MSDN - Access XP Developer in MSDN Universal Subscription

Author

Access XP Developer in MSDN Universal Subscription

Dale Fye

2006-04-26, 6:57 pm

About 3 years ago, I purchased an MSDN subscription. At the time, I
installed Office XP and have been developing in that environment since then,
for small businesses.

This w

, I finished development of a very simple database for a client who
indicated that everyone that needed it had Access. Subsequent to that, he
found out the most of the people in his office have the Small Business
edition, which doesn't include Access.

I found my Access Developer disk from my MSDN subscription, but when I try
to install it, it indicates I have more recent software on my computer. Do I
need to reinstall Office XP from scratch, with the Developer tools, then
reinstall all of the subsequent service packs before I can use the Developer
Tools to create a runtime version of my Access program?

Galen

2006-04-27, 3:57 am

In news:88AE35DB-EE8B-4FB0-B6C7-755B303336C9@microsoft.com,
Dale Fye had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> About 3 years ago, I purchased an MSDN subscription. At the time, I
> installed Office XP and have been developing in that environment
> since then, for small businesses.
>
> This w

, I finished development of a very simple database for a
> client who indicated that everyone that needed it had Access.
> Subsequent to that, he found out the most of the people in his office
> have the Small Business edition, which doesn't include Access.
>
> I found my Access Developer disk from my MSDN subscription, but when
> I try to install it, it indicates I have more recent software on my
> computer. Do I need to reinstall Office XP from scratch, with the
> Developer tools, then reinstall all of the subsequent service packs
> before I can use the Developer Tools to create a runtime version of
> my Access program?

Before I answer - how much time are you looking at? Financial viability?

The reason I answer is because that Access is truly beyond my scope and
skillset other than a VERY small installation and work job for a local
municipality.

The second reason I ask is to ask if it is POSSIBLE (and not that I can help
you with your answer really so don't think that this is an answer of ANY
TYPE as I truly lack the skillset to help and would end up recommending one
of the server groups for this type of question and not really MSDN but
someone might know) to convert to either SQL Server 2k5 or, as an
alternative, an intranet with MySQL.

Let me narrow down the scope of my response, if you'll accept that, to
something I can speak with some small understanding of.

First, Access has, well, issues as far as I've been told and the telling
pre-dates much of the open source hype. Simultaneous connectivity and,
comparing to that, err... Sluggish behavior while it is busy.

An INTRAnet with SQL Server or it's OS counter-part MySQL (and I use
counterpart loosely as you'll see in a minute) might be a viable option.
Same IP, different IP and different port? etc?

Now... If you look at my signature file you'll see I'm an MVP but if you
took a wee look at my historical posts you'd see that I'll tell you as much
as I know about the truth regardless of the bottom line for Microsoft.

Seeing that, well... I've done some personal testing of hammering on SQL
Server. I'm not only impressed I just wish that I could get the same
scalability and speed with MySQL. Right now my own sites are hosting on the
LAMP stack - indeed - even as an MVP and even with free hosting offered.
INTRAnet? It's insane to avoid Microsoft as a viable solution and DB issues
are a thing of the past with SQL Server. I used a virtual mark to pump fake
traffic at the rate of a full 100 Mb/sec - I'm not too sure where the EULA
and the likes ends so I'll be very non-specific - with a simple add to a DB.
(It was a fake table that accepted simple user_name additions and then
confirmed them by sending the data as a number to an HTML/PHP based page.)
It ran on an isolated PC - not a server box really so that we know exactly
what I was doing - for at 7 days before I gave up and said it won. I'm
impressed. No if's and's or but's I'd take that sort of expansion,
interoperability, and function over MySQL right now *IF* I could afford to
offer it to clients. For an INTRAnet you can and they can afford it. As a
hosting company I can't really until I see that it is known as fact as
opposed to people thinking that if it's Microsoft it's bad. (Strange but a
true view in the hosting industry.)

Now, the other side... MySQL is free and, honestly, the support (if you find
it) rates about the same as you'll get with Microsoft. If you can do it with
Access I have not doubt you can send the same tables and fields to a MySQL
database. No additional server needs to be used. You can run it on the same
server with just using a different port for calls to it. It is light, it is
easy, it is well supported, and it is free UNTIL you need additional
support. Support via the community is free. Support for anything else is,
well, costly... The truth behind the GetTheFacts website is pretty accurate
regardless of what the zealots tell you. The only real difference is startup
costs and unless you're a previously skilled admin then those costs may
actually be higher.

So no, that's not a good answer I don't think. Instead of looking to change
what you're doing I would personally consider changing how the data is
stored and look specifically to MySQL and SQL Server.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"At present I am, as you know, fairly busy, but I propose to devote my
declining years to the composition of a textbook which shall focus the
whole art of detection into one volume." - Sherlock Holmes

Ronny Ong

2006-04-27, 6:57 pm

Most likely MOD Setup is complaining about Office shared components that got
installed by any number of products which redistribute an Office 2003
version of them.

Bottom line if you're going to continue doing work in MOD and especially if
you're going to be building packages with ART to redistribute: Use Virtual
PC to create a virtual machine with nothing but the OS, Office XP, and MOD
XP. Use either Microsoft Update or the combination of Windows Update and
Office Update to apply all updates for Windows/IE and Office/MOD, but that's
all you need inside the VM. Your ART packages will be a lot cleaner, your
end-user installs won't exhibit strange behavior that you can't reproduce,
and you can install what you want/need on your host machine without worrying
about clobbering MOD XP.

For further help, the microsoft.public.officedev group would be a better
choice. As you can tell from Galen's feedback here, Access development is
somewhat of a niche which is unfamiliar to mainstream developers.

"Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:88AE35DB-EE8B-4FB0-B6C7-755B303336C9@microsoft.com...
> About 3 years ago, I purchased an MSDN subscription. At the time, I
> installed Office XP and have been developing in that environment since
> then,
> for small businesses.
>
> This w

, I finished development of a very simple database for a client
> who
> indicated that everyone that needed it had Access. Subsequent to that, he
> found out the most of the people in his office have the Small Business
> edition, which doesn't include Access.
>
> I found my Access Developer disk from my MSDN subscription, but when I try
> to install it, it indicates I have more recent software on my computer.
> Do I
> need to reinstall Office XP from scratch, with the Developer tools, then
> reinstall all of the subsequent service packs before I can use the
> Developer
> Tools to create a runtime version of my Access program?

Dale Fye

2006-04-27, 9:56 pm

Thanks Ronny.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the product key for my copy of
XP Developer.

Any ideas?

"Ronny Ong" <ronnyong@killspam-bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:%23A0dwLiaGHA.3992@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Most likely MOD Setup is complaining about Office shared components that
> got installed by any number of products which redistribute an Office 2003
> version of them.
>
> Bottom line if you're going to continue doing work in MOD and especially
> if you're going to be building packages with ART to redistribute: Use
> Virtual PC to create a virtual machine with nothing but the OS, Office XP,
> and MOD XP. Use either Microsoft Update or the combination of Windows
> Update and Office Update to apply all updates for Windows/IE and
> Office/MOD, but that's all you need inside the VM. Your ART packages will
> be a lot cleaner, your end-user installs won't exhibit strange behavior
> that you can't reproduce, and you can install what you want/need on your
> host machine without worrying about clobbering MOD XP.
>
> For further help, the microsoft.public.officedev group would be a better
> choice. As you can tell from Galen's feedback here, Access development is
> somewhat of a niche which is unfamiliar to mainstream developers.
>
>
> "Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:88AE35DB-EE8B-4FB0-B6C7-755B303336C9@microsoft.com...
>
>

Doug Forster

2006-04-28, 3:57 am

Hi Dale,

Try this:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Cheers
Doug Forster

"Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:%23KSx0AmaGHA.3828@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Thanks Ronny.
>
> Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the product key for my copy
> of XP Developer.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> "Ronny Ong" <ronnyong@killspam-bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:%23A0dwLiaGHA.3992@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
>

Ronny Ong

2006-04-28, 6:57 pm

"Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:%23KSx0AmaGHA.3828@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the product key for my copy
> of XP Developer.

If your MSDN subscription is still active, your key for Office XP should
still be displayed on the Product Keys page of the download site. If your
subscription has expired, you can call MSDN Customer Service to get your
Product Key. Don't bother emailing; you need to call. You will need your
original MSDN Subscription ID number.

The MSDN media for the MOD (the Developer portion) does not require its own
Product Key during Setup, so you only need a key for the base Office Setup.

Dale Fye

2006-04-28, 6:57 pm

Ronny,

You wouldn't happen to have that phone number would you?

Dale

"Ronny Ong" <ronnyong@killspam-bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:uPhEC$vaGHA.3304@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
> news:%23KSx0AmaGHA.3828@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> If your MSDN subscription is still active, your key for Office XP should
> still be displayed on the Product Keys page of the download site. If your
> subscription has expired, you can call MSDN Customer Service to get your
> Product Key. Don't bother emailing; you need to call. You will need your
> original MSDN Subscription ID number.
>
> The MSDN media for the MOD (the Developer portion) does not require its
> own Product Key during Setup, so you only need a key for the base Office
> Setup.
>
>

Ronny Ong

2006-04-30, 6:57 pm

It varies based on your region of the world. For the list, see:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscript...port/worldwide/

"Dale Fye" <dale.fye@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:uY6svewaGHA.4916@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...[color=darkred]
> You wouldn't happen to have that phone number would you?
>
> "Ronny Ong" <ronnyong@killspam-bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:uPhEC$vaGHA.3304@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

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