Novice Multiuser DB question

[dougsdir24]

I have written a database for a garage to handle its invoicing and to
record work.
It is currently single user and only runs on one PC but I have had a
request to see if it can be put on another PC in a multiuser
environment. Now i understand that this could cause a few problems,
record locking etc.

The database is split in two. One DB holds the data and the other
holds the forms, reports, queries etc.

The main table is the vehicle table which holds the Car Reg, car
details, customer details etc
Another table is the work table which holds a record of the work done
of which Car Reg is a key

now my question is, is there any VB code I can use to flag up a
warning, say if User 2 has edited or is editing a field in a record
and User 1 navigates to that record I would like a msgbox to appear
for User 1 to say "Another user has made changes to this record" etc
etc
I know Access 2000 can handle locking but from what Ive seen the
warning message only comes up when an attempt to Save the record is
done which gives the user a chance to cancel or go ahead an make the
changes.
But I would like say a msgbox for now to pop up a warning beforehand

Ive never written any error trapping in a multiuser DB before so Im a
bit new to this.

TIA

Doug

 

[Joseph Meehan]

I have written a database for a garage to handle its invoicing and to
record work.
It is currently single user and only runs on one PC but I have had a
request to see if it can be put on another PC in a multiuser
environment. Now i understand that this could cause a few problems,
record locking etc.

The database is split in two. One DB holds the data and the other
holds the forms, reports, queries etc.

The main table is the vehicle table which holds the Car Reg, car
details, customer details etc
Another table is the work table which holds a record of the work done
of which Car Reg is a key

now my question is, is there any VB code I can use to flag up a
warning, say if User 2 has edited or is editing a field in a record
and User 1 navigates to that record I would like a msgbox to appear
for User 1 to say "Another user has made changes to this record" etc
etc
I know Access 2000 can handle locking but from what Ive seen the
warning message only comes up when an attempt to Save the record is
done which gives the user a chance to cancel or go ahead an make the
changes.
But I would like say a msgbox for now to pop up a warning beforehand

Ive never written any error trapping in a multiuser DB before so Im a
bit new to this.

TIA

Doug

Look up record locking in the help file. Access handles most of the
record locking itself. You have a few choices and if too many people start
stepping on each other's toes there are other solutions.

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

You can change the forms locking to "edited" record.

if you do the above, then when the other user tries to edit the record, they
hear a beep, and also the record selector shows a circle with a \ through it
(kind of like the Ghostbusters symbol).

Just bring up the from in design mode, and in the data tab of the form you
see a setting called record locks.

You are correct that if you don't set the locks, then two users can edit the
same record..and the last user out get that message about the record having
been changed. Setting the record lock will prevent this problem.

the other two tips I can give is:

make sure you install the front end on each pc.

and, you should distribute a mde to each workstation....

 

[dougsdir24]

Thanks for the info

So should i be setting all form's Record Locks Properties to Edited
Record (2) as setting it to All records (1) would lock the whole table
and I dont think I want to do that.

Also is it best to have MDEs on each PC or just have one MDE that
everyone uses or does it not really make any difference?

TIA
Doug

 

[Albert D. Kallal]

Also is it best to have MDEs on each PC or just have one MDE that
everyone uses or does it not really make any difference?

It makes a substantial difference in stability. You can read my article here
as to why this is so important:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/split/index.htm