About accounts, privilege sets, and extended privileges
You use accounts,
privilege sets and
extended privileges to protect FileMaker Pro database files.
Accounts authenticate users who are attempting to open a protected file. Each account specifies an account name and (usually) a password. Any user that cannot specify valid account information won’t be able to open a protected file.
You may want to create an account for every individual who accesses a file, or you may want to create a small number of accounts that are shared among many individuals, such as a “Marketing” account and a “Sales” account:
If you host files on FileMaker Server, you can create External Server accounts that obtain authentication information from an authentication server such as an Apple OpenDirectory or Windows Domain. This allows you to use a centrally managed user directory that may already be in use to manage access to other network resources such as file servers. For more information, see
Creating accounts that authenticate via an external server.
A privilege set specifies a level of access to a database file. When you create a privilege set, there are many options available that you can use to limit database access, such as which
layouts are viewable, which menus are available, and whether printing is permitted. Privilege sets can also restrict access to particular
tables,
records, or
fields within a file. Each account is assigned a privilege set, which determines the level of access when someone opens a file using that account.
You can create as many privilege sets as you need to define the types of access you want to permit to a file. Each database file contains three predefined privilege sets for common types of access levels.
The following table lists the default extended privileges that are available. (FileMaker as well as third-party developers may define additional extended privileges to manage access to other software products designed to work with FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server.)
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Opening a shared file (either a file shared by FileMaker Pro or hosted and shared by FileMaker Server).
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Accessing a file in FileMaker Go without having to re-login after file hibernation or after using a different app. The default time is 10 minutes; maximum time is 10080 minutes (one week) - FileMaker Go only.
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When a user attempts to open or access a protected file using one of the above methods, the user will be prompted to provide account information. If the privilege set for the account does not permit the type of extended privilege access the user is requesting, the user will get an error indicating that they cannot access the file in that way.