Version control in MS Access using Visual Sourcesafe 1

[lliou]

Our support department is maintaining a huge system created in MS Access. We have a few developers working in MS Access and need version control.

Would anyone recommend to use VSS as a version control tool for a Microsoft Access database? Are there any other tools out there can do a better job?

I read on a few forums that VSS isn't a very good tool to use with Access. (eg. breaks workgroup security, very slow everytime open the MDB file, doesn't build MDB correctly?)

Can I get some people to verify this? Do you have any suggestions of how I can provide solid version control with my Access database?

Thanks for any info and tips you can provide.

 

[DonQuichote]

I think everyone who uses sourcesafe has a hate/love relationship with it. I use SourceSafe with MS-Access and it works relatively well. Opening databases is slower and if things go wrong it can be quite tiresome to correct them (but it was never impossible in my case). Especially the sharing capability of sourcesafe has saved me a huge lot of work.

There are a few things to keep in mind:

- never check in the data section of a database.
- work on your local harddisk. Opening the database is faster on your harddisk then over a network. And the backup is kept in sourcesafe anyway.
- if you do unit testing, share the tests when you share the tested code.
- if you release an application, copy the database, do a compact on the copy (answer yes when you are asked if the sourcesafe connection must be removed) and remove the unit tests from the now uncoupled database. Compact again.

Best regards

 

[lliou]

Hi DonQuichote, thanks for your response!

Just have a few more questions:
- Is there anyway to speed up Access with VSS? I have about 1000 objects and it's very slow to use. I'm not checking in any data, but I have a lot of linked databases (backend Access database and SQL Server). I know it's slow because VSS is checking the status for each object...just wondering if there's anyway to increase performance (I'm working on the local hard disk and I'm not using any antivirus program).
- What are some of the things that might go wrong using VSS?
- I heard that some of the form properties are not saved when they are put into VSS. Is this true?
- How do you reenable the Acess Workgroup security after the database is removed from source control? Is there an easy to capture it before it goes to VSS and then reenable it after it comes out?

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[DonQuichote]

Hi lliou!

- Is there anyway to speed up Access with VSS? I have about 1000 objects and it's very slow to use. I'm not checking in any data, but I have a lot of linked databases (backend Access database and SQL Server). I know it's slow because VSS is checking the status for each object...just wondering if there's anyway to increase performance (I'm working on the local hard disk and I'm not using any antivirus program).

If you are not checking in the data section of the database, the number of links should not be a problem. There is a setting that let sourcesafe ask you if you want all objects in your database to be updated at startup. Answering no if always faster the answering yes. And if you do check something out, the latest version if sent over from sourcesafe anyway. The initial checking cannot be made faster, I'm afraid

- What are some of the things that might go wrong using VSS?

Some programs (like a find-and replace add-in) open classes, forms, etc. in design mode. This pops up the sourcesafe dialog asking if you want to check it out first. If you answer yes, MS-Access is terminated the hard way (Fatal error). I also encountered a few occasions where sourcesafe had a class in the project, but Access did not show and recognise the class as being in sourcesafe. Remedy here is to share it into another project, remove the class from both the database and the sourcesafe project and then share it back (and finally remove the share in the second project).

- I heard that some of the form properties are not saved when they are put into VSS. Is this true?

Sorry. Never heard such things

- How do you reenable the Acess Workgroup security after the database is removed from source control? Is there an easy to capture it before it goes to VSS and then reenable it after it comes out?

I have no experience at all with workgroup security (and it is something I don't want to burn my fingers on either). Access can be hard enough as it is...

Best regards