Account Management
When developing a FileMaker solution, you often want a system where the distribution of labor is such that other administrators can create and manage the users of that system. It can't always come back to the developer who has the only Full Access account.
When considering FileMaker's authentication methods, you basically have three options. Internal, external and third party. The external option is typically Active Directory on Windows or OpenDirectory on Macintosh. The newer third party options are from Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
However, with both external and third party, you have to manage users and their passwords outside of the FileMaker space. If you're wanting to use FileMaker itself to mange users and passwords, then you'll be using FileMaker's internal accounts. The trick is to have a way to manage those accounts within your database. And, that's up to you to both create and manage.
This video is about using a dedicated Users table and how you can securely manage the communication between your table of users and the actual users list within FileMaker's internal accounts. Need to provide a secure method of allowing certain users the ability to create and delete accounts? This video will have the know-how you need.
Comments
Does not work with Role Manager
Hello Matt
Logenin as Manager I can add a new user. After login with the new user and changed the Password I can not see the added user in the table.
If I give to the Manager full access then the row is created. But this is not what we need to do.
Can you please verify in your technique file and give me some instructions how to fix this?
Kind regards
Philipp
The newly created user has to login first.
Any newly created account will not show up in the Users table until that user first logs into the system.
You could modify the scripts so that the newly created account is added to the table, but then the record createdBy field will be from the account which created it and not the user's own account.
When a record is createdBy a given account then you can use that information within the Security settings to allow only the user who created a record to be able to modify it. This is a further extension of limiting a user to only controlling their specific record within the Users table. This is important when it comes to managing user preferences within a Users table.
I hope this helps to clarify things.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
Something is not working in this file
Using your solution as is after download.
When I create a new account, it is created and shows up in the Manage Security under accounts.
I then close the file and log in with the new account and am prompted to change the password.
After I do it will log in with the new Account (as is shown in the Form View layout) BUT the new account is not added to the list view, even after logging in again as an admin.
It seems as though the Users table is not getting a new record added with the new Account.
Any advice?
Thanks
Interface and data files
Hello Matt, nice and comprehensive. What I am lacking in the video is that every a little more advanced developer will most likely break his solution into data files and interface file. Adding users will result into them also not working for the same company anymore. How about creating a second video on how to streamline this onto several files (with adding and removing users?
Thank you
Extended privileges not working on while hosted
Hi Matt,
I added extended privileges to a block users from accessing some data. Running this on a local file, like your example works like a charm. When I put the file up on FMServer (17/18) the account still gets access.
Could you enlighten us?
Kind regards
Problem with new user login
Hi Matt,
Just tried to login as a new user, with Filemaker 19 all works fine until you come to the reset password here it keeps prompting the reset password dialog from filemaker and I have to force quit filemaker to get out of it, tried it with the technique file and with the file I created for myself both give the same problem unless I open the file as admin, what could the problem be?
HarperMac Marine Survey, learning to use filemaker for cargo survey purposed and was looking for a new challenge
Technique works well - just as question as to why it does
Hi Matt
I Uploaded your technique file to FMServer to test multiple users logging on. This works great thank you. What I don't understand is that the field Startup::ACCOUNTNAME is not a global field yet has a different value in each of the connections to the hosted file. How can this be?
Many thanks
Anthony
Anthony Dobson