End-User Security Setup for Windows Forms Menus

MM .NET makes it easy for end users to set up security for their application menus. The primary way of doing this is by means of Security Setup mode.

If application security is enabled and the user has the appropriate rights, a Security Setup menu bar appears in their File menu pad at run time:

This Security Setup menu bar is automatically added to your main form's menu by the MM .NET Windows Forms wizard.

At run time when the user selects this option from the menu, the application goes into "Security Setup" mode. If there are any menu bars that have been marked as secure (see the Help topic Securing Windows Forms Menus) these are displayed in red:

When the application is running in Security Setup mode, a check mark is displayed next to the Security Setup menu bar:

Specifying User and Role Rights

If you are in Security Setup mode at run time and click on a secure menu item, the User Security Setup dialog appears. The top pane of the dialog displays all system users and the bottom pane displays all roles.

You can select a user or role and then specify their access level for the current control: None, Read-Only or Full.

Setting the User Access Level

When you select a user in the upper list box, the access level setting indicates the actual access level the user has at run time for the current control. At run time, MM .NET determines a user's access level to a secure object by evaluating settings described in the Help topic Determining a User's Access Level.

Closing the User Security Setup dialog

When you close the User Security Setup dialog, the function normally performed by the menu bar occurs. For example, in the case of the Customer Orders menu bar, the Customer Orders form is launched:

You can then set security on the controls in your form as described in the Help topic End-User Security Setup for Controls.

Changing the Text Color of Secure Menus in Security Setup Mode

By default, secure menu items are displayed in red while running the application in Security Setup mode. This is accomplished by the mmMenuStripExtender class.

If you want to change the color of secure menu text in Security Setup mode, then follow these steps:

Select the mmMenuStripExtender object in the component tray
Go to the Property Window and select the SecureMenuItemColor property
Expand the associated combo box and select a different color: