BE/ FE Question

[JenK]

I am running access 2000 and have secured by db using Access security. I have
slit my db into a BE/ FE. The problem I have is that it is running slow. It
was brought to my attention that the reason for this is probably because
everyone is running the FE off the server. I want to put a copy onto
everyones desktop. How do I do this while still haveing the user enter a
password?

 

[Keith Wilby]

I am running access 2000 and have secured by db using Access security. I
have
slit my db into a BE/ FE. The problem I have is that it is running slow.
It
was brought to my attention that the reason for this is probably because
everyone is running the FE off the server. I want to put a copy onto
everyones desktop. How do I do this while still haveing the user enter a
password?

Use a batch file to copy the FE to the user's desktop and then open it.
There's some sample batch file code below my sig. Performance can also be
enhanced by having a persistent connection between the front and back ends.
You achieve that by always having a bound form open.

Keith.
www.keithwilby.co.uk

DEL "%temp%\MyLocalFolder\*.*" /Q
RD "%temp%\MyLocalFolder"
MKDIR "%temp%\MyLocalFolder"

DEL "%userprofile%\desktop\MyShortcut.lnk"
XCOPY "\\MyPath\MyShortcut.lnk" "%userprofile%\desktop"

XCOPY "\\MyPath\MyDBFile.mdb" "%temp%\MyLocalFolder" /I
START "MyApp" /MAX "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\MSACCESS.EXE"
"%temp%\MyLocalFolder\MyDBFile.mdb" /wrkgrp "\\MyPath\MyWorkgroup.mdw"

 

[JenK]

Thanks for the code, I am a little confused on how to use it though. I am not
sure if this is correct or if I am missing something.
I would like everyone to run the program from C:\Program Files
The shortcut will be called Database
I see you have shortcut.Ink I am not sure on how to get it called .Ink
My secured.MDW file is saved under L:\BD\AD\secured.mdw

DEL "%temp%\Program Files\*.*" /Q
RD "%temp%\Program Files"
MKDIR "%temp%\Program Files"

DEL "%userprofile%\desktop\MyShortcut.lnk"
XCOPY "\\Program Files\MyShortcut.lnk" "%userprofile%\desktop"

XCOPY "\\Program Files\\Database.mdb" "%temp%\MyLocalFolder" /I
START "MyApp" /MAX "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE"
"%temp%\Program Files\Database.mdb" /wrkgrp "\\L:\BD\AD\secured.mdw"

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

I would like everyone to run the program from C:\Program Files

Do *NOT* do so. Regular users have read only access to Program Files
thus they will not be able to copy in the FE or any future updates to
the FE.

Instead copy the FE to the users Application Data\Your App Name
folder.

BTW the free Auto FE Updater can also do all this as well as creating
the necessary shortcuts.

I specifically created the Auto FE Updater utility so that I could
make changes to the FE MDE as often as I wanted and be quite confident
that the next time someone went to run the app that it would pull in
the latest version. For more info on the errors or the Auto FE
Updater utility see the free Auto FE Updater utility at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/autofe.htm at my website to keep the
FE on each PC up to date.

In a Terminal Server or Citrix environment the Auto FE Updater now
supports creating a directory named after the user on a server. Given
a choice put the FE on the Citrix server to reduce network traffic and
to avoid having to load objects over the network which can be somewhat
sluggish.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[JenK]

thank-you for the program. I have used the secured example.ini as my
reference and it seems to work, it has created a desktop icon but it shows
the target location as my server target rather that the target on my computer.
Here is the code as I modified it
[Settings]
MainApp=%appdata%\Application Data\Database\
FileNameToStart=Apollo Database.mdb
Server=L:\Basic data\Access Databases\DatabaseFE\
Lockout=No
LockoutMsg=Sorry, not allowed into the system right now.
SupportMsg=Please contact Jennifer for support.
CommandLine=/wrkgrp "L:\Basic data\Access Databases\SECURED.MDW

ShortCutName=Database
CreateShortCutOnDesktop=no
CreateShortCutOnCommonDesktop=Yes

MDWFile=L:\Basic data\Access Databases\SECURED.MDW
MDWUser=DBAdmin
MDWPassword=(Password is encrypted)

MDWPasswordEncrypted=E72BD4A054DA24

Am I missing something or is there something I forgot to do, or is this
exactly how everything is supposed to run?

 

[Keith Wilby]

Thanks for the code, I am a little confused on how to use it though. I am
not
sure if this is correct or if I am missing something.
I would like everyone to run the program from C:\Program Files
The shortcut will be called Database
I see you have shortcut.Ink I am not sure on how to get it called .Ink
My secured.MDW file is saved under L:\BD\AD\secured.mdw

The code copies the files into the user's profile Temp folder. As Tony
stated it is likely that this is the only area your users will have write
permissions to. If your shortcut is called Database then use

DEL "%userprofile%\desktop\Database.lnk"
XCOPY "\\MyPath\Database" "%userprofile%\desktop"

For your workgroup file:

START "MyApp" /MAX "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\MSACCESS.EXE"
"%temp%\MyLocalFolder\MyDBFile.mdb" /wrkgrp "L:\BD\AD\secured.mdw"

Keith.
www.keithwilby.co.uk

 

[JenK]

Is the program supposed to paste a hard copy onto my computer. All I have it
seems is a shortcut that is directed at the server file.
I am also unsure how to get the file to be placed onto all my users desktops
because I am unable to open the startMDB.exe file on my users computers.
I think I must have missed a step somewhere.

 

[david]

stated it is likely that this is the only area your users will have write

A better place for user files like mdb's is

%userprofile%\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\local settings\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\application data\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\local settings\application data\myfolder

(david)

 

[Keith Wilby]

A better place for user files like mdb's is

%userprofile%\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\local settings\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\application data\myfolder
or
%userprofile%\local settings\application data\myfolder

I'm not sure what difference it makes, if any, but I use the Temp folder
because it doesn't count towards the users' profile size in our corporate
policy.

Keith.

 

[david]

In which case, "local settings" will probably also work.

Like Temp, "local settings" is not copied back to the server.

Which does mean that, like temp, you loose it if anything happens to your
local computer.

If you actually redirect your profile to the server, instead of
backing it up to the server, then anything under "%userprofile%
will be on the server, and the user temp folder will also be on
the server. To get around that problem, you can redirect the
user temp folder to a local drive, but then you have to either
have a shared temp folder, or re-create the whole user-profile
system to secure the user temp folder.

It's just a preference, but I prefer to put temp files in the temp
folder, and local settings in the local settings folder.

(david)

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

Is the program supposed to paste a hard copy onto my computer.

Yes. The contents of the folder
L:\Basic data\Access Databases\DatabaseFE\
should reside in
C:\Documents and Settings\<your network userid>\Application
Data\Application Data\Database\
At least that's how I read your INI file. Note that you likely don't
need the Application Data a second time.

All I have it
seems is a shortcut that is directed at the server file.

What's in the target of the shortcut?

I am also unsure how to get the file to be placed onto all my users desktops
because I am unable to open the startMDB.exe file on my users computers.

The user only needs to click on a shortcut which resides on the file
server which then starts the entire process.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[Keith Wilby]

In which case, "local settings" will probably also work.

Like Temp, "local settings" is not copied back to the server.

Which does mean that, like temp, you loose it if anything happens to your
local computer.

That's not an issue for my users because the FE is copied to the C drive
every time it's opened, regardless of whether a copy already exists there.

Keith.