Actually a really good solution this case is to place a copy the front end
on each computer. I mean you're installing every other application on each
computer....why not the ones you are creating?
For the most part it makes no sense to pull the application across the
network anyway. You can place the data part (back end) on a server
somewhere, but the front and should be installed on each and every computer.
That way if one user has some little problem, everybody else the building
does not have a problem. Can you imagine if one person in your building had
a problem with word, and then everybody else had the same problem? This is
why it's a great idea to install the application on each computer, as then
you isolate problems and versions to that one particular machine.
I can recall a few years ago updating a client of mine from office/access 97
to 2003. There was about five or six different software vendors involved.
Some of the vendors where for the accounting system, there was one for
contact manager (maximier) etc. It was quite interesting that all the
vendors virtually warned that upgrading access was going be the most
problematic of the systems. I had written some job costing and invoicing
systems in MS access for them.
Of course for years I've always ran a split system with the fe on each
computer. So, each day the support people would come in and upgrade about
three to four computers. They had about 30 in total.
I simply of course had the pc upgraed to access 2003 and then installed 2003
front end on that cmoputer (the back end remianed in a97). I just blew the
other clients away as they had all kinds of huge problems as they try to run
differnt versions of software on the network. Trying to upgrade each machine
but get rid of old software, but make the "new" software run was near
impossible for these people. They were actually stunned that we can have a
mix of office 97 and access 97 applications running at the same time on the
network as other users were using office 2003.
In fact, I turned out to be their BEST vendor during the upgrade..and boy
did I ever shut them up!!
To make a long story short, you been installing every other application on
all your computers for probably the last twenty years. Now you come along
and are trying to rewrite the whole computer industry rules and not install
your application on EACH computer? Stop and contemplate for minute when you
doing here? It makes no sense to attempt what you're doing.
Keep in mind there is a significant difference between a word document, and
application with code, forms, user interfaces and things like reports.
Remember MS access is a software developers tool just like c++, visual
basic, or whatever. After you create an application in MS access, you really
must install that on each computer like you've done with every other
application you have for your computers.
I explain this concept of applications and splitting here:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/split/index.htm
At the end of the day you want to make a distinction between just data, and
that of applications...
