Special Considerations When Using Windows 95/98

This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

Access Workflow Designer team solutions depend on the functionality available in Windows NT, such as user accounts and log-on information. If your developer workstations or client computers are running Windows 95/98, there are issues to consider.

  • Windows NT and Windows 95/98 Log On

  • Using MSDE with Windows 95/98

  • Potential Replication Problems

  • Workflow Security Context and Execute Permissions

For additional installation and setup information, see the Readme files on the Microsoft Office Developer CD-ROM.

Windows NT and Windows 95/98 Log On

Access Workflow Designer depends on Windows NT user authentication to enforce security. For Windows 95/98 clients to provide consistent behavior with Windows NT clients, the Windows 95/98 clients must use the MS Network Client log-on option. This requires you to specify the same domain, user name, and password that is used when logged on to the Windows NT domain. When this requirement is satisfied, the Session.User property on a Windows 95/98 client returns the full domain\user name as on a Windows NT system.

The modUserList table in the modSystem database is populated with Windows NT domain users, identified by their Windows NT account name of the form domain\user. The Access Workflow Designer can use the domain\user to make user information available in a team solution and to enforce row-level security.

The user name explained earlier in this section is linked exclusively to the Windows NT operating system and is not dependent on SQL Server. As an example, the same domain\user is returned from Session.User even when the user is logged on to SQL Server as a local user, on Windows NT and Windows 95/98.

However, SQL Server depends on the Windows NT user name when using integrated security. In this case, the login name in SQL Server is the same as the Windows NT user name. In addition, the default database user name is the unqualified Windows NT user name (without the domain).

Access Workflow Designer does not guarantee the mapping of SQL Server login names and DBNames to the Session.User name or the user names when online and offline. When developing a team solution that uses SQL Server user names, it is the developer's responsibility to manage the mapping of the Windows NT accounts and SQL Server logins.

Using MSDE with Windows 95/98

By default, SQL Server Enterprise Manager does not work with Windows 95/98 servers using MSDE as the data store. You can make MSDE servers running Windows 95/98 available in Enterprise Manager.

To make MSDE servers available in SQL Server Enterprise Manager

  1. From the Start menu on the Windows NT Server computer where you have installed SQL Server, point to Programs, and then click Microsoft SQL Server 7.0.

  2. Select Client Network Utility.

  3. On the General tab, click Add to display the Add Network Library Configuration dialog box.

  4. In the Server alias field, type the name of the computer running Windows 95/98.

  5. Select the TCP/IP option if this protocol is used on your network.

  6. In the Computer name field, type the name of the computer running Windows 95/98. This should be the same name entered in step 4.

  7. Click OK.

Now, you can use the SQL Server Enterprise Manager to view and manage your MSDE databases on a computer running Windows 95/98.

Potential Replication Problems

When setting up replication, Access Workflow Designer establishes a named share called Repldata. On a distributor server running Windows NT, the snapshot folder defaults to using the <drive>$ share and a path of \\<computer>\<drive>$\Mssql7\Repldata. Users must have read permissions to this file share.

Workflow Security Context and Execute Permissions

The workflow engine runs both in-process and out-of-process and, therefore, always is run under a privileged security context.

  • When in-process, the workflow engine runs under the database owner (dbo) security context.

  • When out-of-process, the workflow engine runs under the security context of the user who installed the workflow engine component (typically the administrator).

Workflow permissions are enforced typically both in-process and out-of-process by impersonating the user in SQL Server and checking role membership.

****Note   ****Because user impersonation does not work in Windows 95/98, no workflow execute permissions are checked in Windows 95/98.