Analyse my Database to find unattached Objects

[Baldeagle]

The Database that i developed for a small Charity has grown over the years and has also been changed to meet new requirements. I'm sure there are now Queries, Reports, Forms etc that are no longer required and could be deleted. Is there any simple (and preferably free) way to analyse the Database and find all Objects that are not used via the various Menu Forms that manage the working of the Database?


I have tripped over Total Access Analyzer which seems to do what I want. But I don't think paying $299 for a one-off use could be justified. Are there any other ways to handle this?

[ranman256]

In my experience, DON'T. Unless you ABSOLUTELY know deleting an object won't break something down the line.
i just leave them. Deleting things caused headaches because something needed it.

[Baldeagle]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm inclined to take your advice. But just for my information is there any answer to my original question about how it can be done?

[orange]

What some developers do is:
- (leave well enough alone for fear of removing something critical), but
- you can get a list of all of your tables, queries, forms, reports, modules (I don't use macros, but I'm sure you can get a current list)
- you could parse the sql for each query looking for table names (tables that do not have a related query may not be used)
- you could check the record source of each Form and Report and compare to your tables and queries (result may indicate an unused object)
- if you're pretty sure something isn't used/referenced, DON'T DELETE IT --just add an XX or something to the name, and monitor database usage and users for errors. If you get something like " can not find XX_Your_original_name", then you know that object is important -- remove the XX and continue.
- if you do a lot of creating sql within vba modules, it gets trickier (don't delete without having a good current backup--and protect it just in case)

You can check the Object dependencies to glean as much as you can.

Bottom line -- do a backup for later reference, and be cautious with deleting objects.

[Baldeagle]

Thanks for that guidance. Much appreciated.