Compiling a Access project as a Stand alone app.

[Guest]

Hope someone can help! Is there software available that you can compile a
Access project so that it can become a stand alone item. Eg. can be installed
on a Pc without access loaded.

 

[Vayse]

If you get Office Developer, it allows you to create a runtime version of
Access. This runtime version can be installed for free on your clients PC.
Office Developer lets you create an install package, which will setup the
shortcuts for your database, and install the runtime if its required.
Hope this helps
Diarmuid

 

[Douglas J Steele]

It's not possible to compile an Access application into a stand-alone
executable.

What you can do, though, is package your application together with a
royalty-free run-time version of Access. Users who don't have Access
installed can install the run-time, which will allow them to use the
application (although they will not be able to make design changes to
application components such as forms, reports and modules).

You need to purchase the following in order to create an Access 2003 runtime
application:

- Microsoft Access 2003
- Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 (which includes the Access 2003
Developer Extensions)

The ADE is the product that gives you the license to deploy the 2003 runtime
components and you have to have Access 2003 installed in order to install
the ADE.

See http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/understanding/vsto/default.aspx for
more details, or
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011208861033.aspx

As well, Tony Toews has good information at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/developereditionfaq.htm

 

[Guest]

Another possible approach would be to construct a 'front-end' to an Access
database: the immediate one that comes to mind is Visual Basic, which works
quite nicely as a front-end. The database itself can be furnished with all
the usual security, and this dealt with in code to allow the user as much or
as little freedom as the developer wants. Of course, although you don't need
runtime Access for this, you would have to make sure the relevant VB
libraries were (installed) on the user's machine - but VB will take care of
this when packaging your application.

Any other language/programming environment with ODBC/ADO (or whatever it's
called this week) extensions should also be able to do the job.

Maybe this could also be implemented as a Web application ?

 

[dbahooker]

I hope that you're using Access Data Projects; it almost sounds like
that when you said something.

Moving from MDB -> VB6 or VB.net is a LOT more complicated than from
ADP -> VB6 or VB.net

do you know why?

a) queries in MDB can have functions in VBA
b) you have to rewrite this shit to use it in ADO... right?
c) ADP doesnt' have the same problem; all of the database work is
handled by a freeware SQL Server engine.

 

[Larry Linson]

Another possible approach would be to
construct a 'front-end' to an Access
database: the immediate one that comes
to mind is Visual Basic, which works
quite nicely as a front-end.

Those who are conversant in both agree that it takes at least three times as
much time and effort to create the same program in VB as it does in Access,
and often more, even with "classic VB" (VB6 or earlier). Many of us believe
that it there is even more disparity between development time/effort when
using VB.NET.

And, in this regard, VB is the "best of the lot." I believe you may still
find a presentation I did for my user group on the subject at
http://appdevissues.tripod.com.

There are some conditions in which using VB as a front end is justified, but
generally, you will be time, money, and frustration ahead by using Access
and the runtime.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[dbahooker]

Larry

I agree.

Access is the best development platform anywhere.

But you spell Access 'A.D.P'; not 'm.d.b.'

VB.net 2005 Express is a sharp program; a very nice program.. don't get
me wrong

but i can't for the life of me-- get over the complexity of some
things.

i wouldn't touch vb6 no matter what; vb.net 2005 I believe would be the
easiest quickest solution

-Aaron