Access 03 vs 07 vs SQL Server

[Guest]

My boss wants to start expand our db to have not only metadata about our
docs, but also (Pointers?) (OLE?) to PDFs. We already have some 20 -30
users, the database is split, but she wants it much more secure than it is
now (user logins, with a switchboard for "customers", which staff can F11 out
of), and more people would be using the db (maybe 50?)
We have Access 2003, but I read a lot about Access not being all that
secure. Plus the overhead of the PDFs. Are the specifications and security
of Access 2007 better, or should I start looking at SQL Server, which I think
the lastest is 2005.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

I'm using Access 03 for an HR application, tracking prospective candidates
and their pdf resumes. It's split, with user security (Admins, Full-Data
Users, Read-Only users). I'd prefer to use SQL Server, but dealing with the
red tape I get from IT just isn't worth it. It's secure enough.
As far as the "pointers" go, just save the pdf location, not the file
itself, to the database. This way you don't have to worry about OLE or the
massive overhead each document would take. Keep the pdfs on a secure drive .
Secure your split application - look at Joan Wild's website - she has it
listed in a few of her MVP replies in this forum.
To view the PDFs, use the ShellExecute API. It finds what the executable is
for any registered file extension and runs it, no matter if it's pdf or doc
or xls, it will run the right executable (Acrobat, Word, Excel).:

Private Declare Function ShellExecute Lib "shell32.dll" _
Alias "ShellExecuteA" (ByVal Hwnd As Long, ByVal lpOperation As String, _
ByVal lpFile As String, ByVal lpParameters As String, _
ByVal lpDirectory As String, ByVal nShowCmd As Long) _
As Long

Private Const SW_SHOWNORMAL = 1
Private Const SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED = 3
Private Const JP_NOERROR As Long = 50

Private Const JP_OPEN As String = "open"
Private Const JP_PRINT As String = "print"

then to print:
ShellExecute(vbNull, JP_PRINT, FileName, vbNull, vbNull, SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED)

IMHO, with that many users, you'd definitely want to go to SQL Server. I've
only got a dozen or so occasional users, never more than 3 concurrently.

jp

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I have read some of Joan's excellent security
tips, and am slowly implementing them. I am still trying to do this
expansion in Access because of the cost, but it does seem that many users =
new database. The good news is that it is all in-house users, but probably
with more varied computer skills than perhaps you have to deal with.