Document administrator facility

[Digital Services]

Hi,

I've got a Word document with different areas which can be 'signed'.
The 'signing' is done by clicking a button on the document which then shows
a form asking for the user's Windows NT log-in ID and password. Once
authenticated, some text is inserted and the button disabled.

Each area to be 'signed' is restricted to certain User IDs, which are
hardcoded within the VB code. This brings the problem of maintenance of the
document/code. What if a someone needs to sign an area and they are not in
the list for that area? At the moment I have to modify the VB code
containing the User IDs.

I would like to set up some sort of administrator facility so that it would
be easy to modify the User IDs, which should ideally be held in a separate
file.

Any ideas how to do this?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Word Heretic]

G'day "Digital Services" <[email protected]>,

You have a .txt file on the server in a folder where only you have
write priveleges. All docs look to that file to get the list of
userids. You store permission flags after each userid. These can be
simple as Manager, Writer, Softie or you can use keywords with comma
delimiters or or or

Hi,

I've got a Word document with different areas which can be 'signed'.
The 'signing' is done by clicking a button on the document which then shows
a form asking for the user's Windows NT log-in ID and password. Once
authenticated, some text is inserted and the button disabled.

Each area to be 'signed' is restricted to certain User IDs, which are
hardcoded within the VB code. This brings the problem of maintenance of the
document/code. What if a someone needs to sign an area and they are not in
the list for that area? At the moment I have to modify the VB code
containing the User IDs.

I would like to set up some sort of administrator facility so that it would
be easy to modify the User IDs, which should ideally be held in a separate
file.

Any ideas how to do this?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve Hudson

Word Heretic, Sydney, Australia
Tricky stuff with Word or words for you.
Email (e-mail address removed)
Products http://www.geocities.com/word_heretic/products.html

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[Digital Services]

Yes, thanks for that, a nice and easy solution.
Presumably anyone using the document would require read access to the .txt
file.

 

[Digital Services]

Hi Jean-Guy,

Thanks for your reply. I was aware of the flaws you mentioned in the
security of Word documents and what I have produced is not meant to be a
highly secure solution.

We wanted a simple method to approve internal electronic documents and so
reduce the vast paper mountain in the office. The security level is at
least as high as its paper equivalent - someone could easily copy my
handwritten signature.

I used the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - How to Validate User
Credentials from Visual Basic by Using SSPI
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279815

Cheers, Steve

 

[Word Heretic]

G'day "JGM" <nospam@leavemealone>,

<coughs politely>


..txt my friend

Hi Steve,

Unless you have a very specific context.... I would be
very careful about using Word to produce "Secure"
documents.
For instance, Let's say DocA was produced using real
signatures, and then distributed. Now, I want to produce
DocB with a signature from DocA, but I do not have the
rights... So, I insert DocA in DocC, I select the
signature (Which is not protected anymore), copy it and
then paste it in DocB. So I have a signed document, even
if I did not have the rights... And iF DocB is protected
(so I cannot paste the copied signature), then I insert
DocB in DocD, which unprotects DocB, then I paste the
signature, protect the document and save it as DocB...
Of course, you could set up all kinds of flags and
checks, but it becomes very difficult. I think that any
half knowledgeable Word User can find a way to bypass
security that is managed within Word...

On the other hand, if you truly have a system that works
(and that is no a state secret!), I would like to know
how you did it because I sometimes have clients that
request something like that. You can e-mail me if you
want (address below).

TIA
Cheers.

Steve Hudson

Word Heretic, Sydney, Australia
Tricky stuff with Word or words for you.
Email (e-mail address removed)
Products http://www.geocities.com/word_heretic/products.html

Replies offlist may require payment.

 

[JGM]

Hey Steve!

It's OK, you do not have to be careful... I can take it!

I had not thought about just changing the type of document to .txt... It's
even easier, except that you would loose all formatting, so I guess you
could save it as .rtf and keep the formatting... and destroy all the
security/macros...

Thanks for the input.

 

[Word Heretic]

G'day "JGM" <[email protected]>,

Yup - if formatting is important. I normally store all this
boilerplate stuff as autotext in a global template.

My Word Spellbook has an extensive section on implementing boilerplate
text using Word functions.

Hey Steve!

It's OK, you do not have to be careful... I can take it!

I had not thought about just changing the type of document to .txt... It's
even easier, except that you would loose all formatting, so I guess you
could save it as .rtf and keep the formatting... and destroy all the
security/macros...

Thanks for the input.

Steve Hudson

Word Heretic, Sydney, Australia
Tricky stuff with Word or words for you.
Email (e-mail address removed)
Products http://www.geocities.com/word_heretic/products.html

Replies offlist may require payment.