Remote access to database on server

[spiderman]

I have an Access database on my server. My client does not like the idea of having to download the db, make changes, then upload it back. In the past, he has dealt with SQL databases, where you can create an access data project, that will give you a desktop shortcut straight to the database. I was wondering if there was any way to do something similar with an Access database. There is FTP setup for the site and all required permissions are setup. Is there any way to create a desktop shortcut, so he can edit the database in real-time, without having to download and upload? Thanks for any help.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

Yes, you can convert your database to a *.adp database. I have this arrangement whereby an access front end communicates with an MS SQL database on a server hosted by hostbasket.com.

 

[spiderman]

Thank you for your reply. However, to do that, I have to convert my Access database to SQL and I really do not wish to do that. I was wondering if there was a way to do something similar without converting to SQL.

 

[Pat Hartman]

It is not necessary to convert to an .adp to make use of a SQL server backend. You can link to the tables from your .mdb. In either case, you would need to make some design changes to make the database efficient in this environment.

I don't think you can link to a database on an FTP server but I don't know that for a fact. If you can see the server in Windows explorer and it looks like any other disk, then you should try it. Split the database into a fe/be. Put the be on the FTP server. Open the fe and try to relink the tables using the linked tables manager.

This way you can distribute the fe to all the users and they can update a shared be.

Another alternative is a terminal services connection. This alternative can be slower than others depending on how fast the connection is.