References - Standardize MDAC?

[j.t.w]

Hello everyone,

I'm having problems with broken/missing references when different
computers on the network open up an Access 2000 application(s).

From what I've read through postings, there are basically three ways to

remedy broken references.

1) find and use a machine to develop on that has the lowest MDAC
version.
2) code using late binding.
3) standardize all computers to the latest MDAC version (2.8).

Logically, standardizing MDAC on each computer makes the most sense to
me, although some postings have discouraged doing this.

Can anyone provide anymore insight into other possiblities or if I
should or should not go ahead with updating MDACs. FYI. There are about
20 PCs on the network, running Win2000 or WinXP.

TIA.
j.t.w

 

[Douglas J Steele]

Depending on the nature of your application, another alternative is not to
use ADO, which would mean that you don't need MDAC at all. If you're
strictly using a Jet database (i.e. an MDB file) as the back-end, DAO is
actually the better way of connecting.

Hopefully you've split your application into a front-end (containing the
queries, forms, reports, macros and modules), linked to a back-end
(containing the tables and relations), and each user has his/her own copy of
the front-end on their hard drive. That way, whether or not everyone's on
the same version of MDAC doesn't really matter. You might have to fix the
references when they first install the front-end, but after that there won't
be any problems.