# of users doing data entry?

[T]

Hi there,

Please excuse my silly question.

I have an Access 2000 database on a shared network, with
12 users. I'm wondering if they can all enter and/or edit
data - using forms - at the same time.

Will it cause any problems?

Thanks for your help!
Tara

 

[Roger Carlson]

It depends.

Access specifications say that the maximum concurrent users is 255. That is
the theoretical maximum. The practical maximum is much lower. 10-15 is
usually noted as a reasonable maximum. But this can very depending on how
intensive each user's usage is.

If the multiple users are going to be editing the SAME record, you will have
record locking problems, but that is true of any database, not just Access.
Since Access 2000 and up has record-level locking, a user won't lock other
records than his own if doing data entry. But if the users are doing update
queries to the whole table, you may still get locking conflicts.

With multiple users, the application should be "split" into a Front-End and
Back-End, with the BE holding the tables and the FE holding everything else
with the tables linked in. Also, for best performance, each user should
have a copy of the FE on their workstation with the BE on the network.

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much for your help! Perfect solution. Thank
you again!