wlg99 said:
Trying to clean up previous efforts in a database. It appears a number of
objects are not longer used and need to be deleted so the objects actually
being executied are the only ones in the database. How can you tell the
name
of the form, report, query etc that is being run. Does the object name
show
anywhere or is it available to veiw during execution of an Access object.
Determining currently-used objects, and cleaning out ones that are no-longer
used, is a laudable effort. In many cases, it was a business requirement
when the whole world was involved in "Y2K Remediation" back in the late
1990s, so you may receive many and varied replies. Here are some that were
used on projects I observed during that time-frame:
1. Access has a Find/Replace feature in the module window (aka Integrated
Development Environment) that you can use to search for particular text
strings in the VBA code. In a "developed application", most Reports and
Forms will be initiated from code, so searching for the name of the Form or
Report and not finding it, or finding it only in code that itself is never
executed is a good indication that you can eliminate that object. (This can
be a tedious task, as it does not create a list, but takes you to the
occurrence; on the other hand, it is good that you see the use of the string
_in-context_.)
2. There are, at least, two third-party software packages that perform a
similar function, but for every occurrence of the string anywhere in the
database (Find and Replace,
http://www.rickworld.com; and Speed Ferret,
http://www.moshannon.com -- the latter was not updated for Access 2003, so
is somewhat inconvenient to use even if you have Access 2002 installed also,
and impossible to use if you have no earlier version). I used both of these
in the past, and liked them; I have looked at the most recent verions, and
am not as fond of the newer user interface. Both of them, I believe, will do
the job, but you'll still have to do quite a number of searches.
3. Another third-party product, Total Access Analyzer,
http://www.fmsinc.com/Products/index.html, (if you aren't careful <smile>)
can tell you "more than you ever wanted to know" about your database.
However, it does produce a cross-reference report that can be ideal for what
you want to do -- just be cautious about what and how much documentation you
request. There were issues using the Access 2.0 version with very large
Access 2.0 databases, but that was due to the way Access 2.0 operated, and,
as far as I know, there is no such limitation with any 32-bit implementation
of Access (Access 95 or later).
4. As a response to the limitations mentioned above, some very accomplished
developers created Queries and code that did specific searches. I hasten to
add that budget allocations were "generous" for Y2K remediation because
companies were fearful of litigation losses if they did not correct the
errors that years of "shortcuts" had left in software, and this is not a
practical approach for most shops, today, unless you are (or have) a real
"rock-star" developer who is just interested in doing so. I mention it only
for "historical purposes".
I don't doubt there are other products, and other approaches, but these are
some that I have observed to work and work well.
Larry Linson
Microsoft Office Access MVP
