Working with a linked table

[kjohnson]

Hi,

I have to make changes to a report that is built from a linked table that the team is using constantly. I don't know this application well at all and its going to take some analysis. How can I work with the table w/o locking the users out of the table.

Thanks for your help!

 

[llkhoutx]

You should not be locking other users out at all, you're merely reading the table. Maybe you're linking it and designating as exclusive.

 

[neileg]

If possible, take a copy of the table. I'd rather prototype on a copy than the live data just in case it all goes pear shaped!

 

[kjohnson]

Thanks!

I'd like to take a copy but its huge so I have to open it (which takes a while) then extract a few hundred records....

Do you have any suggestions about how to best accomplish this?

also...
How can the table be opened non-exclusive and what are the pitfalls of doing that (if any)

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[llkhoutx]

You asked:

How can the table be opened non-exclusive and what are the pitfalls of doing that (if any)

What version of Access are you using & how do you link the table which is "locked"? Is it locked when used in a form? What are your permissions to that table? Could it be locked on the back-end?

Since you're reporting, I suspect you may not have permission to read that table or possible.

Search this site for "record locking" and you'll find lots of opinions. A multi-user system may require object permissions, but not locking per se. Depending on you Access version, page locking (multiple records) or record locking (single record) occurs when the table is being updated. For A2K, or greater, record locking applies; if multuple users edit the same record at the same time, one will get to edit and the other will get an error saying the record has been changed. One has to trap that error and code around it.

 

[Pat Hartman]

When you work with a large, linked table, you need to use queries with where clauses to limit the number of rows returned. You can't use the where argument of the OpenReport or OpenForm Methods since that just filters the recordset.

 

[testmud]

Agree with upstairs, I suggest you create a query to select what data is you want to show on report before you make the report. It would advantage to the report, if you want to change the data in report, then you only need to change the query.