Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Practical cases
Let’s suppose there are 2 types of users who need to access “remotely” (through a different
computer on a LAN) to Library DB (Database). These users are referred to as Librarian and
Student.
Let’s also suppose a simpler case, in which only Student need to access “remotely”, to a
centralized Library DB.
Different users
BIBLIO is thought to be used, by Librarian and Student, with different access levels, in any of the
following cases:
1.- Librarian and Student shared the SERVER, the computer where the Library DB is.
It is not recommended, but it is possible.
2.- Librarian uses the SERVER and Student can access to it to make searches about Library data,
t hrough other computers on a LAN (Clients)
3.- Librarian and Student share the same Client on a LAN so that:
When a Librarian uses a Client computer can make modifications on the SERVER. This situation
allows several Librarians, at the same time, to add new items from several computers (from
SERVER and from other Clients).
When Student use a Client computer, they can only make searches.on SERVER.
With Windows XP, security systems becomes more powerful on networked computers on a LAN
(and therefore, the complexity to configure them). Now, security and shared folder access are not
defined by passwords, like in Windows 98, but by the “privileges” that each user has in their
accounts. Therefore, the possibility to work from BIBLIO with remote computer data (SERVER)
means to configure properly, every single computer on a LAN (This was not necessary with
Windows 98).
Requirements to share folders and grant privileges with Windows XP
BIBLIO installation
Installing a new program under Windows XP means to start a session as Administrator. If you try
to install a program and you do not have Administrator privileges (f.e. if you do it using a Guest or
Limited account) BIBLIO could be not installed properly.
When BIBLIO is installed, by default, uses C:\Biblio folder (It is not recommended to change it).
NOTE: To use BIBLIO on a LAN, it is necessary to install it, on every single LAN computer in which
it is going to be used (SERVER and Clients).
Once BIBLIO be installed, the first thing to do is, specially if it is going to be used by Librarian and
Student, to change or set up access passwords for each user.
1.- From Windows XP desktop, click Start, select Programs, select Biblio entry and then BIBLIO
2.- Select English language by clicking the British flag.
3.- Enter access password. By default, biblio
4.- Click Settings Menu and then click Edit access passwords
5.- Change Librarian access password, by default is biblio and is known by everybody.
6.- Create an access password for Student. To do this easily, the password could be student.
NOTE: To make things easy, it is convenient to use the same access passwords in every single
computer and for the same access levels.
Creating user accounts
In SERVER computer.
This computer should be used, by default, by Librarian and it is where the Library DB is. In this
computer we need to create 2 accounts, corresponding to the 2 users who could need access to
SERVER from other computers on a LAN. These 2 accounts should be named Librarian and
Student.
NOTE: If you are completely sure that Student are going to access to SERVER through other
computers on a LAN, we could create just one account named Student.
If not…
1.- Start session as Administrator to create new user accounts.
2.- From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, go to Control Panel, click User accounts, and
then click Create a new account.
3.- Create 2 new accounts and name them Librarian and Student.
NOTE: These 2 new user accounts must have the following features:
• Librarian account: It must be as Administrator (or Limited) and MUST have a password.
• Student account: It must be Limited and MUST have a password.
To create an access password on a user account, do the following:
1.- From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, then go to Control Panel,
and then go to User accounts.
2.- Select the user account in which you want to create a password.
3.- Click option Create a password.
In Client computer(s)
In Client computer(s), that is, that or those computers on a LAN that will be used by Student (or by
other Librarian) to access to Library data, you must create the same 2 accounts (Librarian and
Student) following the same steps described above for Server computer.
• If you start session as Administrator, from Windows XP Desktop, click Start, select
Programs, go to Biblio entry and click Biblio.
• If you start session with a limited account (f.i. Student), it is possible to get error messages,
if C:\Biblio folder was created by the Administrator (when making the installation), as the
Administrator is the “proprietor” of that folder. Another user with a different access level
(Student, for example) could be not authorized to work (or modify) existing files, and
therefore get error messages.
To fix this situation and make BIBLIO program available for the Administrator and for other users
with Limited accounts (Student), read ahead Section named: Security: Assigning privileges to
different users.
Under a shared disk drive or folder, will always be displayed a hand to know that disk drive
or folder is shared with other PCs on a LAN.
It is not possible (by default) to make a read-only folder for some users (Student) and full control
for others (Librarian). But yes, it is possible. To do this, keep on reading this manual…
Activating advanced options to share folders
To fix the problem described above, you need to active advanced options to share folders.
Now you are going to share C:\Biblio folder, that it is on SERVER computer, with other users on a
LAN. You will need to start session as Administrator to be able to make the following changes.
2.- If you have other hard disks on your PC, and you consider it necessary, you can repeat
the previous step, with every single hard disk present on your PC (C:, D:,…).
On SERVER computer.
With these settings on SERVER computer, Librarian will have permissions to read and write
(modify) existing data on C:\Biblio folder, while Student will be able just to read (and not modify).
On Client computer(s).
1.- Librarian account: You will grant it four permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents,
Read and Write.
2.- Student account: You will grant it four permissions: Read & Execute, List Folder Contents and
Read and Write.
With these settings on Clients computer(s), both Librarian and Student will have permissions to
read and write (modify) existing data on C:\Biblio folder, but just from Clients computer(s).
Assigning special attributes to individual files
NOTE: Next procedure is NOT necessary, as C:\Biblio folder is read-only for Students (Impossible
to modify data). It is described to enhance network configuration knowledge for all possible users
of BIBLIO.
To prevent Student accounts from deleting or modifying existing data on SERVER C:\Biblio folder
from other computer(s) on a LAN, you need to assign read-only attribute to specific files on this
folder.
Do the following:
Following are described the steps to remote access to SERVER from other computer on a LAN,
both to make searches (Student) and to make loans, add new items, etc. (Librarian or a second
Librarian).
2.- Run BIBLIO and enter the access password according to user.
It is recommended to make this process simple to set “student” as password for Students.
3.- Once BIBLIO is running, click Settings Menu and then click Use DB in Local Network Mode.
4.- When prompted with the Select a Database window, click My Network Places icon.
5.- Double click the PC to connect to, that is, the Library SERVER computer.
NOTE: Once a first connection to SERVER is established, connection data are saved, so next time
you want to establish the same connection, just confirm you want to connect using saved data.
NOTE: If different users, with different access privileges (Librarian and Student), want to use the
same computer, once a user stops working with BIBLIO, he must close his session and next user
starts a different one, with a different user account.
Troubleshooting
It is important to remember that these “technical” procedures described above, related to folder
sharing on a LAN, must be done by advanced users on networking configuration, to prevent
possible errors when BIBLIO runs or data loss due to lack of security or inadequate use from users
who could remotely access to C:\Biblio folder.
It is advisable to check out the proper running of BIBLIO on a LAN, before letting Students work
with it and verify that it is impossible to delete data from a remote computer.
It is possible, after following the procedures and steps described in this manual, to get “Locked
Database” error messages when running BIBLIO or trying to connect to Server computer. Also you
could be prompted with “Database is in use by another user” error message. To avoid these error
messages, check out you have done, step by step, the procedures described above, and if
necessary, delete and create again the user accounts, starting from scratch.
For those who think that the configuration described above is too complex, there is another
solution, easier, that will work on most cases without problems, but with limitations.
In which cases can it be used this alternative solution to share C:\Biblio folder?
If these are your circumstances, on most cases they are, do the following:
1.- In Server computer (Librarian’s), copy C:\Biblio folder (where BIBLIO files are) and paste it
inside Shared Documents folder.
2.- In Client computer, used to make searches, establish a remote connection to C:\Biblio folder,
located now inside Shared Documents folder on remote Server.
3.- Every day, when stop working with BIBLIO, or after making massive changes on Library
Database (adding new items, loans, modifications), copy and paste C:\Biblio folder data inside
C:\Biblio folder created inside Shared Documents folder on Server.
Best regards,
José A. Graña.