Access 365 runtime

Question

I have Office 365 and am an Access developer.  I wanted to be able to distribute my developed Access databases in runtime so they couldn't be hacked so I downloaded Access 365 runtime.  Now, all of my databases are in runtime form and I can't open them to change anything.

I don't know what I did wrong but I need to get out of this mess.

1)  I need to be able to open my databases again for development purposes.

2)  I need to know how to selectively put a database into runtime mode and distribute it.

Can anyone help me through this?

Answer 1

Someone would want the runtime because they don't have a full Access license. Not all versions of Office include Access and not everyone has Office. So the Runtime is a way for developers to distribute their apps without the recipient having to buy Access.

Yes uninstalling the runtime and reinstalling the full version is the safest course. You might be able to just do a repair rather than a full install so I would try that first.

Answer 2

That's a big help.  Thanks a million.  I guess I was misinformed about the extension business.

I'm not sure why someone would want the runtime version at all then.

Do you agree that I will have to uninstall the runtime Access version and then download/re-install the full version?  Or is there some easier way to get the full version back?

Answer 3

There is another way to force an app to run as Runtime. That is changed the extension to accdr. But, such a file can be renamed back to accdb. This is NOT true of accde. When you convert to accde, it compiles the app and removes all the design stuff. That's why I didn't mention accdr in my first response.

If you want to distribute an app to people who don't already have an Access license, there is NOTHING you have to do to the app. You just need to include the Runtime file or a link so they can download it. Once they install the Runtime, they can then run the Access app.

However, you should test your apps to determine how they will work. You can force Access to run an app as if it was the runtime by renaming it as accdr. That's really what the accdr is for, to allow developers to test. But you can do the same with accde. You can install the runtime in a Virtual machine for test purposes as well. I have a few VMs for that purpose. An app that will be run under runtime and/or accde, needs to have a lot of error trapping since Access will only give a generic message when it encounters an error.

Answer 4

Thanks for replying so quickly.

I tried opening the Access application by itself and a message appeared saying that it's the runtime version so I think the runtime version overwrote the full version.  How was I to know that would happen?

I read somewhere that if I created a file with an accde extension, all someone would need to do is change the extension to accdb to restore full fuctionality.  That's why I wanted to use the runtime mode, so that wouldn't happen.

Apparently, I will need to uninstall Access runtime and then download and re-install the Access 365 full version.

Do you know how I can convert a single database copy into the runtime version so that non-Access users can open and use the database?

Answer 5

Hi Richard, I'm an independent adviser and will try to help.

What I suspect happened is when you installed the runtime, it took the association with accdb files so whenever you try to open an accdb it opens it with the runtime. Try opening Access directly and then opening an Access app. If it opens fine, then that is most likely the problem. To fix it, right click on an accdb and select Open With then find the full license version and select to Always Open With that file. It is also possible that you overwrote your full license with the Runtime. In that case, you need to repair or reinstall Office.

If you want to prevent people from hacking your Access apps, you should create an accde file. This will prevent anyone with a full Access license from getting into the design of your app.

if you need further clarification of this, please feel free to ask.