Advanced Access Password Recovery: README
=========================================

Contents
--------

  Program information
  Company information
  Description
  Installation
  Requirements
  Usage
  Error messages
  Future enhancements
  Technical support
  Registration
  Copyright and license
  Where to get the latest version


Program information
-------------------

Program Archive Name:
  acpr.zip
Program Name:
  Advanced Access Password Recovery
Program Version:
  1.1
Program Release Date:
  Ocober 16, 1998
Program Description:
  Retrieves the password for MS Access 95/97 database
Target OS:
  Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 5.0 (Beta)
Software type:
  Shareware ($10)


Company information
-------------------

Company Name:
  Elcom Ltd
Contact E-mail Address:
  support@elcomsoft.com
Contact WWW URL:
  http://www.elcomsoft.com
Contact Postal Address:
  2-171 generala Antonova St.
  Moscow 117279 Russia


Description
-----------

This program (Advanced Access Password Recovery, or simply
ACPR) can be used to recover your lost password for Microsoft
Access 95/97 database. In addition, it can remove the password
from the database, or change it to another (your) one.


Installation
------------

No installation is required. Just put the "acpr.exe" into the
folder of your choice, and that's all.


Requirements
------------

- Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT 5.0
  (beta) running on x86 CPU
- about 100 kilobytes of hard disk space
- Microsoft Access 95/97 database you forgot the password for :)


Usage
-----

The program is a console application and therefore has to be
executed from the command prompt. The syntax is quite simple:

>ACPR [options] database-filename

where the options are:
  -d	remove password
  -c	change password

Please note that the options are exclusive (i.e. cannot be used
together) and available in registered version only.

If you don't supply any options, the program just displays the
password for the given file:

"The password for "test.mdb" is "TopSecret" (without quotes)."

Alternatively, the program may inform you that the given
database is not password-protected.

If you'd like to remove password from the database, use the '-d'
option:

>ACPR -d test.mdb

On success, the program displays the message like this:

The password for "test.mdb" has been removed.

In addition, you can change the password for the database --
that's what '-c' option for. Use the following syntax:

>ACPR -c test.mdb

The program will prompt you for the new password. Just type
it and hit enter; for safety, you'll need to enter it again.
When the password is changed, the following message is
displayed:

The password for \"%s\" has been changed to \"%s\".

Please note, that if you remove the password protection from
the database or change the password, the backup of original
database is always created (in the same folder where the
original file is, and with the same name, but with .bak
extension). Please don't delete this file, until you are
sure that the new (updated) file, created by ACPR, is OK
and you don't have any problems opening and using it.


Error messages
--------------

- Cannot open file "<filename>".

  The program cannot open the given file. Please check the path
  you've entered; note that the file extension is mandatory.

- Cannot open file "<filename>" for writing.

  The database (or the disk where it is located) is read-only.

- File "<filename>" is not an Access 95/97 database.

  The given file is not a valid database, or the database is
  corrupted, or created with newer/older version of Microsoft
  Access (which is not supported by ACPR).

- Error reading file "<filename>".
- Error writing file "<filename>".

  File or disk I/O error occured. Please check you disk for
  errors and try again. If you'll get the same problem, contact
  us for help.

- Cannot create backup copy of file "<filename>".

  The backup copy of original database cannot be created. The most
  common reason for that is: not enough space on disk.

- File "<filename>" is not password-protected.

  The given database doesn't have a password at all.

- The password should be from 1 to 13 characters long, please try again.

  The maximum password length is 13 characters. That's not an
  ACPR limitation -- instead, that's a Microsoft Access one.


Future enhancements
-------------------

We know that the can be improved, and here are some facilities
we're going to implement:

- user interface (GUI)
- cracking passwords for users and groups

If you have any ideas what else have to be implemented, please
don't hesitate to contact us! Your comments are very appreciated.


Technical support
-----------------

For technical support, please contact Mr.Vladimir Katalov
at support@elcomsoft.com.


Registration
------------

This program is distributed as shareware (look at "license.txt"
for details). Being unregistered, it shows only first three
chars of the database password (the other chars are replaced
with stars), and doesn't allow to change and remove the password.

After you register (look at "order.txt" for details), we'll
send you your personal registration code. You have to apply it
to the program using the special "/register" switch in the
command line:

>ACPR /register

The program will display the dialog asking you to enter the code;
after you do so (you can use cut'n'paste to avoid typing
errors), it will have full functionality.

Please note that your registration will be valid for all future
versions of ACPR -- it means, that they will be free for you.


Copyright and license
---------------------

See "license.txt" file.


Where to get the latest version
-------------------------------

The latest version of ACPR is always available from our
web page at:

http://www.elcomsoft.com/acpr.html

Please also look at other password recovery products made
by our company:

http://www.elcomsoft.com/prs.html
