hi people. i have written myself a database which is REALLY simple.

basically it has 3 columns in the table, 1) name 2) id number 3) access level

and i have written a query for it so that i can search this table.

however... i really need to compile the database to an executable file .exe so that i can distribute it to people without access and for other reasons.

please help me to do this, i think that access developers edition would help, but i have no idea how i can get this (and i cant afford to order it or anything)

if i could download VB or Delphi or something then i woiuld consider that if i could find a tutorial, but i dont know if i can download either of those.

also, as i have three search fields in my query, you (generally) only want to search for one of the columns... so would it be possible to make the query so that there was only one box for input and that would search all three columns and then display the results???

thanks for all ur help guys :)

1. It is not now nor will it ever be possible to convert an .mdb to an .exe. See this post for some more explaination and be sure to follow the links:
http://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46773

2. Neither the Office developers edition, VB, nor Delphi are available for free unless you can find some pirated copy. I would strongly discourage you from using priated software.

3. To change the query:

Where SomeName = Forms!YourFormName!YourControlName or SomeID = Forms!YourFormName!YourControlName or SomeAccessLevel = Forms!YourFormName!YourControlName;

BTW, you should not use reserved words for your column names. "Name" is the name of a property and using it as a column name can cause strange results in VBA.

As Pat stated, you will not get an executable from the Developer Edition. You can, however, freely distribute your MDB with the Access runtime environment and set it up to where it works "LIKE" and executable.
I have created some smaller MDBs to assist in crunching large amts of data for various users in my agency. They act like and install like regular applications.
I have found that when you have the proper settings set within the database, and the users are properly restricted, it functions well.
To make it have a feeling more like an application, I have downloaded many backgrounds to put into the forms, and always include a splash screen. Then after I run it through the MSDE packaging wizard, it turn out to be very much like an actual application even though it is not a true executible.