EXE from Access

[David W. Fenton]

<nit pick> The ADE, or A2003 runtime, was only available as part of
Visual Studio Tools for Office. This is a totally different


And A2000 MDEs. With which I routinely test.

That is, of course, because all of them are Jet 4 MDBs, and that is
a native format for A2K7.

 

[H. Martins]

About the Access 2007 'new look' (not just default form format but IDE
itself - menus, etc), I also found it mysterious.

Indeed, I found out that some company was producing some sort of plug-
in to enable 2007 to display 2003 format menus. I didn't try.

I have nothing against the existence of MDE runtime companion files.
The problem is that the application must be installed in some portable
computers whose owners may not have Access and I don't want to get
involved in installing (or instructing them how) other than some
minimum software in their computers. Eventually, just copying a bunch
of files to some folder would be OK.

Anyway, looks like I will need Access 2007 just to generate MDE, I
should keep with 2003 file format to avoid the lack of User Level
Security and ... what else ...?

Would it be easier (while avoiding to find myself in a good position
do be target for side effects) if I get the Visual Studio Tools for
Office and keep using 2003?

Thanks
H. Martins

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

Anyway, looks like I will need Access 2007 just to generate MDE, I
should keep with 2003 file format to avoid the lack of User Level
Security and ... what else ...?

No, A2007 supports ULS in MDBs but not in ACCDBs.

Would it be easier (while avoiding to find myself in a good position
do be target for side effects) if I get the Visual Studio Tools for
Office and keep using 2003?

I very much doubt you could purchase VSTO with the ADE any more.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[David W. Fenton]

No, A2007 supports ULS in MDBs but not in ACCDBs.

Er, that is, I think, what he means by "keep with 2003 file format,"
on the mistaken impression that MDB is not a native A2K7 format.

 

[David W. Fenton]

m:

I have nothing against the existence of MDE runtime companion
files.

I don't understand that sentence. The MDE is your application file.
There are no companion files, or MDEs that are "companions" to your
app (unless you're using external libraries in MDE format, I guess).

The problem is that the application must be installed in some
portable computers whose owners may not have Access and I don't
want to get involved in installing (or instructing them how) other
than some minimum software in their computers. Eventually, just
copying a bunch of files to some folder would be OK.

Well, if that's what you want, then you've chosen the wrong
development platform. The runtime + your application MDE is what you
need, but it has to be installed. There is no other way for an
Access app to work. Period. End of statement.

Anyway, looks like I will need Access 2007 just to generate MDE, I
should keep with 2003 file format to avoid the lack of User Level
Security and ... what else ...?

Even if you're running the A2K7 runtime, you don't need A2K7 to
generate the MDE. And MDB is not "2003 file format," but Jet 4
format, which is a native format for A2K7.

 

[H. Martins]

I don't understand that sentence. The MDE is your application file.
There are no companion files, or MDEs that are "companions" to your
app (unless you're using external libraries in MDE format, I guess).

As much as I understood, I can't run a MDE (or MDB) without Access
being installed in the computer.

If I want to avoid having Access installed I must generate an Access
Runtime packge, where MDE is included. The files installed by the
runtime package are what I call the companion files.

H. Martins

 

[David W. Fenton]

:

As much as I understood, I can't run a MDE (or MDB) without Access
being installed in the computer.

Yes, of course.

If I want to avoid having Access installed I must generate an
Access Runtime packge,

The Runtime *is* Access. So, the earlier statement applies:

You can't run an MDB/MDE without having Access installed. Period.
End of statement.

where MDE is included.

The MDE will not be part of your runtime installation, but part of
your installer package.

The files installed by the
runtime package are what I call the companion files.

They aren't companion files -- they are ACCESS.

The point of the runtime is to be able to distribute an Access
application without the users having to buy a full license to
Access. But it is *still* Access that the runtime installs, just one
with different licensing.

 

[John W. Vinson]

As much as I understood, I can't run a MDE (or MDB) without Access
being installed in the computer.

If I want to avoid having Access installed I must generate an Access
Runtime packge, where MDE is included. The files installed by the
runtime package are what I call the companion files.

Just to repeat what David is saying in other words...

The runtime package is a crippled version of Access. It has all of the Access
executable program, so it can open your .mde file and display forms, reports,
etc. However, all of the *design* tools are disabled; this lets the recipients
use your database without messing it up its structure, and lets Microsoft make
Access available to endusers without their having to pay the cost of a full
developer edition.