Options allows you to change the location of your Access executables, define how often the Who's On list is refreshed and select and manage workgroup files to use with your database.

Figure 1 - The options button will allow you to set software options

Program Locations

Once you click the Options button you are shown the following form (Figure 2).

If your Access software has not been located for you, your first step should be to press the Find EXE's button. This searches the registry for the Access executables.

To setup the specific location of a program such as Access 97, click on the folders button next to the Program Locations text box. This will open a standard Windows file browser where you will need to locate the MsAccess.exe program that suits either Access 97 or Access 2000/2002.  The location of the executable is used for the Open Access button that you find on the main form

Figure 2 - The options screen with the Access executables locations and other settings

Note: You can view the Workbench options using the menu Tools ~ Options. 

With the Access 2000+ executables, the Workbench will use the program selected in the Use option buttons.

Note: Access 2002/2003 is very good at managing the Access 2000 databases and thus can be used for both formats. Its main drawback is that it can make managing references harder for other Office programming objects and only Access 2000 can make the MDE format in Access 2000.

You should review the Switching Access Versions page for how this works

Zip Program Location

You can specify the location of your zip file software.

Winzip is supported for opening zip files and archiving databases.

PKZIP command line program (pkzipc.exe) archiving databases only.

Starting Access 97 and 2000+ Without Selecting A Database

Once you have found your location of the Access 97 and Access 2000+, you can double click the program locations text box to launch the application.

Note: Another way to start a particular version of Access is to use the menu File ~ Run executable

Refresh Options

The refresh options allow you to specify how often the Who's On User list is refreshed. The "show userlist on open" checkbox will mean that the Who's On list is refreshed when The Workbench starts up, when a database is opened and when a Lock is placed on a database. You would generally only clear this option if your network is slow.

The "No of minutes between refreshing Who's On List" will allow you to vary the time that the list is updated. Reducing the number of minutes will assist you if you are relying on the update time to automatically compact, backup and compile your database for you. Set this time to zero if you want to turn automatic updates off.

Turning buttons and other controls on and off

If you don't ever use an option in the Workbench, you can permanently hide it using the display options. For example, clearing the check box next to the Security button will hide the security button on the main Workbench form.

Backup Workbench Settings

If you wish to backup your workbench settings in case of a computer failure or to move your registered version of the workbench to a new computer, choose Tools ~ Backup Workbench Settings from the main menu menu (shown in figure 4).

Figure 4 - Backup Workbench Settings

 

Other Access Workbench Topics

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