Can you create a table in your back end while open in the front end?

[CJ_London]

If I have the devFE open and then do File > Open > devBE the devBE opens

open a new instance of access - depends on your window version but if you right click on the access icon in the taskbar, you should see a list of recently opened files. Whilst the FE is open, open the BE from there. There is also the opportunity to pin the files you are interested in and they will then stay until you unpin them

or just navigate to the BE file and open from the file explorer by double clicking on it

 

[gemma-the-husky]

@Pat Hartman - I don't know that I'm doing wrong (or misinterpreting in what I'm seeing).
If I have the devFE open and then do File > Open > devBE the devBE opens (I see the tables in the nav pane) and the devFE is not there anymore. I don't see any open instances in my windows taskbar and I don't see any open windows within Access where the devFE may be hiding. So, I'm not sure what I'm doing incorrectly to not have both open at the same time.

You need to open a new instance of Access. (Double)click the back end, or shift click the access icon in the task bar.

If you have a database open and select a different or new database in your access, it will close the current database, and open the new one.

 

[JMongi]

Well, that is the epitome of a brain cramp on my part. I don't know why I was using File > Open. I rarely use that in any other Office product. In fact I use right-click on the taskbar to open recent spreadsheets literally EVERY DAY!

No wonder I had everyone confused. Trivial indeed!

 

[JMongi]

Again, I don't know if I misspoke earlier, but, I have no intentions of editing an active BE, only the development BE.
Thank you for the warning.

 

[gemma-the-husky]

Yes, sometimes while developing I have a back and front end open together as I specifically want to refer to the back end. Sometimes I have different databases open as I want to copy from one to the other without necessarily having to use import/export processes.

I don't see a real difference between modifying a back end while it is in use and while it is not in use, if permitted to by access.

We can be rather didactic about not sharing a front end. The truth is that access is built to be sharable, and making judicious changes to a backend by editing an unused table or adding a new table while the database is in use will rarely (if ever) produce a problem. It's useful to know that it can be done, as in many real world situations it is very difficult practically to ask all users to disconnect from a database.

 

[GPGeorge]

@GPGeorge - I deliberately did not put the question into context because I did not want to muddy the waters. Perhaps that was a mistake. Colin answered my question just fine and I was trying to get some elaboration from him. By the time he resonded to my question in post #3 the thread had already been slipping. Anyway, what's done is done.

As is often the case, because the answer is trivial, it is assumed that I wasn't actually asking it. In this case, it is the very essence of what I am looking for (because apparently I've missed something obvious). When I open the devBE while having the devFE open they do not both remain open. How do I open both at the same time. This would indeed negate my question entirely.

I wrote a blog article a while back on the topic of leaving out details to "simplify" and why it usually backfires.

That aside. Having two instances of Access open simultaneously is the way to achieve your goal.

Open Access. Use it to open the Front End.
Open a second instance of Access. Use it to open the Back End.

 

[isladogs]

Using the method George just described you can easily drag & drop objects from the FE to the BE with no code required

Drag & Drop Database Objects

This explains two methods of using drag and drop with any Access database object. Both methods work with any Access object and have been available since Access 97 (25 years ago) BUT it seems that many experienced developers are not aware of one or both features.

www.isladogs.co.uk

 

[bastanu]

After this lengthy discussion I just wanted to point to some code that does what you originally wanted among other uses:

FBA FE to BE Table Push - ForestByteApps

ForestByteApps - A place for Microsoft Access code samples and utilities to make your life easier. Free Microsoft Access tools and sample VBA code

forestbyte.com

Cheers,

 

[JMongi]

I wrote a blog article a while back on the topic of leaving out details to "simplify" and why it usually backfires.

I could also write a blog post about experienced users not reading entire threads before replying and answering what they THINK is being asked instead of what actually is being asked?

Just to be clear, I'm being intentionally feisty, but not seriously

 

[JMongi]

After this lengthy discussion I just wanted to point to some code that does what you originally wanted among other uses:

FBA FE to BE Table Push - ForestByteApps

ForestByteApps - A place for Microsoft Access code samples and utilities to make your life easier. Free Microsoft Access tools and sample VBA code

forestbyte.com

Cheers,

Thank you for the link. Just an fyi, unless I'm doing something incorrectly, I get a 403 error on any of the download pages for your utilities.