Changes not showing up when multiple people have the database open

[help!!!]

Hi, I have recently made changes to a form on access ( I have the 2010 version). What I did was basically adding another field from the "fields in related tables" into the form. Everything showed up the way that I wanted it to. However, when another user opens the database on another computer, the extra column that I added will disappear. And when the other users close the database on their computer, and I open it on my computer, it appears again. What can I do to fix that?



Please help!!!!

[ranman256]

If you alter a table on the backend, then the changes wont show until each Frontend refreshes the table links via linked table manager.
You could also make a VB script to update them via code.

[Bulzie]

Could be a refresh issue as ranman said. Or copy the database to a folder on everyone's local harddrive and have them open it from that local copy instead of from the network.

[ssanfu]

If you alter a table on the backend, then the changes wont show until each Frontend refreshes the table links via linked table manager.
You could also make a VB script to update them via code.

That is assuming that the dB is split.......not everyone knows it is better to have a split design....

[help!!!]

Thanks for all the replies! However, I don't think I made it specific enough in the original question that the problem is when multiple users have the database open. For example, if Bob is the only person that has the database open on computer #1, the changes I made shows up. Similarly, if Joe is the only person that has the database open on computer #2, the changes shows up as well. So the changes show up regardless of which computer the database is opened from. The problem occurs when multiple users have the database open. For example, if Joe has the database open on computer #2 first, he can see the changes that I made earlier. However, when Bob opens that same database from computer #1 when Joe still have the database open on his computer, he can no longer see the changes that I made. I hope that clarifies the situation!!!!!

[NTC]

All the posters I think understood your situation. It is refresh. An object (form, report) or control (combobox) calls in the data when it opens. It will not change unless it is refreshed/re-query. Your easiest sanity check is to close/open the object. I have never seen a situation where this does not refresh. That could only be caused by some other unmentioned design issue.

[Bulzie]

What is it you added, a field on a form, combo box? You said it was a column, if so a column in what?

[help!!!]

NTC: I've closed and opened it multiple times, the changes are there when I reopen it, but as soon as someone opens it on another computer before I do, the changes disappear. Is there anything else that I can try?

Bulzie: I've dragged a field from the "fields in related tables" into the form in design view, and when I go back to form view, the new field shows up as a column. I hope this answers your question.

[NTC]

my post referred to data refreshing; the only way an object/control dynamically disappears is in the case of sub forms/reports which have no data (which ties back to refresh of data)... any other instance of objects/controls dynamically disappearing means something else is going on that is not being explained.

sanity check that all users have their own FE which is a copy of your FE - - all linking to a single common BE

[help!!!]

Ummm, I forgot to mention that there are no multiple FE, it's one FE that is posted on a shared drive, which can be accessed by multiple users

[Bulzie]

So try splitting the database to a FE and BE and open the FE locally on each PC(or maybe separate network folders if it needs to stay there). See if you still have the issue.

Also try adding an unbound text box or something to the form to see if both can see it. If you can it's something to do probably with the data link with the field.

[ssanfu]

Just an FYI.

Ummm, I forgot to mention that there are no multiple FE, it's one FE that is posted on a shared drive, which can be accessed by multiple users

This is a sure way to corrupt your dB. It might not happen today, it might not happen tomorrow, but it WILL happen.

I heard about an unsplit dB with multiple users that lasted around 12 years, then had a lot of corruption. Because the corruption had been happening over a period of time, even the backups were bad......



You might want to read:
Splitting a access database, or how to run ms-access in a multi-user mode
http://www.kallal.ca/Articles/split/index.htm

[help!!!]

Sorry I did not make this clear, but the database is split, there is a back end and a front end, both of which are on the shared drive. There are over a hundred computers that may need to access the database; therefore, to go around to each computer and storing the FE locally is not really an option.

[Bulzie]

So the form is based off of a query with multiple tables and this new field is in one of the tables in the recordsource of that form right? Unbind the data element(just delete the Control Source to that field so it just shows as a blank box, does it show on PC2 now? This might tell if it is a data linking issue maybe.

[NTC]

A multi user database must be split with an FE per user. That its deployment is not convenient does not change that fact. The convenience of FE deployment would depend on your Microsoft domain management environment & tools. One approach is to put each user's FE on a server - rather than their local PC. They still each have a separate FE but the copy/paste deployment to a single server would be more convenient then visiting many individual PCs. Having said that one loses the processing contribution of each PC and put a lot of processing load on that server.

The quantity of users tends to indicate that this should be re-written as a Web App.