Path to Backend.

[Oldsoftboss]

I'm after a bit of advice...
I've created a database that I hope to sell. After discussing it with a friend who doesn't know much about Access (Read nothing) said "Yeah, and we will be able to sell them upgrades later on as it develops more"

I thought - HOW?

If you are selling the upgrade to a client who knows very little about a computer let alone Access, how will they keep the existing data with the upgrade.

Then I concidered a back end - front end.
Data is in one place, forms etc in another. As long as the table structure doesn't change, Should be fine.
This I can handle.
Upgrade the front end with different reports or forms that use the existing tables.

The problem

Installed the front end on my laptop and of course it said it could not find the linked tables. (They are on the other PC)

What I would like to have is a form that the user can enter the path to the back end, press OK and Access will re-establish the link. Same as what the Linked Table Manager does. The problem I face is that I don't want to give the user the standard toolbar to play with.
Is there a command or procedure that can help me.
Hope you follow

Dave

 

[jimbrooking]

Dave,

In addition to my related coments at http://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=143034#post143034, I might say that later versions often have bigger and better ideas than earlier versions, so it's maybe a good idea to have code in your front-end system that manually imports the data from a back-end database into the newer version of the product. This will accommodate the situation where the back end tables have grown in number or size from version to version. If applicable, this could also let your database access (by importing) more than one back-end, to allow larger organizations to roll up data from multiple copies of the back end.

Jim