We're currently having joy with a database that's playing up, and the person to blame for credit with creating this has decided to change the way it's set up. Previously, each volunteer had a desktop shortcut to the server copy of the database on their PC (we're ruining Windoze 2K, btw). However, the new cunning plan is to put a front end .mdb on each PC, and replace the current shortcut with the appropriate for the new database.
Copying the .mdb to the individual pcs is no problem (nice shared C: drives, stroke, stroke), but she's in a bit of a quandary with regard to how to be able to manage the shortcut change, without requiring someone to wander around each PC and do it by hand (there are several PCs in Macclesfield and Bristol). If I was going to take the time, I'd use VNC to do it remotely, but I'm not in the office next week (due to the joys of revision).
I've scavved a couple of vb scripts that can create and delete shortcuts on the local PC, but not quite sure how to get them to run remotely on the other PCs. Alternatively, would a simple command line "erase \\machine01\c:\blahblah\desktop\blah.lnk" do the job in a reliable fashion. And would a similar copy instruction do the trick for adding the link (once a sort of template shortcut had been created)?
You see, I truly know nothing! And I'm tired.
Copying the .mdb to the individual pcs is no problem (nice shared C: drives, stroke, stroke), but she's in a bit of a quandary with regard to how to be able to manage the shortcut change, without requiring someone to wander around each PC and do it by hand (there are several PCs in Macclesfield and Bristol). If I was going to take the time, I'd use VNC to do it remotely, but I'm not in the office next week (due to the joys of revision).
I've scavved a couple of vb scripts that can create and delete shortcuts on the local PC, but not quite sure how to get them to run remotely on the other PCs. Alternatively, would a simple command line "erase \\machine01\c:\blahblah\desktop\blah.lnk" do the job in a reliable fashion. And would a similar copy instruction do the trick for adding the link (once a sort of template shortcut had been created)?
You see, I truly know nothing! And I'm tired.
no subject
Using Access to stage a SQL connection is about as bad an idea as I can think of. Access is an horrendous SQL client unless you set it up very carefully.
I'd say that your best setup, as you seem to agree, is Local client (written in whatever) > Local SQL server <> Merge Replication to central distributiuon server.
As long as you code the client carefully, this will let you do inserts and edits at any site, and all sites will have all the data. All the sites can also run independantly if the connection goes down.
I put together a very similar setup with offices in 6 different countries. Access clients talking to local SQL servers, each server dialled in overnight to the central server to exchange all the updates. Worked very well.