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The Access Workbench
Reviewed by Charles Loprinzo
About a year ago I
was presented with the opportunity to review a software application which would
help administer all of my MS Access applications. Big deal, I thought. I have a spreadsheet that does just
that. All of my columns are set up to
easily track the application name, location and contact, plus a hyperlink
shortcut right to it. What else could I
possibly need? I am slowly learning that
as the size of the company I work for grows the less programming I actually
do. MS Access is becoming more and more
popular and easier for the desktop jockey to use. As a result I spend more time hunting down
these rogue applications and trying to decipher what the user was trying to do
and how to fix it. If your day is
anything like mine, then what you need is something that ties all of this
together and makes the typical administrative tasks seem less cumbersome.
Fortunately, I
finally got around to looking at The Access Workbench from Garry Robinson and,
at first glance, it appears very basic but I soon found out how wrong I
was. So I decided to give it some
serious consideration.
Every once in
awhile, I come across a piece of software that is so easy to use and beneficial
in reducing my administrative tasks I cannot live without it. You would be gravely mistaken to think that
this application with its small footprint (approx 3mb) wasn’t capable of doing
much. Installation was a snap and
setting up my current applications was seamless. Since using this application I have increased
my productivity by decreasing the time spent on administrative tasks.
The Access Workbench
is an administration tool which organizes all of your MS Access applications
into one simple location. I finally got
rid of my spreadsheets which documented the path, file name, workgroup
information, logins and passwords. All
of the necessary information is placed into one convenient file allowing you to
perform multiple tasks without having to open each individual Access
application.
I was thrown by its
bland appearance, consisting of four main tab forms and six procedure
buttons. Although its barren look is
very deceiving, in actuality this powerful tool will aid in performing most of
the more common features an Access administrator must handle.
The application detects
what version of MS Access your database was written in and will use the correct
version to open it. You define the location
of the executable for each version of MS Access in the Options screen and you
will never have to worry about opening a database file with the wrong version
again.
Favorites
Being a DBA for all
things Access, I found this to be far superior to my mediocre spreadsheet. Every application I have created, modified,
adjusted or touched for whatever purpose is now stored here. I am responsible for literally thousands of
Access applications here on site and this features has unquestionably made my
life easier.
The Favorites tab
displays a list of favorite applications by descriptive name, file location, a
user defined group name and workgroup file.
Adding a group name to an application entry makes locating it much
easier if you can remember the group it is in.
Once an application
is selected you can use the Workbench to check who’s logged in, decompile,
compile, repair and even compact the database file when it reaches a certain
size. Keeping track of all my
applications is daunting even with documentation, but this application makes it
simple by keeping the main ones in one location. No more sorting Excel spreadsheets by
highlighting all, clicking DATA, then sort, and then selecting the field to
sort by. Just one simple click and it’s
all sorted.
CURRENT
The Current tab
displays information on the application currently selected, such as the MS
Access version and file size which can be useful in determining whether to
compact. Clicking the Who’s
On button will display a short dialog along the bottom indicating the last time
it checked for users and the number of users connected.
USERS
How many times have you wanted to open an application only
to find someone using it? Although there
are a number of ways to determine who has it open, this form displays the PC
name which makes tracking down the offender a cinch.
Clicking the Users
tab will display a more detailed list of the users connected by identifying the
PC name and the Access login used.
BACKUPS
I know that all of my applications are being backed up nightly. Being a good Access programmer means knowing that an Access application can become corrupted without warning. As a result, I make a backup of the file I am working on every morning and periodically throughout the day. Paranoia? Perhaps, but how many times have you been given a memory exception message in the middle of coding and had to start all over? With a click of a button the Access Workbench will create a copy of the database in its current state relieving a bit of stress along the way.
ADMINISTRATOR
The Administrator form is a wonderful addition when working
on a production database. Garry shows
you how to add a module to your application that looks for a message file then
displays your custom message to the users.
This is the perfect way to alert users when you need to make a modification
or fix a problem. The Shutdown module
forces users out of the database and displays a custom message upon close. Although useful when you need everyone out, forcing
connections to close can lead to corruption.
This is one module that I would tweak first to allow users to gracefully
exit the application.
Conclusion
Simply stated, this is one application that everyone who uses Access should investigate. Whether administrating thousands of database files or just a handful, this is without a doubt one of the more useful tools that belongs on your desktop!
Reviewer
Biography
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