HP 3000 Manuals

HP ALLBASE/4GL Developer Administration Manual

Menu Item Security 

The HP ALLBASE/4GL menu item security system allows you to restrict the
ability to select menu items in an application or version to particular
users or user groups.  Typically, you would use this facility to prevent
unauthorized users from executing menu items that allow access to
confidential files, or menu items that may be capable of initiating a
potentially damaging action such as deleting file records.

If an unauthorized end user attempts to execute a menu item that you have
secured, HP ALLBASE/4GL displays a message and does not allow the user to
execute the item.

You can only define menu item security for an application when it has
been installed at the end-user site.

The HP ALLBASE/4GL menu item security system depends on the user name
list in the HP ALLBASE/4GL system files.  Since the user name lists in
two different HP ALLBASE/4GL systems will not be the same, menu item
security definitions that are included with unloaded applications will
not refer to the correct user name list when the application is loaded
into the destination system.  If an unloaded application does include
menu item security definitions, you must redefine the menu item security
when the application is loaded into the target system.

The screens used to secure menu items are accessed through the user
validation menu.  To display this menu, select User Definition and 
Security on the administrator main menu.

Securing a Menu Item 

The process for securing an application or version menu involves several
steps.  First, you must nominate the application and the menu containing
the items you want to secure.  Then you must select the item to be
secured from the menu, and finally, enter a list of names of users or
user groups who can execute the secured item.

Menu Item Security Screen 

First, select Menu Item Security from the user validation menu.  HP
ALLBASE/4GL then displays the menu item security screen.

On the menu item security screen, enter the name of the application and
the name of the menu containing the item you want to secure.

If you want to secure several items in the application, you can specify
the main menu of the application.  You can then step through all the
menus in the application and secure items from any or all of them without
going back to the menu item security screen.

Press the  Commit Data  function key when you have entered the names of
the application and the menu on the menu item security screen.  HP
ALLBASE/4GL then displays the menu you have specified together with a
message stating that the menu is in security mode.


          Example Only 

The example screen above shows the main menu of the example application
as it appears in user security mode.


NOTE  The example application is included with HP ALLBASE/4GL and can be
      used to explore the various screens within the application.


While the menu is in user security mode, you can select items on the menu
in the normal manner using the terminal keyboard.  If any item on the
menu leads to a further menu, pressing the  Activate Item  function key
or Return executes the next menu.  If the item doesn't lead to a further
menu item HP ALLBASE/4GL displays the message No further menu items for 
this selection.

Select the item you want to secure and then press the  Set User Security  
function key.  This takes you to the menu item validation screen where
you can specify the users who may access the secured item.

Menu Item Validation Screen 


          Example Only 

The first four fields on the menu item validation screen are display-only
fields.  They show the name of the application or version, the name of
the menu, the name of the menu item you have selected, and the action
that the selected item performs in the application.

The next set of fields shows the valid users and user groups for the
secured menu item.  When you first enter this screen, the first field
contains the default entry *ALL. On subsequent occasions, these fields
show the names of eligible users for the menu item.

You can change any of these user names by typing over them, or you can
delete names from the list.  Note, however, that you cannot include user
names or group names in this list if they are not defined as authorized
users for the application or version.  That is, you can restrict access
to the item, but you can't make it available to additional users.

Press the  Commit Data  function key to confirm your entries.  HP
ALLBASE/4GL then updates the list of valid users for the secured menu
item.

By pressing the  Previous Menu  function key, you can return to the menu
you are securing.  You can now secure further menu items or exit from
user security mode.  To exit from user security mode, press the  Previous 
Menu  function key to return to the first menu in the application, and
then press the  ExitUser Security  function key.

Limitations 

The HP ALLBASE/4GL menu item security system can only secure items
selected from menus.  It cannot prevent users selecting items with the
menu bypass facility or via function keys.  This means that you must be
careful to apply menu item security at the lowest level menus in the
application.  These are the menus that lead directly to the item (data
screen or process) that you want to secure.

If the application menu structure allows users to access the same item
from more than one menu, you must be careful to apply menu item security
on every menu leading to the item.

You may also want to apply menu item security at higher levels in the
application menu hierarchy.  This is really only a courtesy to end users
who are not entitled to select menu items at the lower levels of the
hierarchy.  Securing the high level choices in the menu means that
non-eligible users are restricted before they have spent the time
selecting several levels of menu options.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation