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Access 2007 Security Options:

Security has always been an important part of database programs, and it is important for users of the new Microsoft Access 2007 database program to take a good look at the ways in which security has been changed and enhanced in this new version.

The new Access 2007 allows database developers the ability to quickly and easily lock down their creations without sacrificing the user friendly features of the program. The ability to enhance security is one of the most powerful features of the program, and one that database administrators and other IT professionals will definitely appreciate.

The ACCDB file formats do not support security as previous version of Access, and Access 2007 does not provide the interface to manage security for MDBs. Use tables attached to a database that has security (SQL Server, MySQL, ...), or attach tables from an MDB and manage them in an older version of Access. The ACCDB format does also not support replication. If you need either of these features, you should stick with MDB format for the time being. *.mdw files are supported for 2003 format dbs but not accdb.

Users of previous versions of Access are no doubt already familiar with file locking. When an Access database is opened, the file locking is controlled by a locking file, with an extension of ldb. This ldb file controls file locking and prevents changes to production areas of the database while other users have it open. The ldb file is automatically deleted after the last user closes the database.

Access 2007 does handle file locking a bit differently, however, and this new file handling represents an important step forward. Access 2007 maintains separate locking files for Access 2007 files and files created in earlier versions of the program. It is therefore possible to have both the mdb and accdb file open in Access 2007 at the same time without creating any conflicts in the locking file. Since two separate locking files are created there is no conflict.

Another change has taken place in what used to be the mde file format. That format has been replaced in Access 2007 with the accde file format. If the original database contained any VBA code, the resulting accde file will allow users to run that code but not make any changes, thus preventing VBA modules and other code from tampering or inadvertent changes.

The steps to create an accde file in Access 2007 are simple to understand and execute. In order to create the accde file, users should:

• Open the database you want to save in accde format
• Go to the database tools tab in the database tools group, then click Make ACCDE
• Within the Save As dialog box, browse to the folder where the accde file will be created and click Save.

The newest version of Access also provides users with the ability to link a table from an earlier Access version to a database in the new version. However, users cannot link a table from a later version of Access to a database created in an earlier version. For instance, users can link from an accdb database to tables in another accdb database, or to tables within an mdb database, but it is not possible to link from an mdb database to an accdb database. This is an important distinction that all database administrators and IT professionals should be aware of.

In addition, Access 2007 does not support replication, but Access 2007 can be used to replicate databases which were created in previous versions of the program.

Now is the time for database administrators, database developers and ordinary users to understand and prepare for these important changes. Access 2007 represents a major change from earlier versions, and it is important to get ready for those changes.