Access 2003 VBA Programmer's Reference

19.1. Redistributable Access Runtime

A computer with the full version of Microsoft Access installed on it can run an Access-based application no matter where that application was developed. Just copy the MDB or MDE files to that computer and away you go.

But what if you want to deploy your application on a computer that doesn't have a full version of Access? And what if you don't want to buy a full version of Access because that computer won't ever use Access's features, except where those features are needed to run your application? That's where the Access Runtime comes into the picture.

Let's take a step back for a minute. Why would you want to deploy your application on another computer? Well, when you started developing your Access-based application maybe you hadn't considered where it might be deployed. That's a typical situation for many Access-based applications. You create an ad hoc database to help one person solve his or her problem. Before you know it, 30 people are using the application and requesting enhancements. When you realize that more than one user might want to use the application, you start trying to determine what would be required to run your application on other computers.

The least common denominator necessary to run an Access-based application on a computer is the Access Runtime. Prior to Access 2003, the runtime could only be distributed if you purchased the "developer" edition of Microsoft Office. Since Microsoft Office 2003 doesn't have the developer ...