FileMaker Pro 13: The Missing Manual

Chapter 18. Adding Security

FileMaker is all about easy access to information. But that’s a double-edged sword. If you don’t add security, every person who uses your database has unrestricted access and can add data, tables, and scripts as freely as you can. Of course, you can take all the usual precautions (give your computer a password, install virus protection software, lock your office door, and so on). But the minute you let anyone else into the database, you have all kinds of security challenges. Mike in Accounting is free to rename or edit all your scripts if he so desires. And Kelly in Sales can delete all those “old” order records that are getting in her way. Fortunately, FileMaker has features of its own that give you a fine level of control, so you can let selected people use your database to the fullest, while keeping important information, and your database’s structure, out of harm’s way.

Note

You may be tempted to think you don’t have to worry about security. But the best time to protect your data is before you have a problem. If you wait until your database grows big and complex before adding security, then it’ll take you longer to build the security you need.

How Security Works

FileMaker’s security system has two primary levels of control: who can get into your database in the first place; and what they can do once they’re there. You determine who gets access to your database by setting up user accounts, and you control what each person can do by assigning privilege ...