Tool to convert VBA for compiling as .exe

[BruceS]

We have 6 different .mdb that need to be distribubted as .exe (versus .mde)

Does anyone know of:
1) online articles pertaining to doing this
2) tools that will convert Access forms and supporting code to VB or other
source so that an .exe can be created?

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Marshall Barton]

We have 6 different .mdb that need to be distribubted as .exe (versus .mde)

Does anyone know of:
1) online articles pertaining to doing this
2) tools that will convert Access forms and supporting code to VB or other
source so that an .exe can be created?

No such thing!

With the developer's version of Access, you can distribute
the runtime library along with your .mde so users are not
required to have Access installed.

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Tony Toews lists some products at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/accesstovb.htm that purport to be able to
convert Access to VB (and other languages). However, the general consensus
is that they do an incomplete job at best.

There are simply too many differences between the controls available for
forms in VB and those in Access for the conversion to be straight-forward.
You're generally better off redesigning the forms. (You may, of course, be
able to reuse some of the VBA code in VB though)

 

[BruceS]

Thanks, Marshall, but we need to distribute as apps that aren't "installed",
just opened/downloaded and "run". (One will remain a .mde because it has its
own datasource - it doesn't just connect to one the customer already has.)

Would be nice if developers could (at least) just copy and paste the forms
and/or controls from Access to MS VB, but it doesn't work that way. We're in
process of rebuilding them in VB now. Fortunately, the module code is
(almost) copy and paste. A lot of "DoCmd"s and Option Groups to fix,
though...

Best,
Bruce

 

[Tim Ferguson]

Thanks, Marshall, but we need to distribute as apps that aren't
"installed", just opened/downloaded and "run".

Try SQL-Lite and Delphi?


Tim F

 

[BruceS]

Thanks, Tim. Haven't used Delphi since its first windows-based release.
(Long time.) Not familiar with SQL Lite. Does Delphi now support creating
..exe files?

Bruce

 

[BruceS]

Thanks, Doug. Checked out most of the ones on the list, but found only one
review, on "ac2vb", by other developers. (Review said it did "90%" of the
code.)

The one by Irie Software [http://members.shaw.ca/irie/objconverter2002.htm]
says it's complete (reports, forms, queries, et al) and the price is not too
bad. (<$150 US).

The one by Diamond Edge Software
[http://www.diamondedge.com/products/Convert-Access-to-VB.html] is more than
twice the money, requires Crystal Reports, and has stricter licensing
requirements, but its features and limitations are well documented on their
web site.

Erik Sagalara has a free one at
http://hem.passagen.se/eriks/develop/tools.htm that (appears) to do just the
forms and controls.

Considering hourly rates for coding, having one of them is probably a good
investment as long as the result doesn't require too much cleanup.

Best,
Bruce

 

[Douglas J Steele]

My comment about "the general consensus" referred to discussions that have
occurred here in the user groups over the years. Perhaps some of the
products have improved.

--
Doug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP

(no e-mails, please!)

Thanks, Doug. Checked out most of the ones on the list, but found only one
review, on "ac2vb", by other developers. (Review said it did "90%" of the
code.)

The one by Irie Software [http://members.shaw.ca/irie/objconverter2002.htm]
says it's complete (reports, forms, queries, et al) and the price is not too
bad. (<$150 US).

The one by Diamond Edge Software
[http://www.diamondedge.com/products/Convert-Access-to-VB.html] is more than
twice the money, requires Crystal Reports, and has stricter licensing
requirements, but its features and limitations are well documented on their
web site.

Erik Sagalara has a free one at
http://hem.passagen.se/eriks/develop/tools.htm that (appears) to do just the
forms and controls.

Considering hourly rates for coding, having one of them is probably a good
investment as long as the result doesn't require too much cleanup.

Best,
Bruce

Tony Toews lists some products at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/accesstovb.htm that purport to be able to
convert Access to VB (and other languages). However, the general consensus
is that they do an incomplete job at best.

There are simply too many differences between the controls available for
forms in VB and those in Access for the conversion to be straight-forward.
You're generally better off redesigning the forms. (You may, of course, be
able to reuse some of the VBA code in VB though)

 

[Tim Ferguson]

Thanks, Tim. Haven't used Delphi since its first windows-based
release. (Long time.) Not familiar with SQL Lite. Does Delphi now
support creating .exe files?

yes: it's about the only decent platform that will compile down to a
single exe file without a host of dependencies. RealBASIC does to, but I
just happened to hate the language.

SQL Lite is intended to be embedded into an exe too. Jet databases depend
on a chunk of DLLs and other toolkits -- these come with Office and are
likely to be present on most target PCs but if you run into (for example)
an OpenOffice site then you will still be faced with downloading and
registering a stack of system files.

Let's face it: it's pretty hard to create anything nontrivial that will
run sensibly without an OS or close-to-OS subsystem supporting it. It's a
hangover from the eighties to expect anything else, really. Remember how
every piece of software came with its own set of display and printer
drivers? All duplicated? Even Windows still shows signs of excessive
isolationism -- how many text editors do you have on your PC now? In
Unix, it's common for an app just to call whatever the user likes (vi,
emacs etc etc etc).

I would just get over it and use the platform that you feel most
comfortable and productive with.

All the best


Tim F