Question about setting up Front End/Back End...

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Lisa

Hi! A couple of weeks ago, I posted a question about corruption
problems we are having with our database. Our database resides on a
public server on our campus, and there are 3 of us who use it daily.
I would like to go ahead and set up the front end access to it on the
three computers, and restrict access to making structural changes to
the database to myself. Unfortunately, I have not learned how to do
such a set-up myself in the classes my supervisor sent me too, and our
IT dept doesn't have anyone available who can assist. What would be a
good Access textbook to explain how to do it? I learn fairly quickly
from reading, and am planning to test it out on a practice database to
see if I can do it before changing the real thing.

Thanks in advance!

Lisa Z.
 
You should, and will need to consider setting up security at one point.

however, if you distribute a mde to all your users, and give them a
shortcut, then they would have "never" learned about browsing to some server
to get at the application in the first place.

Further, with using the tools->startup stuff, you can complete hide the
ms-access interface, and keep users from playing around with your forms etc
(if you use a mde).

If you want to see an example of an application that has all of the
ms-access stuff hidden from the users, try downloading the 3rd example here:

(it is for a97..but you can convert it to a2000)

http://www.attcanada.net/~kallal.msn/msaccess/DownLoad.htm

The above is not yet split, and is not yet a mde (but, if you were to follow
this path, the end result would be an application that your end users
cannot modify, or even see ms-access parts at all....

As the for the process of splitting, I always use the wizard. You can read
about this here:

And, there is some steps here also:

http://www.microsoft.com/accessdev/articles/bapp97/chapters/ba15_3.htm

(note that in a2000, the database splitter is now included..and is found in
tools->database utilities -> database splitter

There is some good info here also:

http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp.htm

There is also some a2000 steps here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/bapp2000/html/acbatitle.asp

On the left side when the table of contents appears, click on cheaper 8
Delivering your Application

You likely should also consider setting up a auto front end updater, so then
when you have a new version, your users can be updated.

What is really nice about this split, is now you are free to develop, test
and try your new version while users work on the existing version.

So, splitting not only helps in terms of stability and corruption, but is
also is really the only way to fly (er...I mean develop) software....

You will also need to use the linked table manager right before you
distribute this mde.
 
There is a database splitter utility built into ACCESS that will do the
split for you. But if you want to do it manually:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 304932
How to manually split a Microsoft Access database in Access 2002 or in
Access 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304932&Product=acc

Also see Tony Toews' site:
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp/index.htm

Otherwise, most all ACCESS database books will give you details about this.
For example, see Microsoft Office Access 2003 Inside Out by John L. Viescas.
 
Thanks for all the useful information! It is definitely helpful.

You said...
however, if you distribute a mde to all your users, and give them a
shortcut, then they would have "never" learned about browsing to some server
to get at the application in the first place.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, when I first created the database from the old Excel
version my predecessor had fumbled around with, our IT dept were the
folks who created the path that my coworkers could use to open the
database. They did create a shortcut on each desktop... directly to
the database on our public server. We use the public server to store
all our common files, so they never had to "learn" about it. My
knowledge at the time was limited to knowing that for our purposes,
Access was by far the better tool for managing data than what I walked
into. I have since taken two Access classes through our college, but
it is the 3rd class which really teaches the maintenance and
development side that I really need to know. My supervisor is
suddenly unwilling for me to take that class, despite the fact that I
now know more than our IT staff does about Access, and if I don't do
the support, we are stuck. Sad commentary. (the blind leading the
blind!)
 
Thanks for the help! Will the book you recommended be useful for
someone like myself who is shifting from user to primary support and
development person for this database? My background REALLY is not
computers (I've always been self-taught til I took the two Access
classes), despite having a husband, brother, and parents all in the IT
field. I'm just a lowly administrator with an M.S.Ed.

Lisa
 
I think it is good for someone getting started and doing starting
development work, yes. There also are other books out there...I find that
each book's perspective is different and combinations of the books helps me
see things better.
 
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