Expert: Scottgem - 5/13/2006

Question
Until now I only designed Access data bases for a single user.  Now I hope to build one that has at least two but no more than four users, all working on a networked system.
1.If there is one copy of Access on the system, can both users use it or does each one have to have a copy on her own hard disk?
2. There will be one data base on the system.  Can two users
a. add records (using forms) and update fields at the same time?
b. run queries, print reports, etc. at the same time?

Thank you very much for the answer.

Joerg Mayer

Answer
First Access was designed as a multi-user system. So there is no problem with multiple people accessing the tables at the same time. You might get into a hassle if two people try to change the same record simultaneously, but that should happen very rarely.

One thing you NEED to do is split the database. There is a Splitter Wizard under Tools>Database that will move all the tables into a back end and leave everything else in the front end. The back end should be placed on a shared network drive. For best performance the front end should be local to each client PC. But with only 4 users, you might not have a problem storing the FE on the network share too.

HTH
Scott<>