MDE Question

M

Metalteck

I have an mde application that I support. I am trying to design some new
forms and reports, but the option to create is greyed out. Is there a way to
enable this option?
 
J

JackP

no. you cannot change the design of an MDE file.
the only way to do it is to get the MDB file it was built from, make the
amendments to that, and then make another MDE from that. Sorry.

It's the reason I try to avoid MDE files!
 
N

Norman Yuan

You need to find the *.mdb version, which the *.mde was made from, and do
your modification there.
 
N

Nikos Yannacopoulos

MDE is an Access file format offering full operational functionality,
but no design capabilities and no source code; it is produced converting
the .mdb design master, and is used for distribution to users for the
very reason that it does not allow design changes.

Officially, there is no way to make design changes / additions in an
..mde. To do that, you need to have the .mdb it was created from, make
your changes there, and recreate the new .mde. So, in theory, if you've
lost the .mdb, there is not much you can do, other than starting from
scratch!

Unofficially, there are third party tools that offer some unlocking
functionality, so you can salvage some parts of the design in the
absence of the original .mdb. I said "some" because, to the best of my
knowledge, they will provide access to the design of forms and reports,
but not to code, because no source code exists in an .mde; not sure
about macros. If interested, do a Google search on "Access mde unlock".

HTH,
Nikos
 
N

Nikos Yannacopoulos

Jack,

There are good reasons to use an .mde as a FE in multi-user apps. Making
sure you have the proper process in place to not lose your design master
..mdb isn't so hard as to justify giving up the benefits of mde's, after
all it's just a question of backing up (which should be standard process
anyway) or burning the occasional CD. I'm sure all exrerienced
developers would vote for mde's.

Nikos
 
T

Tony Toews

Nikos Yannacopoulos said:
There are good reasons to use an .mde as a FE in multi-user apps. Making
sure you have the proper process in place to not lose your design master
.mdb isn't so hard
Click to expand...

Let's not use the term design master. That sounds like a replication
term which could get misleading.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
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