Password protecting individual *.mm4 files

[cir]

Is it possible to protect each *.mm4 file with a different password?

[Mark]

Hi cir,

Yes, you could do this. When you assign a password (Options / General Preferences... / Data / Password Protect Data) that password is applied to all the *.mm4, *.dat, and clientdb.fmc (if using the Advisor version) files. If you're sharing those same files among multiple portfolio files you will have to enter multiple passwords when opening the other *.mm4 file. If the *.mm4 and *.dat files are all separate, then it would work more seamlessly.

[cir]

Hi Mark,

I'm still a confused so please bear with me while I will explain what I am trying to accomplish. I'm on the advisor version and would like to share FM remotely with an employee but don't the employee to have access to one of the sub-portfolios. One cannot password protect a sub-portfolio, correct? So I separated out the sub-portfolio into a new portfolio file called 2.mm4. I then installed FM onto my OneDrive and shared the Fund Manager folder (and all subfolders) with the employee. I then tried setting a different password for 1.mm4 and 2.mm4 but that didn't seem to work as each file took on the other files password depending on the order I opened the file in FM. What is the best way to accomplish my objective?

[Mark]

Hi cir,

Correct, you cannot password protect only certain sub-portfolios.

In this case it sounds like both .mm4 files contain the same investment files (since both have the same sub-portfolio/investments). You would end up needing to enter both passwords in some cases with this setup, depending on which portfolio was open when you last saved. I can't think of a clean way to do what you're describing using passwords and having all the data available. Here are some ideas:

- Have your employee work on a copy of the data you provide that only contains the files you want him/her to have. You can provide this by sending a *.FMB file with only your 2.mm4 file and data files. This will work okay if the employee doesn't need write access, back to the original files you maintain. If you want them to modify the files for you, then this wouldn't be ideal, as you'd have to copy back the data files after they were changed.

- Place the 2.mm4 and all the associated data files on your shared drive. Keep 1.mm4 and all other .dat files on your local drive, or somewhere else that is not shared. Set it up so that both 1.mm4 and 2.mm4 are referencing the shared *.dat from the shared drive. From within 1.mm4 you would use "File / Save Investment As..." to redirect each investment file to be saved at this shared drive location. This can get a little messy having data files in 2 locations, but it is possible to do, and would allow sharing only the desired data files.

[cir]

Unfortunately, neither option is efficient. Another way to accomplish my goal would be to share the folder but not share the 1.mm4 file within the folder. With OneDrive, you cannot restrict sharing within the shared folder so you must share all files. Do you or anyone reading this post know of any share service that permits shared folders where you can remove a sharing permission for specific files?

[Mark]

Hi cir,

I don't know of such a sharing feature offered, but I really haven't investigated.

Not sharing just the 1.mm4 file wouldn't prevent the employee from accessing all the *.dat files directly. The .mm4 file contains all your sub-portfolios and their properties. The .dat files contain investment properties, and all their transactions. If the employee had access to all the .dat files, they can use "File / Open Investment(s)..." and open/edit them.

Maybe I can offer some other advice. Was there anything specific that you didn't like about this option?:

- Place the 2.mm4 and all the associated data files on your shared drive. Keep 1.mm4 and all other .dat files on your local drive, or somewhere else that is not shared. Set it up so that both 1.mm4 and 2.mm4 are referencing the shared *.dat from the shared drive. From within 1.mm4 you would use "File / Save Investment As..." to redirect each investment file to be saved at this shared drive location. This can get a little messy having data files in 2 locations, but it is possible to do, and would allow sharing only the desired data files.

[cir]

I will try this option. What is the best way to move the 1.mm4 and all associated .dat files to another folder?

[Mark]

Hi cir,

If you use "File / File Operations / Set Data Location..." you can move everything at once to a new folder. Do this from within 1.mm4 so you move all the data files too. Now, use the Portfolio Editor and change the location of only the investments in the sub-portfolio you want in 2.mm4. Select each investment, one at a time, and use "File / Save Investment As..." and direct it to the shared folder. You might want to use a new shared folder, that starts out empty, so you know exactly what you are sharing with this new approach. After you've directed all the investments in the shared sub-portfolio, select that sub-portfolio, and copy/paste it into a new portfolio file (2.mm4), which you save in the same shared folder. You should end up with the shared *.dat and 2.mm4 files in the shared folder, and everything else in your non-shared folder. The 1.mm4 should be pointing to *.dat files in both the shared and non-shared locations. The 2.mm4 file should be pointing to only the *.dat files in the shared folder. You might want to add the "Location" field in your Portfolio Editor view to help you see clearly where everything is located.

[cir]

One more idea that might make this easier for me to manage. With my Advisor license, can I use 2 copies of the FM.exe program? I would keep one on the share drive and use that one with 2.mm4 and use the local FM.exe with 1.mm4. Setup would be easy because I could just restore the backup of 2.mm4 to the local drive.

[Mark]

Hi cir,

You can use your same license on up to 3 PCs. A given license can only be in use on 1 PC at a time though.

[cir]

Hi Mark,

One at a time is not a problem. I am testing out two instances. I have a question about the best way to setup auto backup with running on OneDrive. What do you suggest the backup directory should be set to when running under Portfolio/cloud mode?

[Mark]

Hi cir,

A directory underneath where you have the FM.exe file stored is a good place. When using portable/cloud mode the autoback directory is specified relative to this FM.exe location. For example, if you have a folder called "autoback" in the same location as your FM.exe, you would specify the automatic backup location as:

.\autoback

where the "." means this folder, or the location of FM.exe.