Question Multiple Users

[Shannon3778]

How can I make a warning pop up when a user tries to access a database that another user is already in??

 

[spikepl]

Perhaps you'd like to explain what the purpose of this would be?

 

[Shannon3778]

Of course... I have a database that multiple users will be using (entering in data on forms, running reports, etc) occasionally at the same time. It seems that if more than 1 person is using the data base the data being entered, is not saving. My manager has requested that when a user opens the database, if another user has it in use, that a warning message appear...

 

[spikepl]

So you have an Access application that doesn't work the way it was supposed to, and you want to pop up a message, which people will or maybe will not remember, that when they enter data that the system is supposed to save but it doesn't?

If my description is correct then this does not sound like a good idea. Is it not possible to fix the application? You can always make it a single-user application, so that only one person can get in at any one time.

 

[Shannon3778]

I'm new to Access... but that's exactly what I want!! How do I do that??

 

[spikepl]

You forgot to state which of the two options you want.

 

[Shannon3778]

Sorry... the option of making it a single user so that only 1 person can be in it at a time.

 

[spikepl]

For 2007: Press the coloured blob in the upper left corner of Access. Then Access options->Advanced->Default open mode->Exclusive

 

[Shannon3778]

Got it! Thanks!!

 

[Pat Hartman]

If data is getting "lost", I would investigate the actual file that the users are using. I'm going to guess that one or more of the users has a FE that is linked to a non-shared version of the BE. This is not a problem that Access has. If Access had a reputation for losing data, no one would ever entrust their data to it. Look to your own set up. There is no reason to make the application open exclusively and block other users. That defeats the purpose of using a shared application. Do make sure that everyone has their own copy of the FE and that the FE's are all linked to the same BE on the server.

 

[spikepl]

Pat is of course right, in that using the half-baked application as a single user may not necessarily cure the issue. Shortcuts of this sort tend to come back and bite you, so fixing the app would be a better course of action.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Correct. I forgot to mention that making the app single user wouldn't even fix this problem. If someone is connected to the wrong BE, he will still be connected to the wrong BE even if he opens it exclusively.

 

[Shannon3778]

Forgive me if this is an ignorant question, but if I haven't split the database, and the users all go to the same file location to open it, how would someone connect to the wrong BE?

 

[Pat Hartman]

If the database isn't split, then the user could still be using a different database. For starters, Add a date to the opening form of the database so everyone can see that it is changed. Then have each user open the database in their normal fashion and report back on what they see. This will tell you if everyone is actually opening the same file.

Then, get busy and split the database. Having multiple users open the same monolithic application is a recipe for disaster. All the bad things you've ever read about Access stem from this scenario.