How To Get My Bro's Prog?

[abrogard]

My brother has an Access 2003 prog split into front end and back end. Large library loans database thing it is.



How can he best send me the prog - minus the thousands of records many of which (maybe all) I shouldn't be allowed to see because belonging to the govt - so's I can work with him on it?

[JeroenMioch]

Put it online when the data is fake or empty.
There are websites where you can upload your data for free, I dont know any webadresses tough.
Dont try it via Hotmail, it will fail because hotmail sees the .mdb attachment as a risk and will disable it.

Good luck with it.

[abrogard]

I don't really understand what you're saying. 'Put it online' ? You mean put it up on the web where everyone can see it? What's the point of that?

'hotmail' and '.mdb' makes me think perhaps he could simply send me the .mdb file. Is that right? It doesn't need to be sent as a hotmail attachment, of course. It could be appended to a Yahoo email and renamed '.xxx' or something. But we regularly swap memsticks of 8gig at a time. It could come on one of those.

The point is: what does he send me for me to get it so's I can look at it and talk with him about alterations/improvements to it? With a minimum or preferably a zero amount of data?

I have an old Access db or two and they are just .mdb files - but they weren't 'split'. I don't know what the splitting does. Presumably the data, hence the tables, are at 'the back' and therefore if he sends me the 'front', the 'mdb' it won't be enough. It'll not work, because it won't find any tables. Is that right?

But I thought there was something in Access that enabled you to export the 'structure' of the whole prog so's you could send the whole thing to someone and they could 'rebuild' it at their end?

But I can't find it in my googling.

If you had a split database you wanted to send to me so's I could look at it and see just what a good job you've done building it, how would you do it?

[redbull]

I am wondering why the front end stores any data at all. I understand being linked to the backend data, but if the link is broken then no data should be "accessable" Either way just my thoughts.

[JeroenMioch]

You were asking us how he could send you the program. I did just that.
Email will usually not work as the database is either too large or the email client will see the content of the attachement as malware.
So my suggestion was to -indeed- put it online. While anyone would be able to see it, It is a way to exchange data.
Ive done it many times, put something on the web, the receiver gets the data and then you remove it off the web.

This all without the data its holding, so an "empty" database.

You cant do anything with the front end or back end seperately as the two are connected.
The back end holds the data, the front end is the forms people use to enter data into the database.
The reason for splitting it is so a programmer can make new front end stuff while the users can still use the program.
Onces all the user have logged of, the programmer enables the new content and the application can run again.

Without this splitting the users will not be able to work while the programmer is working on stuff.

[ssanfu]

Two ways to copy the back end -
First way -

copy the back end
    open the new BE
    for each table
         open table
         select all records and delete

Rename the mdb to the current BE name after moving it to a different folder.
This leaves relationships intact.

Second way -

Create a new mdb
   select FILE/GET EXTERNAL DATA/IMPORT
   find & select the BE with the data
   select the TABLES tab
   select all tables
   click on the OPTIONS button
         select the "DEFINITIONS ONLY" radio button

   Reset up the relationships

Rename the mdb to the current BE name after moving it to a different folder.

Do a Compact and Repair of both the FE and BE, then zip it. The data is gone, so you can email it. Or, using Filezilla (or other FTP program), you could FTP it