Steps to Take While Splitting an Access Database

By splitting an Access MDB file into two parts - the back-end that holds all the data and the front-end that holds database objects used to interact with the data - you can ensure that the data is stored safely on a server while the front-end alone can be distributed amongst the users. However, before the database is split, one should take the following steps-

" It is important to take a copy of the original database in its entirely before splitting. It is possible that after splitting the MDB file, you may find that they are not working as you had hoped for and might wish to have the original file back. You can then easily recover mdb file in the original format from the backup copy.
" Before you begin the process of splitting the database, it is important that you inform all the users that they should not be using the database during the time when you will be splitting it. First of all, splitting the database sometimes takes a long time and you need to keep your users informed of this so that they will know they will not be able to access the data then. Secondly, if a database is open when you are splitting the database and a user carries out some change in the database, it will not be reflected in the back-end created during the split.
" It is important to be aware of the incompatibilities that exist while trying to access data from a back-end created with a newer version of Access while users are still using older versions on their workstations. For example, if the back-end you have created uses the more modern ACCDB file format, users using Access 2003 will not be able to recover mdb data as they will not be able to access this file. Therefore, it might be advisable to save the back-end of the database in an earlier Access file format so that all users, including those who use front-ends in newer formats are able to access the data.

Let us now look at how exactly we can split an Access MDB file into two.
" As we have stated earlier, always begin by making a copy of the entire database.
" Now open the database file that is stored on your local hard drive and from the Database Tools tab, go to Move Data and select Access Database. This will start the Database Splitter Wizard.
" Click on Split Database. When you are shown the Create Back-end Database dialog box, proceed with the file name and location that is shown.
" Once the wizard is done, you will get a confirmation message.

If you are not satisfied with the way the split files are working, you can always revert back to the original file. Sometimes, the splitting process may end up corrupting the MDB file and users have to recover mdb data using specialized applications such as Advanced Access Repair from DataNumen. Advanced Access Repair uses sophisticated technologies to scan and restore almost all the data from damaged MDB files.