Password Masks

[T-Square]

I've searched the forums for information about using a mask to hide user input to password type fields, but not found anything.

I'm in the process of setting up a Separation Model system to have a secured back end. Because it's a SM app, the Accounts and privileges can't be globally set, since the clients will be adding their user information to the back end only. Therefore, I was planning on having the UI file open and then prompt the user (on a normal layout) for a user name and password, which will then be used to log in to the back end. But I don't see any way of masking the user input on the password field. I have tried setting the field's foreground to the background color, but the text is still visible when selected. I also tried using a second calc field to overlay asterisks, but that wasn't very effective.

Does anyone have suggestions?

Thanks!

David

[comment]

This option is available in Custom Dialog.

[Genx]

Get bullet font - make sure that on file open you log the user in as an ultra low privelege user that will only have access to entering data into the username / password fields --> i.e. so they can't copy data out of them to an external app.

Alternatievely, simply use a white font (if your fields bg is white) --> I was for a while, no one really had a whinge, but bullet font is wayyyyy better.

[T-Square]

Comment--

Custom dialogs aren't IWP compatible, which I need--something I neglected to mention before. Sorry.

Genx--I am trying your first suggestion, using dingbats. I'll have to thrash on it a bit to see whether there are other troubles. The white font trick didn't work for me. The text was clearly visible when the user clicked in the field.

Cheers,

David

[Genx]

I'm not a hundred percent sure it will work with IWP, i force install the font when my application is installed so... Not a hundred percent sure it will work if the user doesn't have the font.

Strange about the white text, is the background white and select entire field contents turned off and the user just not allowed to do anything but enter data?

[T-Square]

Genx--

A quick check on my other machine showed the problem with fonts: what works on one platform doesn't on the other. With the greater detail you provided, I'll try the white font trick.

David

[Vaughan]

"Custom dialogs aren't IWP compatible, which I need--something I neglected to mention before."

Most of the other solutions such as bullet fonts won't work over the web either.

FMP 7 and 8 have very powerful security features. Surely you should be using these rather than trying to buld you own log-in system. None of there are ever very secure, not without an enormous amount of effort.

[Orlando]

I have done this in IWP by making the font about 9 or 10 point and changing the style to Superscript.

This makes the text look a little like starts and is generally unreadable.

Hope this helps.

Orlando

[T-Square]

FMP 7 and 8 have very powerful security features. Surely you should be using these rather than trying to buld you own log-in system. None of there are ever very secure, not without an enormous amount of effort.

Vaughan--

I agree with you completely about reinventing the wheel. However, as I noted in my original post, using a Separation Model makes it apparently not possible for me to use FM's built-in security without some sort of local add-on.

Specifically, I cannot insert accounts into the UI file, since it would preclude any further updates to the interface. So, I am trying to find a way to allow user-defined accounts (with pre-defined Privilege Sets) in the back end, without adding them in the UI file.

Or maybe I'm over-engineering, and there's a pathetically simple solution to my problem? God I hope so!

David

Edited July 11, 2006 by Guest

[Genx]

No you cannot add aditional accounts into the GUI in the front end - but think about it, how many could you possibly need -- all table access etc. is set in the backend - perhaps have in the front end only one account for each privilage set and just use get(privelegesetname) in the backend to set a global -- go to the front end, and based on that global, relogin to the appropriate account. While you cannot use get(accoutname) functions, you can store them on backend login into globals and utilize them as a replacement.

[Vaughan]

Who says you cannot add accounts to multiple file solutions, whether they be "separated" or otherwise?

All it takes is some scripting.

Alternatively use External Authentication.

[Genx]

Vaughan, i for some reason was assuming that there was a GUI on each clients computer and seem to have forgotten that IWP had the GUI on a remote system anyway - most likely in the same location as the backend file.