Individual copies of mde front ends for each instance on users PC

[Larry Linson]

What I did say is that we need to have reasonable
assurance that all copies of the front end that are in use
are version-current, no matter where they are.

This means that if the application is used in a
pharmaceutical setting -- which is to what our business is
related -- one would have to validate that any tool or
mechanism used to manage the software, whether it is
deployed on each PC or centrally, would guarantee only
current versions could be used.

There is a description of a versioning technique that can be used to assure
that each user is running an up-to-date copy of the current front-end --
it's described at http://accdevel.tripod.com/versioning.htm. And, if my
memory doesn't fail me, I think Tony, or someone else, provided a link to
his "AutoFEUpdater" which serves a similar purpose.

The method I used had a "mandatory update" feature, and if the front-end
version did not match the mandatory version in the shared/server files, it
would simply inform the user and quit. In our case, the users were not
necessarily computer-knowledgeable, but all could click-and-drag a file from
the server folder to their own machine, so we did not use a batch file or
other mechanism to do the copy for them.

And, we published to all the users the location (server folder) from which
they could copy the current version of the front-end, if getting a current
copy made them more comfortable even though they were not getting a message
that a newer one was available or required when they started the
application. But, it's not necessary to copy down the front end _every_ time
the user wants to run the database.

It did not require renaming the back-end (which in a server environment
would not be nearly so simple as with a split Access-Jet multiuser
environment).

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[Tony Toews]

nd, if my
memory doesn't fail me, I think Tony, or someone else, provided a link to
his "AutoFEUpdater" which serves a similar purpose.

But the AutoFeUpdater doesn't do any version checking. It simply
compares the datetime of the file at the time it was downloaded from
the server with the datetime of the file currently on the server.
If different it copies the new file down and updates the datetime
stored on the client.

It has worked flawlessly at my client for several years. Sometimes
I'd update the FE multiple times throughout the day. Each time when
they went back into the FE it would copy down the new one.

Actually there is one minor flaw.

If the MDB is on the client I should delete it first. For other
reasons, SQL Server compatibility, I don't allow my client to use the
app twice. If not allowed then this means that it is in use on the
client and the user is trying to run the app the second time. Coping
the MDE overtop the MDE while it is in use causes Access much anguish.
<smile>

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
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