MS Access Multiuser - Startup form opens, then closes

Author

Startup form opens, then closes

Laura

2005-04-26, 11:26 am

We are a multiuser environment, where users login to a main Access database
through a metaframe server. A list box of reports is displayed. Each entry,
when clicked opens a startup form to another minor Access database. Both main
and minor Access databases are located in the same folder on another server.

Sometimes for certain users, the startup form for the minor database will
open, and then immediately close. They may need to login to the main
database several times before they are able to access the minor database, or
even get logged into a different metaframe server.

How can this problem be resolved? Is it because of many users accessing the
same database at the same time?

Larry Linson

2005-04-26, 8:25 pm

"Laura" wrote

> . . . multiuser environment . . . users login
> to a main Access database through a meta-
> frame server. A list box of reports is displayed.
> Each entry, when clicked opens a startup
> form to another minor Access database. . . .
> Sometimes for certain users, the startup form
> for the minor database will open, and then
> immediately close. . . . How can this problem
> be resolved? Is it because of many users
> accessing the same database at the same time?

It is certainly not a good idea for multiple users to log in to the same
copy of the database at the same time, because it can significantly increase
the chance of corruption. That is the reason that the very strong
recommendation for Access in a multiuser environment is for each user to
have his/her own copy of the front end (the user interface, with queries,
forms, reports, macros, and modules) linked to tables in the back end
(tables and data, on a shared volume). This is true whether the users are
running on their own machine or running on a server via Terminal Services or
MetaFrame. In the latter case, each user should have his/her own folder(s)
on the server, containing the separate copy of the front end.

I do not know if this is the cause of, or contributes to, the problem you
are experiencing with the secondary database startup forms closing. But it
is a factor that you should eliminate as a consideration, in any case. It
may be a good time to rethink the structure of your application.

There's an introductory presentation on Access in a Multiuser Environment
that I did for my user group that you can download from
http://appdevissues.tripod.com. It will identify topics that I thought
worthwhile to discuss, and a bit more. The best collection of detailed
information and links on the subject of Access in the multiuser environment
is at MVP Tony Toews' site, http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm.

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

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