Dear Doug:
Yes, it does seem things have changed recently. I hadn't kept up with
that. My apologies to Al.
Al mentioned Visual Studio Pro. Is that what he needs now?
Tom Ellison
Tom: Things changes a little since Access 2002.
You need to purchase the following in order to create an Access 2003
runtime application:
- Microsoft Access 2003
- Visual Studio Tools for Office 2003 (which includes the Access 2003
Developer Extensions)
The ADE is the product that gives you the license to deploy the 2003
runtime components and you have to have Access 2003 installed in order
to install the ADE.
If you're using MSDN, note that while VSTO is available in all
subscription levels of MSDN, the Access Developer Extensions are not
included with all versions. ADE is only available at Universal level.
The stand-alone VSTO box includes both VSTO and the ADE.
See
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/office/officetools.aspx for more
details
--
Doug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP
(no private e-mails, please)
Dear Al:
I'm glad to have been helpful.
Now, that ADE would be bundled with Visual Studio seems very peculiar.
Also, when I bought a copy of it, it didn't cost nearly $799 by itself.
Something seems wrong about this to me.
Do you already have Access? If so, then I recommend you just purchase
ADE by itself and SQL Server Developer Edition. I don't think that's
even half the $799 put together.
Tom Ellison
"Al Williams" <"atwms AT aol DOT com"> wrote in message
Tom,
It appears to be bundled with Visual Studio. The least expensive
approach is Visual Studio Professional which is available elsewhere
for slightly less than the list price of $799 from Microsoft (I don't
think that I would need "team" versions). It just wasn't obvious to
me that it had to be part of Visual Studio and that it might be
available either standalone or in an even less expensive package which
was the reason for the question.
Thank you very much for your answers; they've been a big help!
Al Williams
Tom Ellison wrote:
Dear Al:
You can buy ADE separately, but without Access it would do you little
good. I would call it an "add on" product.
I believe I've seen MSDN from other vendors, but it's a Microsoft
product, and includes what is effectively "prepaid support." So,
you'll be dealing with Microsoft any way you go. (It's not cheap, so
it's a major decision. A bit under $2000 last I remember. It's all
the same, so you may as well shop for it. Support comes from MS no
matter from whom you purchase.) However, if you use 10% of what it
comes with, you'll be light years ahead on price. Also, it includes
a download center for various older version of products. If you
distribute a product, you may need to test it against what all
recepients may have, so this will do you good.
Tom Ellison
"Al Williams" <"atwms AT aol DOT com"> wrote in message
Tom,
Is ADE available as a standalone? I did a search on microsoft.com
and it appears that it is part of Visual Studio. Is there another
way to get it? Or is that what you meant by getting MSDN Universal -
includes ADE?
Do you buy Universal through Microsoft or is it available elsewhere?
Thank you very much for your input.
Al William
Tom Ellison wrote:
Dear Al:
To be technically correct, ADE is an "add on" to Access. You
obviously must have that, too. With that, I've found I don't need
anything else. I do use FMS Enterprise Suite as well. It's not what
I'd call an essential for me, but it has a positive role. As far as
what to buy, a good selection is MSDN Universal. That gives you
(and only you) access to the whole set of Microsoft development
tools, licensed for several computers. You can set up an
"imitation" of the entire deployment you plan, with different OS
platforms and different versions of other software. Testing
deployment can be a major part of a complete project. The project
isn't complete until it's deployed. For an initial deployment this
is important, but for an upgraded deployment it is critical. When
users are counting on a system they have been using for some time,
and you're replacing that with a newer version, having it fail is
more critical than having teething trouble with a brand new
deployment that no one is counting on daily.
SQL Server Express may be just the thing for you. Good choice.
And, if it gets too small, you have an easy (though not necessarily
inexpensive) upgrade path. You might also look at Windows Small
Business Server bundled with SQL Server. That's an effective
"medium scale" setup with OS and database combined. It's less
expensive initially and less expensive for adding licenses. That's
for the production side once the project's done, but if you're going
to have to buy it for production, you may as well have it in advance
for testing and for deployment preparations.
Just what you should do depends on the size of the deployment, the
availablility of funds, and your progress along that learning curve.
If you need help, just let me know!
Tom Ellison
"Al Williams" <"atwms AT aol DOT com"> wrote in message
Tom,
Some background: I have an backend mdb that contains just over
560MB. Since it continues to grow as new features are added and
even more data is inserted, I've started to think about going to
something that has more capacity. I understand that a backend's
max capacity is 2GB and that MSDE's is also. So I was thinking
about going to SQL Server 2005 Express (4GB) with both Access 2002
and Access 2003 being used by the users for frontends.
As I've been following some of the newsgroup comments, I've found
the options/suggestions confusing. I'd like to expand my question.
Do you find that you need other tools besides ADE and SQL DE for
such an environment?
I should mention that this is my first database and I just happened
to do one that has become very popular with this organization. So,
I'm on a steep learning curve to keep up with it. Hence my desire
to get some good input. Thanks.
Al Williams
Tom Ellison wrote:
Al Williams:
Access Developer Edition (ADE) includes a license to distribute
MSDE and Access run-time applications to clients without any
special license. It includes tools to create run-time.
SQL Server Developer Edition (SQL DE) includess development tools,
especially Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer (EM and QA) that
are indispensable. "Don't leave home without it!" (TM) class of
benefits! Improves productivity working with MSDE, and online help
you cannot get along without.
Wow! That endorsement reads like some kind of commercial.
If you don't need distribution to clients without Access
installed, then ADE is optional. If you are going to develop MSDE
applications SQL DE is not optional. It is very inexpensive. It
pays for itself in less than a week.
Tom Ellison
[snip]
Hi Tom,
I would appreciate an explanation of how you use Access Developer
Edition and SQL Server Developer Edition. Will your approach
work with SQL Server 2005 Express? Thanks.
Al Williams
[snip]
