Greetings All:

I just split my db using the db splitter. The back end was successfully created as well as the front end. During testing I asked an employee to open the db and when I select the Front End, I get the error:

Could not open, file already in use.

HELP!!!!

Thanks in advance.

Sahaitu

In a split database, everyone should have a copy of the front end that they use. Sounds to me like your employee opened a front end file and you tried to open the same file. You should each have your own copy, either on your own hard drives or your own network drives. Each copy of the front end is linked to a single copy of the back end.

Thank you for your response. What you are saying then is that I should go into the share drive and copy the front end to each individual desktop?

This sounds like the solution to my problem. What steps should I take? There is only one front end, how to I make a wholly separate copy of it for each user? Can I place it on a flash drive and carry it around from there?

Again, thanks so much...

Just put a copy of the front end on the server and COPY it off of there onto each of the PC's that require to use the DB.

You should be able to run the DB off a USB key... but I've never done it.

The very best thing to do is put the front end on each users PC. You can use any media you want to copy from. I usually just copy from a development file I have on the network.

If running around to each hard drive every time you make a change is too much of a pain or just not possible or feasable, there's another way around it. I'm assuming everyone's on a network sharing a drive because you have a back end and because of the original problem. I once did a split database for a company with several simultaneous users. I created a folder for each user on the network and put the front ends in each persons folder. Eg. F:/Santa/FrontEnd.mdb, F:/Rudolph/FrontEnd.mdb, F:/Dasher/FrontEnd.mdb, etc., etc.. All of those individual FrontEnd.mdb's are pointed to one BackEnd.mdb. Then it was a matter of going to each desk one time and creating a shortcut for them on their desktop pointing to their front end in their network folder. After that, any maintenance to the front end(s) was pretty easy. Just do your fixes and export any objects to each front end or for big changes, export whole updated front ends. I was able to make changes to my clients front ends from my cozy home office.

You might also want to use something like PC Anywhere. I haven't used it but I think you can get to someones hard drive with it. In either case you should make sure your user isn't in the database when you're moving the changes.