Viewing Access without Access

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Howdy all. I have a unique? problem. I have several people that need to view Access files over our LAN. They do not need to manipulate data. Does Access have a Viewer like PowerPoint does. No, buying copies is not an option. The data is in Access 97.
Your time is greatly appreciated.

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Micorsoft makes a scaled down version of Access called Access Runtime. It basically alows users to enter, view, edit, and delete records, and generate reports. It does not allow them access to the tables, queries, and other items found in the full version.

We use this quite extensively in througout out company as there is no licensing issues as to how many PC’s can have it installed, etc. If your company bought very many full version of Access then chances are there was a copy or two of the Runtime version available. Check with your Information Systems group.

I will caution you though that there are some items that may work in the full version which may not work in the Runtime version. If you use the Switchboard Manager to generate switchboards based on “options” stored in a table, you may have probles. I have had this happen a couple of times where I had to switch the commands over to VB driven. One other item that will not work is the “Filter by Form” capability. There is documentation in the MS Developer Web site that can assist you with this problem. Search for article Q172090.

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The distributable runtime is available ONLY with the developer’s edition. Other versions of Office 97 do not include it.

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So This brings me back to square one? No viewer unless I buy Developers?

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Do your users need to view something other than reports? You can save Access reports in snapshot format, and the snapshot viewer is free. The snapshots will be static (i.e. you’ll need to recreate them every time you want new information in them).

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Sorry but snapshot wont work, I do not have enough time to create updates snap shots multiple times a day for multiple people.

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Sounds like you’re stuck with having to ask the powers that be to pony up the cash for a Developer’s edition of Office. Act quickly before you can’t find a retail version for Office 2000!

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Or have someone develop some simple ASP pages to query your database and display the results on your company’s intranet. But that’s another thread for another forum!

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If that’s the situation, you don’t need the developer’s edition because you would still be creating stuff constantly and that’s what you want to avoid. It sounds like Shane’s second recommendation on ASP is the only thing that will do what you want to do.

Essentially, you want to allow people to see updated information on demand from an Access database without their having Access. That means that a browser-based solution is the only option you have.

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have you tried a screen capture of the form or report

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Once you wander into ASP or other browser-based solutions, it isn’t Access that controls such stuff. You’ll have to find an ASP artist to handle that for you. They should be able to control what prints and what doesn’t.

edited for afterthoughts
What did you mean by PrintScreen? That copies the current window to the clipboard. If you used a web-based solution, your users would generally use the browser print button or a script-based print button on the page to print the page. Those results are controllable.

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i use a program called paint shop pro for screen captures
you can get full screen or just capture areas of the screen
you can down load a free evaluation copy off the internet

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