converting access files to a standalone exe

  • Thread starter Thread starter James H
  • Start date Start date
J

James H

hi.
i have been told i can convert access files to a
standalone exe. is this possible and how can i do it?
if not then what program can i use to achieve this
result? :)
 
James,

If you own the 'Developers' Edition of Office, then you can
create distributable files. Ups and downs with this
depending on what your users have on their computers.

--

Gary Miller
Gary Miller Computer Services
Sisters, OR
________________________
 
Gary Miller said:
James,

If you own the 'Developers' Edition of Office, then you can
create distributable files. Ups and downs with this
depending on what your users have on their computers.
Click to expand...

But note, James, that this doesn't create a standalone .exe. It just
creates an installable package that includes your database file(s) along
with the Access run-time module.
 
hi.
i have been told i can convert access files to a
standalone exe.
Click to expand...

You have been told incorrectly. You cannot.
is this possible and how can i do it?
if not then what program can i use to achieve this
result? :)
Click to expand...

You can do either of two things:

- purchase the Microsoft Office Developers Edition and use it to
create a "Runtime", which is a version of Access which can be
distributed royalty-free with your database; users can use your
database but not make any design changes

- Rebuild the application from the ground up in Visual Basic, or (if
you're adventuresome) Visual Studio .NET.
 
Hi

Do we need to purchase the software for Visual Basic?

Richard
Click to expand...

Yes, if you want to develop in Visual Basic. Check out the options
first - Microsoft is now pushing everything to .NET which is a very
different development environment!

Note also that the effort that you've put into your Access forms,
reports, and code is very likely to be down the drain if you take this
approach. VB Forms are VERY different from Access forms, and it's
difficult to migrate Forms from Access to VB; and the Access Reports
object is (I understand) simply better than the equivalents in VB.
Prepare to spend as much or more development time implementing in VB
as you did in Access. On balance, I'd say the Developers Edition looks
cheap.
 
Hi

So, if I need to add 5 users, instead of getting 5 licenses, I can get one
developer's edition and create runtime versions for them?

Question:

1. Will they work the same? Probably yes.
2. If I make changes to the master and distribute them as mde's, will I need
to reinstall the runtimes?

Thanks again
Richard
 
Richard said:
Hi

So, if I need to add 5 users, instead of getting 5 licenses, I can get one
developer's edition and create runtime versions for them?

Question:

1. Will they work the same? Probably yes.
Click to expand...

The Runtime is for "fully mature applications". The normal Access interface
tools will not be available. No built in toolbars, no access to the db window,
and no default error handling provided by Access. This means you must provide
all of this functionality yourself. In addition, there are a few features
disabled in the Runtime. The help file has a complete list, but Filter-By-Form
is one of the more notable ones.

2. If I make changes to the master and distribute them as mde's, will I need
to reinstall the runtimes?
Click to expand...

No.
 
Richard said:
Can I try out a runtime version if I dont have a developer's edition?

Richard
Click to expand...

You can open Access with the /Runtime command line argument...

"path to MSAccess.exe" "Path to MDB file" /Runtime

....to simulate the Runtime environment and see how your MDB works.
However; the /Runtime switch is only available if you either have the
Developer's Edition installed or have previously installed at least one
Runtime application on your PC created by someone who did have the DE.
 
Thanks Rick

--


Rick Brandt said:
You can open Access with the /Runtime command line argument...

"path to MSAccess.exe" "Path to MDB file" /Runtime

...to simulate the Runtime environment and see how your MDB works.
However; the /Runtime switch is only available if you either have the
Developer's Edition installed or have previously installed at least one
Runtime application on your PC created by someone who did have the DE.
Click to expand...
 
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