Using Source Control with Access

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When working with a Microsoft® Access database, you can store the database file (.mdb) and all its contained objects in Microsoft® Visual SourceSafe™ using the Access Source Control add-in.

The Access Source Control add-in is installed as part of the Microsoft® Office XP Developer tools setup and is immediately available from the Tools menu within Access.

Each of your databases is stored in a Visual SourceSafe project. Query, form, report, macro, and module objects are stored as text files in the project associated with the database they are used in. Other objects, known as the Data and Misc. objects, (tables, relationships, toolbars, database properties, import/export specifications, and so on) are stored in a special file with an .acb extension in the Visual SourceSafe project. This .acb file should be treated with care — you should not rename or share this file in Visual SourceSafe, or you risk database corruption.

A shared object can simultaneously exist in many projects. When you modify a shared object in one project, the change is propagated automatically to all the projects that share the object. You can share a form between databases or have multiple teams developing a module simultaneously.

See Also

Using Source Code Control | Setting Up Visual SourceSafe | Choosing the Right Source Code Control Add-In | Using the Visual SourceSafe Add-In with the Visual Basic Environment | Using Visual SourceSafe with Documents and VBA Code