Plugin enabling use of database without MS Access

[Peter Antonsen]

Hi - my first post on this newly discovered forum..

I hope you'll bear with me as I'm quite the noob concerning programming etc..

My question is simple, I know that there are some kind of program or plugin or whatever it is, enabling a user to input data into a MS Access Database without having MS Access installed. But what is it? where can I find it? and how is it done?

Hope you guys can help

(hope this is the proper section for this question, if not I'm sorry )

 

[Pat Hartman]

I know that there are some kind of program or plugin or whatever it is, enabling a user to input data into a MS Access Database without having MS Access installed.

There is no such product available. What you are thinking of is the runtime version of Access. A license to distribute this product along with your Access application is obtained by purchasing the Developer's edition for whatever version of Access you are running.

There are numerous posts here on the topic. With Access 2003, the name of the "developer's edition" has changed. The product is now called: Visual Studio tools for the Microsoft Office System. It runs about $500 US and includes SQL Server and VS basic as well as the tool you are interested in. Search the MS site for details. If you see the product offered for sale for much less than $500, you are probably looking at a bootleg copy so be careful. MS products are rarely discounted.

 

[boblarson]

One other way that someone can use an Access mdb file as a backend without having Access is if you are a Programmer and use something like VB to build the interface. But, you have to program almost everything so that is a lot of extra work.

 

[Peter Antonsen]

Oh okay, damn, it was in private interest, so I won't be investing 500$

 

[Pat Hartman]

Oh okay, damn, it was in private interest, so I won't be investing 500$

Sounds like a second copy of Access would be cheaper for you.