Database locking

[LynnEsther]

Hello. I have a database that sits on a shared drive and is accessed by an average of 10 people on a daily basis. This database is not split (long story). Every so often, when a user logs into the database, they receive a message telling them that the database is locked by [user name] and can't be opened. Does anyone know what causes this? It happens sporadically but enough that I want to figure out a solution. Thanks in advance.

 

[boblarson]

Does anyone know what causes this?

It can be that someone's default in their frontend is to open exclusive.

It happens sporadically but enough that I want to figure out a solution.

Given your other statement about splitting, I'm not sure you really do want the solution. Because, the only real solution is to split the database and give EACH user a copy of the front end on THEIR machine. This is not hard to do and I even have a program on my website
http://www.btabdevelopment.com/main/MyFreeAccessTools/tabid/78/Default.aspx
to enable auto updating for frontends so you never have to worry that someone will have the latest frontend. Plus you don't have the problem about trying to develop when nobody is in the database.

See here for more info on splitting:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/Articles/split/

 

[LynnEsther]

Thank you. Albert Kallal's article was very informative and is giving me reason to consider resurrecting the idea of splitting. We split our database in a test envirnment last summer and the results were not good. I don't recall specifically without going back, but there is code through out the database (it is one that I inherited) that failed in the split environment. At the time I didn't realize how important it is to split a multi-user database. One concern is that there are more than 100 users. The most users that have been in the database on a given day is 17. The majaority of the 100 only access the database a few times per quarter to run some reports. It would be a royal pain to have to update all 100 user's front-end. I am guessing that your code takes care of that and does it automatically? Anyway, thank you very much for your response and for sending the informative links.

 

[boblarson]

It would be a royal pain to have to update all 100 user's front-end.

Yep, when I went to work for Providence Health System a couple of years ago, I found them doing almost the same thing you are doing and told them the same thing. And they told me they didn't want to try to keep over 100 machines updated. So, I came up with my tool which will let you enable auto updating on any frontend. I did that so that the person there would be able to enable auto updating, quickly and easily, on any of their databases they created for multi-user use.

I am guessing that your code takes care of that and does it automatically?

Yes, that is the idea.

Besides my tool there are other good ones out there as well. You can also check into one by Tony Toews (pronounced TAVES)
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/downloadsindex.htm