Lotus Notes You are not authorized to access that database error: How to fix

Summary: This write-up explains the causes and possible solutions to fix Lotus Notes You are not authorized to access that database error. So, if you are working in a Lotus Notes environment and have faced the error message displaying “You are not authorized to access that database”, this article is a must-read.

NSF files which stand for Notes Storage Facility are the database files of IBM Notes which store mailbox items such as contacts, calendars, emails etc. An inbuilt feature in the email application is Access Control List (ACL) which contains a list of permissions associated with an object. The administrator can assign the provide the access rules to the local users so that they can access the file using this list. If the admin assigns the rules to the local users, then only the users have access to manage or open the database file. If a user who is trying to access the file but not having the privilege, they receive a Lotus Notes You are not authorized to access that database error.

Thus, It is clear that the issue occurs due to the lack of authorization to the user and the error message can be solved by providing access to the file to the user. There is also a second method i.e. to remove local security from the NSF file.

Causes of Lotus Notes You are not Authorized to access that database Error

As explained earlier, the main reason behind this error is the lack of authorization to the user. In this segment, we will capture various aspects.

1. The user account may have been shifted to another Domino server.
2. That specific user account doesn’t exist in the Domino Directory.
3. Admin accounts not having access to open the mail file. There may also be a situation that admin account has access to only some mailbox items due to issue in permission settings.

Remove the security to resolve the error as ‘You are not authorized to access that database’

Putting the password to a file to make it secured is necessary but at the same time, it may create hassles. As if there is a need to open such files in the absence of the administrator, there would be an issue which will be displayed in the form of error like:

• ‘You are not authorized to access that database’
• ‘Not authorized to access Lotus Notes database’
• ‘You are not authorized to access Lotus Notes database’
• ‘You are not authorized to perform that operation’

The error message that appears with the unauthorized attempt to open NSF file will create a pathetic situation in the absence of an administrator. Thus, to overcome the issue, it is necessary to remove the password to open the NSF files.

Solutions to troubleshoot Lotus Notes You are not authorized to access that database Error

Now, let’s learn the solutions to these causes one by one.

1. To fix this problem, ensure that the account exists in the directory of the Domino server.
2. Go through these steps if you notice that the user have a Domino server different from the admin account:

• Generate a new admin account on the same Domino server where the user account is situated.
• Provide Manager access for the files in the mailbox to the new admin account by enabling all the permissions explicitly.
• Now, start to migrate the mailbox items using the new admin account of IBM Lotus Notes.

3. Make sure the correct access is granted to the admin account.

• Confirm that the admin account is capable of opening the mail file.
• Check whether the error occurs or not while making an attempt to open directly the mail file directory. In that case, Give the Manager level access to admin account for the mail file. Also, enable all the permissions to fix Lotus Notes you are not authorized to perform that operation error.

Professional solution to fix the error You are not authorized to access that database

If you want the access to Lotus Notes database files, you can employ some third-party tool. If the administrator is not available and you are required to open the file on an urgent basis, removing the local security using a local security remover from the NSF file is the only available solution to gain such access without affecting the protection or encryption applied to it.

Conclusion

Lotus Notes provides high-end security to the users which is the reason why most of the business enterprises use it for the purpose of communication over emails. If the administrator has not assigned the privilege to the users to open the NSF files, the Notes client displays the error like Lotus Notes You are not authorized to access that database error. If the users are not able to open the database files due to security applied on it, they can try the third-party application as explained above. Hope the article helps.