Sharing an Access Database/Dropbox Woes

[BlackOnBlack]

I created a database that I'd like to share with my colleagues. Currently, we use Dropbox for business to share files. If two people access the database, Dropbox will create a conflicted copy that we'd need to merge into the original copy, which is a pain. Anyone have possible solutions? Is there an easy cloud-based options?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Access doesn't work well with the cloud due to differences in protocols.

To truly share databases, you REALLY should have a network connection that allows you to use SMB protocols to a common back-end file, and each front-end file would have that SMB protocol connection.

I'm not going to swear on a stack of pizza, but I don't recall that cloud computing uses SMB quite so well. I think their file transfer protocols are based on something else. But hey, I've been known to be wrong before.

In any case, having remote connections opens you up to data corruption if that link ever goes down while in use.

 

[CJ_London]

nothing is particularly straightforward for the web. If you have the time and it is a real problem, look at moving the backend to sharepoint or perhaps azure.

There are also sites out there which basically host both your front and back ends in a terminal server environment. The benefit is you are not transferring much across the web (basically key and mouse events up and screen refresh data down) so performance is pretty close to running on your own pc. But like anything, it comes at a price