Error Messege

[DBinazeski]

For no apparent reason to me, when certain poeple open our database an error message like the following appears:


" The document 'Database Rentals.mdb' caused a serious error the last time it was opened. Would you like to continue opening it? "
The message also give the following options:

Show Help > >
Yes
No

The 'Show Help >>' option doens't provide any clear solution.
I clicked no out of fear of causing harm to something very valuable to us. Can anyone tell me where to even start to look to try to figure out what this means, if it needs to be fixed, and if there's anything at all I should do?

[jzwp11]

I assume that multiple people are using the database. Where does the database reside? Is the database split into front (everything but the tables) and back ends (tables only)?

[DBinazeski]

Yes, multiple people use it. The DB resides on a server that many people have access to. I suppose the answer to your last question is that it is Back End, all of our info is stored in tables and refered to/manipulated through those either a table or form.

[DBinazeski]

another point to note is that only one person gets this error messege. everyone else who works in this DB has had no problems

[jzwp11]

In a typical multi-user environment, the back end containing only the tables resides on the serve. No users should access the back end directly. The users should each have a copy of the front end on their respective computer's harddrive and interaction should be done through forms in the front end. You would link the back end tables to the front end, but your users should never have access to the tables.

Allowing multiple people to access the database on the server directly can (and probably will) lead to corruption of the database.

As to why only one person gets the error is unknown. Is everyone using the same version of Access?

[DBinazeski]

First off, yes, we don't have some people running different forms of access, but the filke format is 2002 - 2003 and no one has an earlier version than 2003 (it could be possible that no one is operating in earlier than 2007, but i owuld have ot check on that if it were vital)

But, I think you may have just opened a new 'can of worms' for me.
This "front end" and "back end" nomenclature is new to me. My understanding is that there is no single 'administrator' roll and that everyone has equal rights to the database. Now, i'm not sure what that means, but how do i make it so some people are "users" and can only access the front end, and that there is one person permitted to access the back end?

[jzwp11]

...everyone has equal rights to the database

Normally, only the designer(s) of the database has the right to change the table structure (back end) and the user interface (i.e. the front end). The users can have variable rights to add/edit/delete data, but they should not have any right to change any aspect of the design unless of course if your designer is also a user.

Usually when I split the database into front and back ends (there is a utility under the tools menu), I give the back end a different file name to make it harder for the user to find, but if someone is skilled in Access, they will be able to find it. Another option is to create a run time version of the database. This is free in Access 2007 but not Access 2003. With the run-time version you can lock everything down to prevent access.

In Access, you can set up a startup form and adjust the settings such that the database window is invisible. This is the easiest way to disallow people from making design changes, but it can be circumvented. The startup form is typically a login form and you can assign data privileges tied to the user when they log in.