Sharing DB

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff
  • Start date Start date
J

Jeff

Sorry if this is a repeat. I have developed an
application under Access 2000. I now want to open it up
for a few other users to have access to it. I have split
my DB and have generated and .mde. If I store that DB and
mde on a shared network folder, can my other users access
the mde without a copy of Access on their pc? I'm unclear
if the mde is the same as the "run time" version I have
been reading about. Would there be any license issues
with them running the mde w/out a copy of Access loaded
for themselves? Thanks.
 
Jeff said:
Sorry if this is a repeat. I have developed an
application under Access 2000. I now want to open it up
for a few other users to have access to it. I have split
my DB and have generated and .mde. If I store that DB and
mde on a shared network folder, can my other users access
the mde without a copy of Access on their pc? I'm unclear
if the mde is the same as the "run time" version I have
been reading about. Would there be any license issues
with them running the mde w/out a copy of Access loaded
for themselves? Thanks.
Click to expand...


First off one of the primary reasons for splitting an app is so you can give users
their own "local" copy of the front end. Pointing them all to the same front end on
the server risks corrupting the file and will not perform nearly as well.

Second an MDE is nothing more than an MDB that is "locked down" as far as the ability
to edit or see the design of forms, reports, and code modules. It is not capable of
being run without Access installed on the client computer.

The "Runtime" is a somewhat crippled version of Access that can be distributed and
installed royalty free so you can have your app run on computers that do not have
retail Access installed. Ability and rights to do this come with the purchase of the
Developer's version of Office. There are a handful of features that don't work in
the Runtime environment, but the biggest thing is that the developer has to supply
all interface tools as the normal Access interface (the db window, menus, toolbars,
etc.), are not available in the Runtime environment. You also must have very robust
error handling as unhandled errors in the Runtime will throw the user out of the app
in most cases.
 
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