Privilege sets specify levels of access to a database, such as which layouts are viewable, which menus are available, and whether printing is permitted. See About accounts, privilege sets, and extended privileges.

You can create as many privilege sets as you need to define the types of access you want to permit to a file. Each database file also contains three predefined privilege sets for common types of access levels. See Using the predefined privilege sets. Then, you need to create or edit accounts so that they use the appropriate privilege sets. See Managing accounts.

To create and manage privilege sets for a file, you need to open the file with an account that is assigned the Full Access privilege set, which is the only privilege set that permits making privileges changes to a file. If you open the file with insufficient privileges, the File menu > Manage > Security command is disabled.

You can create and modify privilege sets in a shared file while clients are using it. The privilege set changes you make take effect immediately. However, the changes do not disrupt any current clients. For example, if you change privileges for a privilege set that is in use by one or more clients, their privileges remain unchanged until the next time they open the file.

The following table shows the actions you can perform on each predefined privilege set and any other privilege set used by an account.

* Before you delete any other privilege set, edit accounts so they no longer use the privilege set. See Creating and editing accounts.