I think i figure out the main reason none of the stuff i saw about "grant" and "users roles" etc. etc. worked... my database file is 2.1 format.

Once i converted it to 2.5 format, everything worked how i figured it out given what you said and i read online.

So, this brings me to one final question:

- i've got users with 50Gig Firebird DB files.  Millions and millions of records in dozens of tables.  What are the risks of doing a gbak to backup the 2.1 format db file and then restore it to a 2.5 format db file?

is that something you'd recommend?  is there a better way to go from 2.1 FB format db file to 2.5 than to do a gbak and restore?

again, thanks for helping me out all these times!!