(ORG-8018) Project Protection with Admin Password

We have introduced the concept of Admin Mode to the Origin Project, with an Admin password. Once a project is protected by a password, worksheet and workbook protection features can be accessed only after user has logined with the admin password. We have also added LabTalk access to protect books and sheets.

App Title Bar Indication of Admin Mode

Normally, Origin title bar looks like this

there is a "-" that separates the 32/64 bit and the path of the file. To save space, we are just changing this "-" character to indicate Admin status.

For OPJ file that has added Admin password, the "-" character will be replaced by the "@" character before you enter the Admin password to login, like this

After login, the "@" character is replaced by the "=" character, like this

Admin Mode LabTalk Commands

The following is a listing of the currently supported doc commands control the Admin mode. Text inside square brackets indicate.

Command	Description	Examples
`doc -pwa [password]`	Add Admin password password to the project. You will still need to login after adding password to turn on Admin mode. When you do not specify a password, then "origin" is assumed. Not using password will help situation where security is not so much of a concern and not running the risk of forgetting the password used.	`doc -pwa` `doc -pwa test`
`doc -pw [password]`	login with password, if no Admin password added yet, error message will be shown	doc -pw; doc -pw test;
`doc -pwx`	logout, once logout, cannot change anything related to protections
`doc -pwta`	list all the book/sheets with protection turned on
`doc -pwr [password]`	remove password, if no password specified, then must login first to do so, otherwise must give correct password	doc -pwr;

After a command is entered, you App title will change accordingly, so will the status bar to indicate current status.

Protection Flags

Various objects like worksheet, workbooks can be assigned different protection flags. These flags are listed in the following table

Hex Value	Description
2	Data: This include all the cells in a worksheet, data cells or label cells
4	Style: Display style, like the color of the cell, or the cell formatting, this is currently not yet fully implemented
10	Formula: Column Formula, Analysis Operation, Codes attached to Project etc. (Not Ready)
80	Structure: This include like the number of rows and columns in a worksheet. inserting, deleting etc.
100	Rename: For sheet, to prevent user to change a sheet's name
400	Delete: Prevent the object from being deleted

Protection Commands

You can use the following labtalk commands to look a sheet of a book. If Admin password has not been set, these commands will work fine. Once Admin password is set, then you must login first before using these commands.

Multiple protection flags can be combined as can be seen in the examples.

There is a general inheritance rule on protection flags. Once you set protection on a book, then all sheets inside the book will inherent the flags from the book. The exception to this rule is Delete, you must separately control book and sheet delete flag, like you may want the book not to allow delete but individual sheet may allow.

Command	Description	Examples
`layer -lw n`	set worksheet write access flags	`lay -lw hex(82);//set active sheet to protect data and structure` `lay -lw;//protect everything` `lay -lw 2;// protect only data` `lay -lw hex(180);//no insert/del col/rows, no worksheet rename` `lay -lw 0;//remove all the protections on the current sheet`
`layer -lt`	print out current protection flags
`page -lw n`	set workbook write access flags	//the following will prepare the book for locking active sheet but allow analysis results added to book `lay -lw hex(482);//no del, no add/insert/move col/rows, no edit data` `page -lw hex(400);//no del book`
`page -lt`	print out the current protection flags	`page -lw;`//lock book and all sheets, nothing can be change and cannot delete book or sheets `page -lw hex(400);`//prevent user deleting the book `page -lw;` //lock the book completely, cannot even delete `page -lw hex(482);` //lock delete, structure change and data edit

Admin Mode and Saving of OPJ

Once a project has Admin Mode enabled, namely Admin password has been set, it can no longer be overwritten from Origin without login. When an Admin enabled OPJ is open and before login, you may modify the OPJ in unprotected area and see the * added to the App title, to indicate dirtiness of the OPJ, but you will not be able to save the OPJ. You can also just exit Origin with a dirty OPJ and will not be prompted to save.

To modify and save an Admin enabled OPJ, you must first login with the Admin password.

Protecting Graphs

Even though the script commands described here were implemented for workbook and worksheet, the Delete flag is general and can be used in graphs as well. For example:

//only graph4 will be kept repeat 10 {win -t plot}; win -o graph4 {page -lw hex(400)}; doc -e P {win -c};

Script Example

The following script sets up a workbook with a locked data sheet, and the workbook is also protected from deletion. The OPJ can then be saved and shared with others who can view, graph, and analyze the data, but cannot edit or delete. Analysis results need to go to additional sheets, so routines such as Smooth should use settings to send output to another sheet, as the data sheet will be protected in this example from any modifications.

// Import a sample file newbook; string fname$=system.path.program$+"Samples\Curve Fitting\Gaussian.dat"; impasc;

// Set password and login - change mypwd to your desired password string doc -pwa mypwd; doc -pw mypwd;

// Protect data sheet structure, prevent editing, deleting lay -lw hex(482); // Protect page from deletion page -lw hex(400);

// logout doc -pwx;

// Now you can save the OPJ and others can view data, graph, and also analyze // Analysis results can go into new sheets, not new cols in same sheet

Workbook Protection