.See Accessing the administration console for instructions on opening the Admin Console.

2.Click the Management tab.

3.Right-click on the Matters folder and select New matter.

i.An empty field appears.

4.Type a short name for the matter in the field and press Enter.

i.The matter information appears in the right-hand pane, where the Name field displays the name you just entered.

5.Type a longer title or description for the matter in the Description field and press Enter.

The matter is now created.

Next you need to associate the database with the new matter.

Step 2:  Associate the Database with the Matter

To associate the database on which you need to limit user access, with the matter you just created, use a simply drag and drop action.

1.Double-click on the Databases folder to display the list of databases on the server.

2.Press and hold down the left mouse button on top of the database.

3.Drag the mouse until it is on top of the matter you just created, then release the button to drop the database onto the matter.

The database is now associated with the matter.

Next you need to create a user group that you can associate to the matter.

Step 3:  Create a User Group

To create a user group:

1.Right-click on the User Groups folder and select New usergroup.

i.An empty field appears.

2.Type a name for the user group in the field and press Enter.

3.Type a more descriptive name or description of the user group in the Description field in the right-hand pane.

The user group is now created.

Next you need to assign the user group to the matter associated with the database in which you want to limit user access.  

Step 4:  Assign Users to the User Group

1.If not already visible, double-click on the User Groups folder to display the list of user groups.

2.Double-click on the Users folder to display the list of users.

3.In the Users list, press and hold the mouse button down on a user name.

i.To select multiple users at once, use CTRL+click or SHIFT+click to select the names.

ii.Once they are all highlighted, release the CTRL or SHIFT key - the user names should remain highlighted. Place the mouse anywhere over the list of highlighted names and then press down and hold the left mouse button.

4.Drag the mouse until it is on top of the user group you just created, then release the button to drop the database onto the user group.

i.This action assigns the selected user(s) to the user group.

5.Repeat steps 3 and 4 to assign more users to the user group.

6.When finished, click the Synchronize now button.

The users who need access to the database are now assigned to the new user group.

Next you need to to associate this user group with the same matter with which you associated the database.

Step 5:  Associate the User Group with the Matter

1.Double-click on the Matters folder to display the list of matters.

2.If not already displayed, double-click on the User Groups folder to display the list of user groups.

3.Press and hold down the left mouse button on top of the user group to which you just assigned the users.

4.Drag the mouse until it is on top of the matter to which the database is associated, then release the button to drop the user group onto the matter.

The user group is now associated with the matter. All users in the group will have access to any databases associated with this same matter.

The final step is to remove the database from the "All User Groups" matter.

Step 6:  Remove the Database from the "All user Groups" Matter

The final step of the process is to remove the database from the "All User Groups" matter so that all other users on the Concordance Desktop server no longer have access to the database.

1.Double-click on the Matters folder to display the list of matters.

2.Double-click on the "All User Groups" matter to display the list of databases and user groups associated with it.

3.Locate the database for which you just created the new matter and user group.

4.Right-click on the database and select Remove Database from matter.

5.You are asked to confirm the removal, click Yes.

 

Once the matter, database, and user group are all setup and associated under the matter, making changes going forward involves only a simple drag and drop action to add users and a right-click on the user names in the user group to remove users.