Hi I'm new to UA,
I have developed a system with a BE and FE (backend and frontend). The BE is stored on the server and i have created local copies of the FE on each user's computer (as per my understanding of good practices, to cut down network traffic, ongoing development etc.).
The problem scenario is i create an .accde on one computer, store it on the server then copy it across to each user's computer. When i then go to open the local copy on any other user's computer apart from one of them it pops up with a message saying:

This database is in an unrecognized format.
This database may have been created in a later version of Access than the one you are using. Upgrade your version to the current one, then open this database.

When i click Show Help this is the message:
This error is usually associated with versioning differences between two or more installed versions of Access. If you have two versions of Access installed on your computer, this error can occur if:
The database was converted from an earlier version to a newer version. Attempts to open the converted database by using the earlier version of Access will cause an error.
An advertised or Install on first use install state was selected for the most current version of Access on the computer. If a database is double-clicked in Microsoft Windows Explorer, an attempt is made to open the database using the HKLM_CLASSES_ROOT registry settings for the last version of Access installed successfully. Since an advertised instance of Access is not installed yet (all the registry entries and executable files are not yet present) users may attempt to open a newer (converted) version of an Access database with an earlier version of Access. The user should run Access once by double-clicking the advertised icon to install the advertised version fully before attempting to open a converted database.
The version which was installed last starts and attempts to open any database file or database object double-clicked in Windows Explorer. The same is true for Office applications listing a shortcut or database object embedded within a document or worksheet.


However all the computers here have Access 2007 installed (they all came from the same disk with some sort of unlimited licensing agreement for the organisation, prior to my starting the project).
To get around this problem scenario I open up the FE in the .accdb format (the "master copy") on the local machine then compile it and create an .accde on the local machine which then works fine.
Which leads me to think that the problem lies in possibly 3 areas:

1. Something to do with the PDF add in - The manager of the organisation had told me they got a program to make pdf's but wasn't too specific as the people in the organisation are not very computer literate, I think this is what is letting me output reports as a pdf when i use the sendObject function for emails as I had read elsewhere that you need an add-in to output anything as a pdf. When i created the .accde on one computer then copied it to another my send email button came up an error. However there seems to be the pdf add-in one of the computers that also comes up with the error message about versioning differences.

2. Something to do with the version of Access 2007 although i don't quite see how one computer would have a more up to date version than the others (the users have little knowledge of computers to start doing such things like installing patches etc.). Also I don't quite fully understand myself which patches or updates i would need to install. I have read a bit on updating the version of JET but still not sure if this would be the problem.

3. Something to do with naming the FE.accde the same thing on each computer or copying it from the server.

I have an intermediate understanding of Access (hopefully becoming more advanced understanding of Access), a very good understanding of Normalization and database concepts, a good understanding of SQL, intermediate understanding of VB, but I lack a bit when it comes to the Access specific things like versions of access (aside from the obvious that there is 2003, 2007 etc.). I would greatly appreciate it if somebody could help me understand what is going on in my problem scenario and I look forward to helping others with problems I have encountered and overcome.

From LumberJack

Hi Lumberjack

It sounds like you may indeed have different versions of Access installed.

The SaveAsPDF functionality in Office 2007 was initially a separate downloadable patch, but was later included with the main program as part of a service pack (SP2, I think), so if some of your PCs have it and some don't, that would indicate that they may not all be using the same version. The simplest way to fix this would be to apply any microsoft updates to each of the PCs to get them all completely up to date. This can be done from within Access (Office button, Access Options, Resources, Check for Updates) but you may want to check with your IT support team first as they may need to apply updates or there may be a policy against you doing it directly.

You can also check the version numbers for Access in Office button, Access Options, Resources under the section "about Microsoft Access". For comparison, mine reads: Microsoft Office Access 2007 (12.0.6535.5005) SP2 MSO (12.0.6535.5002).

HTH
David

Thank you very much David! I had tried googling for versions of access and such like and came up empty. I have checked out where you pointed me too, seen what you mean and will try it on the organisations computers first thing tommorrow. On a side note am I correct in assuming then that it does not matter if the FE.accde files are named the same thing on each local computer?

Glad to be of help!

On the side note, it is fine to have the FE files with the same name and is easier as you can just copy them from a central location. You've perhaps thought of this already, but it's a good idea to include a version number in your FE files, to ensure that your users all have the latest copy.

HTH
David