Microsoft Access in Sharing Mode

[rehanqadri]

My organization is using a desktop based application for managing organizational business.
OS: Windows XP
Backend: Microsoft Access 2003
Frontend: VB [I dont have source code]

Our software developer has suddenly left organization. My organization badly needs to run the software on LAN.

Can I use Access in client/server mode? How to achieve this objective?

I am eagerly waiting for response.

 

[Ed2020]

Are you looking to move the backend database onto a shared drive and make the application multi-user?

Microsoft Access is a file-server database, not a client-server database, however there is no reason why the backend cannot be placed on a shared drive. Access databases will open in shared mode unless otherwise specified.

The only potential problems I can foresee are:

1. Number of users. In a well designed system, on a good, fast, stable network connection I've had Access systems running with twenty or thirty concurrent users. A poorly designed system, or one running on a less than perfect LAN will have problems with *far* fewer users than this.

2. Network stability/speed - Access really doesn't like slow or unstable network connections. This is partially owing to the fact it is a file-server database, partly because it simply wasn't designed to house business critical data.

3. Lack of source code - I have no idea how the original application developer set up the connections between the front-end application and the back-end database. If the back-end is moved you may be left needing to make code changes to the VB application without any source code. This may be possible, but could well be difficult.

4. If the developer of the VB application coded it to open the back-end exclusively then you can forget about multi-user, concurrent access.

All of these problems can be dealt with with the possible exception of the lack of source code.

Ed Metcalfe.

Please do not feed the trolls.....