Forum Discussion
Access to Access
I am a single user using OneDrive and 365. All of a sudden Access says I can't save edits because there is another user. There isn't. Occasionally the file locking file can be seen in Explorer but I can't delete it as "it is no longer in this location". Any thoughts?
Well, you've banged into one of the reasons experienced Access developers do not try to run Access from OneDrive.
There actually must be "another user" of some sort, whether that is you yourself in a different instance or truly someone else wandering along and finding the accdb.
However, that part is just speculation. The fact of the matter is that OneDrive doesn't support running accdbs from that location very well, and definitely not safely.If you need to share the accdb with other users, there are other, much better ways to do so.
All production Access relational database applications should be split into a "Back End" containing only the tables and a "Front End" containing only the interface and logic objects: forms and reports, queries, and VBA or macros. The tables in the Back End, or BE, are linked to the Front End, or FE.
The FE needs to be on the local computer, i.e. the computer or laptop you use. If others need to share the relational database application, give them their own copy of the FE. Of course, you the developer also keep a "master" copy of the FE for future maintenance and development.
Do not put the BE on OneDrive either. If it is to be shared, put it on a network in a folder for which all users have appropriate read/write/delete permissions.
With regard to that locking file. It's job is to keep track of which users currently have the accdb open for use. It is created when the first user of application starts and it is deleted when the last user exits.
There are already many technical explanations on the internet regarding the reasons why trying to run Access accdbs in OneDrive (or other "Cloud" locations) is a bad approach, so I'll leave searching out that information to you.
Well, that is very interesting and useful. Thank you. I am, I accept readily, an amateur. My application has been developed over the years as a glorified, single user calculator. I have run it with the internet disconnected and still had the same problem, which suggests my phantom user is on my disconnected machine. Where to now?
- Where to? Mostly, what I laid out already.
OneDrive works for other types of files which do not require the type of sharing that Access accdbs require. (As mentioned, there are several good articles around the internet on the technical reasons.) You are using it as a single user? Put it on the local computer. If you need to use it on different computers at different locations, you could put a copy in OneDrive to download at those other locations, but running it should always be done locally to make life less hassle.
You call it a "calculator", which implies storing data is not the main focus.
