HI
I’ve been using readers and authors fields for a while, and thought I knew all about their quirks but I’ve run into a new one or am I doing something wrong.
SCENARIO A:
Document has readers and authors fields, that are blank. Users with reader access to the database can’t view the docs but not switcth them to edit mode.
This is as expected.
SCENARIO B:
Docs has readers and authors fields. Both have values which are role names. A user with author access and the role to read but not the role to edit accesses the document and is allowed to read/open the document but not switch to edit mode.
This is as expected.
SCENARIO C:
Same as SCENARIO B but just make the user have reader access. Now the user can open and switch the document to edit mode!! Huh?!?!
Granted if they try and save it they get an error, but this is very strange for the end user and is not what is expected: Reader access means Reader access – no switching to editing allowed, as in the other scenarios.
Any ideas how to prevent the form from switching to edit mode for a user with reader access working with a document with an author field they are not listed in??
TIA
Mohib
Subject: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
Are the users with the “Write public documents” property enabled on ACL?
I have a similar problem, even with my form doesn’t available to public access users I see some readers and authors user changed restricted documents to edit mode because they were enabled to Write public documents.
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
You Sir, are a genius!!!THANK YOU
That’s exactly the problem – how much time did you waste finding that out.
I mean why is the same user as an author not allowed to switch to edit mode, but a reader is. What has this got to do with “Write public documents property” ???
Does any body really know what “Write public documents property” actually means??
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
Sure – a document can be made “public” by setting a field called “$Public” in the design, via code, or by using the security tab of the document properties. A reader (or someone with No Access at the ACL level) can be granted permission to read and/or write to public access documents (NOT to create them). That sort of skirts the ACL to a degree, but you can control access to a limited set of documents without having to raise the users’ overall access level.
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
Thanks.
Now the question is what else does the “Write public documents property” control that’s undocumented and drives us crazy until we figure it out???
For example, the issue that I ran into. What does that have to do with the “Write public documents property” attribute and $PublicAccess documents (which I don’t have)?
Another example, which I’ve run into, why is it that authors are not allowed to create or set profile documents unless they are given “Write public documents property”. Profile documents are the antithesis of what you just described “Write public documents property” is for and they are generally very “discreet”.
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
And here’s another example I just ran into and posted at message:
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd6forum.nsf/DateAllThreadedweb/5fd2869c697c484285256ea40027ee57?OpenDocument
It turns out that unless a user with reader access and who is mentioned in a reader field also has either “Write public documents” or “Repliate or Copy documents” options, they will not be able to see any documents where they are the readers.
Of course with the Write public documents access they can then go into edit mode, etc. as was the original topic of this post.
How do you give a person the ability to only read what you want them to, and not be able to copy anything?
These two options seem quite flaky when it comes to handling read access users.
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
In my opnion the biggest problem is the “Available to Public Access users” form property. For me it does not work correctly.
I think that only documents created using a form with that property enabled will be available to Public user, but what I really see is all the documents available to public access even if the form is not Available to Public Access enabled.
Another issue, the “Write public documents” property in ACL are enabled by default for each new user or when we change the the user access. So we have to always uncheck that property.
One last comment, in my databases (release 6.5.1) a public document can be edited by users with “Write public documents” enabled, but they can’t save it. I have found a lot of posts on this forum about this issue, but I never have seen a good explanation telling us if Public documents really works fine.
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
The control is based around a field in the document (not the form) called $Public being set to “1” (or True). If that is the situation, it’s a Public Document.
Seting the “Available to Public Access users” form property will effect all documents seved by that form after the change. It won’t effect existing documents (just like any other form change).
Subject: RE: Why are users with reader ACL access, but not listed in a document’s author field, allowed to switch it to edit mode??
If you have given someone the ability to “Write public documents” then Notes will allow them to put any document into Edit mode, as the database might set the document to public and allow them to save it.
Notes cannot know the intent of the database designer, so it has to allow for that case.
The “easy” answer is that if you don’t use pubic documents in your database, ensure that all ACL entries have that flag turned off.