Use Remote Desktop With Access? (1 Viewer)

[NoSmoke]

I have a (split) Access database (& Win 7) running on a single office PC but the users now would like to "access" it from home PCs as required. Was wondering if MS Remote Desktop might provide a relatively easy way of providing that. I've been doing some searching but haven't come up with much to questions such as:

. will it work at all (with Access 2010)?
. does someone have to be at the office PC to enable a remote access session each time someone wants to make use of it or can someone just log-on whenever?
. can more than one person log-in at the same time (seems doubtful)?
. can remote desktop provide adequate security?

Any help getting going in the right direction would be appreciated

 

[pbaldy]

Yes
No, you can log in as long as the computer is on and enabled
No, not with Remote Desktop
Often a VPN is first used to provide a secure connection

 

[NoSmoke]

Thank you Paul. Looks OK for a one-at-a-time remote user.

Just had a look at this BTW for multiple user access:

http://accesshosting.com/remote-desktop-hosting

Seems pretty good for $20/month but I guess every user (they all being "remote") would have to contend with internet & server response time as a downside. I've sent an email asking if program mods could still be done locally and uploaded as required.

Any comments on such a service would also be appreciated.

 

[CJ_London]

I use remote access on a regular basis - I use Jump Desktop because my mobile device is touchscreen and it better replicates the touchscreen experience than the other offerings - I can even connect from my phone.

By touchscreen experience I mean if you want to click on a button, with Jump, you just tap on the button. With the others, you need to drag the mouse to the button and then tap.

I haven't reviewed the offerings recently so it may be that others now offer this but it is something to bear in mind.

The other benefit of remote access is the mobile device does not have to be a windows device so if your home users use an iPad for example, it is not a problem.

 

[CJ_London]

(they all being "remote") would have to contend with internet & server response time

Since the app is running on the target machine the user will see the same response times as when in the office. All that is being passed down the line is a frequently updated image of the screen in much the same way terminal server works - however the more frequently the screen changes the 'slower' the screen appears to update so moving images (video clips etc) and slow transitions - e.g. using a scroll bar - can appear slower or jerky.

If you have that number of users and high level of remote usage you might want to consider investing in terminal server or citrix as being more beneficial. I have two clients where I connect to them remotely using these methods. Moving to this method does require a review of your IT structure however but you will see performance improvements v connection to the backend over a network

 

[NoSmoke]

Thanks CJ for the reply. Not sure though what you mean by "target machine" - is that the host's server or the user's PC? If the user's PC I guess I'm misunderstanding how these remote hosting services work. If the host server, would usage not be similar to using a web site where there are delays between entering data and the response from the server for instance? Please excuse what may be naive questions here - I'm no expert on these matters.

And thanks for the Jump Desktop tip - I'll have a look.

On second thought, maybe you reply was in reference to Jump Desk and not remote hosting?

 

[CJ_London]

target machine is the one in the office

If you are talking about host servers then you are really talking about terminal server/citrix.

From your initial post with questions like 'does someone have to be at the office PC ' I presumed you were talking about services like Jump.

Delays are caused by access moving data across the network to local memory and then acting on it and then (perhaps) 'putting it back'. Compare performance between a backend on your C drive v on the network. Simplistically, the reason it is faster on your C drive is because the 'journey' is much shorter and the pathways are much wider so more data can be transferred in a shorter period of time.

With remote access, no data is transferred to the mobile device, only an image of the screen - and it basically updates where things have changed - this is the same principle for optimising files sizes for video files. A 1 minute video of a screen where nothing moves will have a much smaller file size than one where the there is lots of movement/changes.

You can try Jump etc for free so suggest you try it and you'll perhaps understand better. You can also try the Access hosting you found (it is basically terminal server) - although $19 is only for a runtime version and it is not clear to me whether that is a price per application or price per user. And if your system is integrated with outlook, excel etc it is even more expensive.

What you don't have is a front end on your pc and backend on the remote server. This is not the same as a webpage where you enter data on your pc which is then transmitted to a server which then responds.

Note what it says

Our virtual desktop hosting easily allows multiple concurrent users to access the same database via any device (Windows, Macintosh, iPhone, iPad, Android, etc) from a web browser or using an RDP Connection. This is a full windows desktop machine rendered on any device that has the full functionality of Access 2010 in any HTML5 web browser.

I would expect that having front end and backend on the remote server, performance would actually be quicker since all the processing is done on the server and not on the pc.

What is not clear from their details is what type of server you have access to - in the same way a computer with slow drives and processors and little memory will be slower than a top of the range computer, the same is true of servers.

In summary, you need to investigate and decide what is right for you

 

[NoSmoke]

OK, signed up for the Access Hosting base remote desktop package trial (as claimed to work with Access dbases w/o modifications). Works, mostly, but gives an error message on launch when forms containing calculated controls are loaded:

".....database contains a missing or broken reference to the file mxdsm.tbl version 1.0"

Cancelling out of the error message results the start-up form loading the remaining forms but reports are not loaded. Everything else pretty much works except that noted above (calculated controls). Asked their tech support what was happening (they advertise run your dbases "without modifications") but all they said was that Access Runtime apparently does not support some of the features I'm using (which seems strange as I'm doing nothing especially unusual - mainly using the Count instruction to display stats in text boxes; no idea yet why the reports don't load).

I would dload and try Access Runtime locally but I understand you cannot install it if full Access is already installed.

Anyhow signed up for a trial of their next higher package which is supposed to run full Access from a web browser and will see if that's any better.

The $20/month BTW for the base package allows only a single user at a time but extra ports can be added for more money.

 

[pbaldy]

Regarding:

"I would dload and try Access Runtime locally but I understand you cannot install it if full Access is already installed."

I've never tried to install it on a machine with the full version, but you can simulate using the /runtime command line switch.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/209207

 

[NoSmoke]

Thanks Paul, I recall seeing that somewhere. Trouble is though I cannot figure out how to get it to work. I have tried msaccess.exe in Start-Run and it launches Access alright. But if I try msaccess.exe/runtime, all that happens is Win Explorer launches(??). If I put the file path to one of my .accdb files, the file opens; if I add /runtime to the end, Windows Explorer launches.

How the heck is this done??

Using Win 7 and Access 2010 BTW

 

[CJ_London]

not sure if it is just your typing but you need a space before the /

try creating a shortcut

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.EXE" /runtime

 

[CJ_London]

or just change the file extension from accdb/e to accdr

 

[pbaldy]

As CJ mentioned you need a space in front of the switch. You can include the path to the db as well, as shown in the link.

 

[CJ_London]

I presume you understand what the runtime environment is and isn't.

among other things

• In runtime, you must have a form that opens automatically when the file is opened (does not need to be popup or modal)
• you cannot edit forms/reports/queries/tables /code (although you can using vba code)
• you will not have sight of the ribbon - you'll need to build your own
• short cut menus will not work - you need to build your own
• you need robust error handling

If you don't do it already, I recommend all modules should use Option Explicit at the top just below Option Compare Database and be compiled before deployment - ideally saved as an accde as well

 

[NoSmoke]

not sure if it is just your typing but you need a space before the /

try creating a shortcut

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.EXE" /runtime

Yup, needed a space :banghead:

Anyhow, program runs here with Runtime w/o problems. Played around a bit with it on Access Host. Got one form which had "#Name?" in a date control to work by removing "=Date()" from Default Value property. Other more complex forms still give the ".....database contains a missing or broken reference to the file mxdsm.tbl version 1.0" error" - no idea why.

Access Host tech support now says "It looks like a Windows Media Player file that your app references - the file may be located somewhere else in our environment than your local desktop". No idea what that's about...

More :banghead: Giving this up - will try their full Access offering to see if any better.

 

[CJ_London]

just a thought - you are running Win 2007 - what is it on the server?

and mxdsm.tbl version 1.0

do you mean mxdsm.dll?

 

[NoSmoke]

CJ, I'm running Win 7 SP1 & Access 2010. Just asked them and it's apparently Windows Server 2008 r2.

No, it's actually mxdsm.tlb (I had to look twice too). Googled it and apparently it's a Windows Media Player library (which would explain I suppose why their tech thinks the problem is related to that).

"The msdxm.tlb is a Windows Media Player 6.4 Type Library.

This file is part of Microsoft® Windows® Operating System. msdxm.tlb is developed by Microsoft Corporation. It’s a system and hidden file. msdxm.tlb is usually located in the C:\Windows\system32\ sub-folder and its usual size is 42.5KB."

I have no idea why my database would try to reference such a thing - maybe it's a spurious error message and the problem lies elsewhere(?).

Thanks again for the assistance you folks are providing here

 

[NoSmoke]

Just tried the .accde version on their site. Now I get:

"This database was created with the 64 bit version of Microsoft Access. Please open it with the 64 bit version of Microsoft Access."

Wondering if that's a clue - I will ask their tech support...

This just in:

"Our version of Access is 32 bit as recommended by Microsoft."

Nothing said if that's the reason for the errors I'm getting. I suppose I'd have to install 32 bit office to try it (and uninstall 64 bit?).

What a PITA!

 

[CJ_London]

I suppose I'd have to install 32 bit office to try it (and uninstall 64 bit?).

'fraid so. Alternative is to stick with .accdb - if it is runtime, no-one can get to the code anyway, or perhaps you know someone who can compile to 32bit. Or if you are going for the trial with full Access, once you have uploaded the file, compile it on the server.

You might want to look at this link

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ee691831(v=office.14).aspx

It talks from the 64bit perspective, but you should be able to 'reverse engineer' back to 32bit. Unless you are using an accde the db will compile as it goes. Use of ptrsafe is perhaps relevant.

With regards the media file, you may not be using it, but check your references that you haven't included one in the past and not removed it - I don't know but it might be part of something like a web browser control for example.

 

[NoSmoke]

Woot! Got the full remote Access account going and uploaded the offending dbase. Same crapulence + more (functions such as Date and Left$ wouldn't compile). So, created a new dbase and imported all objects from the original. Got the "missing msdxm.tlb" message during the import process but when all imported everything (so far at least) works!!

Wondering what happened? Was the new database created as 32 bit and is that why it appears to work now (how can you determine whether it's 32 or 64?)? I thought that error message must have been spurious.

BTW, am very impressed with the remote access response speed - almost like working on the local PC.

Now gotta try downloading the new version to see if it works locally.