Setting Up the Admin PC

Step 1. Put AccessUpdater.accdb in your database Admin folder

Step 2. Copy your current Front End file to your shared Server Folder

Step 3. In your Admin Front End Database, import 2 objects from the AccessUpdater.accdb file: AccessUpdaterF (form) and AccessUpdaterModule (module).

Step 4. Set AccessUpdaterF as your database's Startup object (File > Options > Current Database).

Step 5. Open AccessUpdaterF

Step 6. Type in Username: Admin

Step 7. Type in Password: alz

You can change this password in the code if you want (just search for "alz" in the Form Module).

Step 8. Type in your Startup Form, such as MainMenuF

Step 9. Type in or Browse (...) for your Front End database in the Server shared folder

Step 10. Click Save Settings

Step 11. Click Push Update

Access Updater will perform it’s magic. Your Front End file will be copied up to the server. Any changes you make to the Access Updater accdb file will also be copied up.

When the update is complete, your original Admin Front End database will relaunch. You will see that no updates are necessary.

After 3 seconds your Main Menu form will open.

Setting Up the User PCs

Step 1. Copy the Front End file and AccessUpdater.accdb from the Server shared folder to the User's personal folder on their system

Step 2. Open the User's Front End File

Step 3. Type in a unique Username

Step 4. Enter Startup Form

Step 5. Select the same Front End File on the Server

Step 6. Save Settings and Restart the database

Now, whenever the user first loads their database, they will get a warning if there are updates available, and after 10 seconds, their database will shut down, download the update, and then restart.

Using Updater with ACCDE Files

If you want to distribute a compiled executable ACCDE file to your users, follow these steps:

1. Compile your ACCDE file and put it in your LocalDB folder.
2. In your settings file, make the LocalDB the path/filename of your compiled ACCDE
3. Make the RemoteDB where you want the ACCDE file to be copied to (shared server folder)
4. Push Update
5. On the workstations, use the same RemoteDB
6. The LocalDB is where their local copy of the ACCDE file should be
7. Enjoy

Essentially, you're not pushing the ACCDB file that you're working with. That's your development copy. Make the ACCDE file and then use Updater to push that file to the network.