Getting Access runtime to run from CD? 1

[keimpe]

Hi everyone,

I want to create a runtime distribution of an Access application that I want my clients to run from CD. So, apart from the runtime files and maybe a shortcut to the database, I don't want anything installed on my clients' hard-disks. Is this possible? And, if yes, how?

Thank you for your time,
Greetings from Holland,
Keimpe Wiersma

(I use Microsoft Office Developer's Toolkit 2000 and its package and Deployment Wizard)

 

[JeremyNYC]

Not gonna work if the client is supposed to make any changes--the files on the CD will be read-only.

Jeremy =============
Jeremy Wallace
Designing, Developing, and Deploying Access Databases Since 1995

http://www.AlphaBetCityDataworks.com

Take a look at the Developer's section of the site for some helpful fundamentals.

 

[keimpe]

Hi Jeremy,

thanks for the quick reply! It doesn't solve my problem, however.

My database is a read-only database, so the read-only part is no problem. The problem is, how to get setup.exe to offer the end-user the choice of not installing anything on the hard-drive, but instead to make a shortcut to a .MDB or .MDE file on the CD. I can't figure out how to accomplish that.

Greetings!
Keimpe

 

[GDGarth]

I don't think the database will run from the CD, because it will try to make the ".idb" file on the CD. You might be able to create a link to a file on the CD. That way, your data could be on the CD, with the front end on the user's computer.

 

[keimpe]

Hi Garth,

the .LDB file is not the problem: all I have to do is open the database read-only or exclusive. Then it's no problem to run a database file from CD.

The problem is how to make the installer know that the client doesn't want to run the application from hard disk but from CD. Now, ofcourse I can tell him after installation of the runtime files, to just double-click the .MDB file on CD, but I would like to make that a bit more user friendly and especially 'idiot-proof', in that there would be created a shortcut to the file on CD automagically.

Any ideas anyone?

Greetings!
Keimpe

 

[JoanneM]

Keimpe

Listen to jeremy & Garth - you are on a hiding to nothing.

Access writes to its source to open the database. If that source is a CD forget it, if this fires up your determination good luck but brick wall & heads are instantly brought to mind.

jo

 

[keimpe]

Hi Jo,

I understand your concern, but I already have it running. That's not the problem. There's a CD with a database on the cd-rom, and I can double-click it and work with it and it all goes well (it's a product catalogue, so there's no need to write any data, because ofcourse I know that a CD-rom is a read-only media).

The problem is, that I want to have it installed by the Package and Deployment wizard in such a way that it creates a shortcut on the clients computer pointing to the database on the cd-rom, and I just don't seem to be able to accomplish that feat...

Greetings,
Keimpe

 

[JeremyNYC]

Well, if you can get it to run, try something much more simple than the package and deployment wizard: write a batch file that copies the shortcut from the CD to the user's computer. That oughtta do it, yeah?

Jeremy =============
Jeremy Wallace
Designing, Developing, and Deploying Access Databases Since 1995

http://www.AlphaBetCityDataworks.com

Take a look at the Developer's section of the site for some helpful fundamentals.

 

[keimpe]

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, that oughtta do it, BUT,

1) I don't know the drive letter of the CD-rom drive, so I can't make a reliable shortcut
2) I will still need an autorun.inf file on the CD to kick of the Package and Deployment wizard, because some clients will have Access installed and other won't, and that's where the Package and Deployment wizard does a fantastic job: it determines whether you have Access. If not, it installs the runtime files, and if so, it only installs your program. And it's that last step that's bugging me: I don't want it to install the program, just a program group with one item that refers to the .MDB on the CD.

I may have figured it out, though. I'm thinking of making the following:
1) The Package and Deployment wizard installs a program group with a very small Access database that's called 'Startup.mdb'
2) Startup.mdb (when started) will locate the CD-ROM drive with the actual (large) MDB file on it, and will then start that database (and quit itself if necessary)

Do you see any pitfalls in that solution? For instance: can one runtime file (in this case 'startup.mdb') start another??

Greetings!
Keimpe

 

[JeremyNYC]

Sounds like a fine solution. Look into the Shell command to figure out how to open the other database.

Jeremy =============
Jeremy Wallace
Designing, Developing, and Deploying Access Databases Since 1995

http://www.AlphaBetCityDataworks.com

Take a look at the Developer's section of the site for some helpful fundamentals.

 

[glrpfi]

Ok....you may have already solved this problem...but there are a couple issues.

First is the one folks have already addressed about the .idb file. a self-extracting zip file sorts that problem out.

Your BIGGER problem is usually what version of MDAC they already have on board.

MS Access Runtime does not install and MDAC. You may wish to include in the setup.exe the file upgrading them to MDAC 2.6 service pack 1

 

[keimpe]

Hi everyone,

I have solved my problem! Thanks for everyone who came up with ideas, buts and suggestions!

My problem was: how to distribute a database program on CD-rom and run it on people's computers, who may or may not have Access installed, without installing any databases or program groups on the clients' computers - the database (which is read-only) must remain on (and be run from) the CD-ROM.

What I have done is the following:
1) I have created a little program in VB 6.0 called 'install.exe'
2) This install.exe is started by the 'autorun.inf' file on the CD
3) install.exe looks in the registry to see if Access is installed (and if it's a higher version than Access 97)
4) If Access is installed, it starts up my .MDE application
5) If Access is not installed, it starts the runtime installation program, which is also located on the CD
6) After this, every time the CD is inserted, the database application is started.
7) (apart from maybe the runtime Access files) nothing is installed on the clients' PC. There is no need to uninstall or remove anything.


There are a few problems with this solution though, and I welcome all ideas that can solve them:
a) Clients that have AutoPlay disabled will have to manually double-click the .MDE file or install.exe (but I figure that anyone clever enough to disable autoplay will be clever enough to manually start a program)
b) On some machines (like a freshly installed Win98), the install.exe will not run, because a VB file called (MSVBVM60.DLL) is missing. Fortunately, any setup.exe created by the Package and Deployment wizard suffers the same problem. As a runaround I have a readme.txt on the CD that instructs users to start setup.exe instead of install.exe if this happens. Setup.exe is the setup file for the Access runtime files (because by definition, they will not have an up-to-date office/access installation if they don't have that VB file), and after the runtime installation, the install.exe will work next time the CD is inserted.
c) The CD has to be inserted or right-clicked and started for the program to run. Maybe I will offer the user the choice to create a desktop icon.
d) People who do have Access and run the program will receive an annoying 'this database is read-only' message everytime they start it. This message seems to be generated by Access before actually opening the database, so I don't think I can disable it programmatically. Maybe there's a registry setting somewhere????

OK, that's it, thank you for your time!

Greetings from Holland,
Keimpe Wiersma