DB Timer/Expirary

[Nick T]

Hi,

Is there any way in which i can put a timer on my db so that it will only
work for a set period of time.
eg, if someone was to use my db, it would only work for eg. 24hrs until it
closed/stopped working??

Any suggestions??
Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Scott Lichtenberg]

It sounds like you are looking to make a demo or trial version of your
application. You can create or use an existing parameters table with a
"FirstUse" field. Set up a startup form. In the Load event, check whether
the FirstUse field has been set. If not, set it. If it has been set,
evaluate whether the application has expired and if so, issue a quit
command. It might be nice to put in some code to warn the user as to how
much time he has left.

If you are looking to close down an application after a certain amount of
time, look at the OnTimer event.

One caveat - the code above will work, but is not secure. Someone with the
full version of Access (as opposed to the runtime) would be able to open
your database and reset the expiration date. Creating an mde or accde won't
help. A user with Access can modify tables in and mde (although they can't
modify your forms or code). You might have to encrypt your database, but
I've never done that so I can't tell you whether it would work.

 

[Nick T]

Hi,
Yes, demo/trial is the route im heading down with this.....
However, could you explain a little further - in laymans terms(?)

Thanks

 

[Anthos]

There is an application (freeware / opensource) called ActiveLock that
allows you to lock an Access Database for a set period of time.
It is probably best suited for your needs, however, it does require
some advanced VBA to integrate into your access database.