Is there a global search in Access

[Gkirkup]

I am working on a big application that has been developed over ten years. I have a field that is not getting updated in one of the tables (POLATE) and have no idea where that field should be getting updated. Is there an option to put POLATE into a search and find out where that field is accessed?

Robert

 

[theDBguy]

Hi. Nothing builtin, but there are utilities available for download.

 

[Gkirkup]

DBguy, can you give me the name of that utility or where to get it? It would be very useful.

Robert

 

[theDBguy]

DBguy, can you give me the name of that utility or where to get it? It would be very useful.

Robert

Hi. There are others, but here's one that comes to mind.

UtterAccess.com

www.utteraccess.com

 

[Galaxiom]

V-tools

Total Deep Search works really well.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Total Access Analyzer by FMSINC.com isn't a search utility. It is a documentation utility but it produces some great cross reference documentation that might be useful.

If the application has even a modicum of organization, each table should be updated in one and only one place so you could start by looking for the queries bound to that table (Access has this feature built in. You don't need an addin) and then using the query list, find the form bound to a query or the table itself.

 

[Isaac]

@Gkirkup
Other than doing a Find in the vba project for the term you're searching for (which might identify code where someone used VBA to execute an INSERT, UPDATE or recordset-based change:

If you have any particular desire to learn VBA or to further practice what you already know, this exact scenario is one where I've found it very rewarding to write some code that searches for things, you may or may not be interested but if you do it you learn some very useful things. Some ideas are:

- loop through the Querydefs collection, examine their .Sql property to find specific text
- loop through the AllForms collection, each form's controls, and examine their .Controlsource property

I wish I could post the code I last used, but it was at my 2nd to last job and I did not save or take it with me. Also, once you build something like that, it's very handy to reuse for migration or project scoping purposes when you come across a db you're less familiar with. It's a lot easier than you might think and really hones your knowledge by doing it yourself.

 

[isladogs]

I also use V-Tools and it works very well...plus its free
Alternatively, Phillip Stiefel has a Find and Replace utility with even deeper search functionality but it is a commercial application.