Convert your Access 2007 application from design to runtime mode by changing its extension

* Date: February 26th, 2008
* Author: Mary Ann

When you’re ready to move your Access application from development to production, you need to ensure that it runs in Access runtime mode when opened. Access runtime mode prevents users from modifying or deleting objects from the application; users have access only to the objects you make available to them in the Startup form.

After specifying your Startup, you simply need to change the Access 2007 database filename extension to put it in runtime mode. For example, to put the Employee.accdb database in runtime mode, follow these steps:

1. Open the Employee.accdb database.
2. Click the Office button.
3. Click the Access Options button.
4. Click Current Database on the left side of the window.
5. Under Application Options, click the drop-down arrow of the Display Form text box.
6. Select the name of the form you want to be your Startup form for your application, then click OK.
7. Click the Office button.
8. Click Close Database.
9. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the Employee.accdb icon.
10. Right-click the icon and select Rename.
11. Type Employee.accdr and then press Enter.

This creates a locked-down version of your Access 2007 database. To open it in runtime mode, you can double-click its icon in Windows Explorer, open it using a shortcut on the desktop, or use the /runtime command-line switch. To open the file again in Access in design mode, you need to rename it with an .accdb filename extension.


By:
Amresh Anjan