How to preserve linked tables in Access when copying to different machines - ms-access

Question

We have a Access DB with 1000+ linked tables and about 200 local tables.
We need this Access DB to reside on the desktops of about 40 users.
The problem is, each time I copy the Access file to a new PC, even though the ODBC connection name is the same for the linked tables, it always asks me to relink all 1000+ tables and I have to click okay 1000+ times.
Is there a way to save the file in such a way that it preserves the linked relationships and the ODBC name so I can easily copy it from machine to machine?

Answer 1

Use a DSN-less connection and a function to relink (only needed to switch database) all the tables and pass-through queries:
Public Function AttachSqlServer( _
ByVal Hostname As String, _
ByVal Database As String, _
ByVal Username As String, _
ByVal Password As String) _
As Boolean
' Attach all tables linked via ODBC to SQL Server or Azure SQL.
' 2016-04-24. Cactus Data ApS, CPH.
Const cstrDbType As String = "ODBC"
Const cstrAcPrefix As String = "dbo_"
Dim dbs As DAO.Database
Dim tdf As DAO.TableDef
Dim qdf As DAO.QueryDef
Dim strConnect As String
Dim strName As String
On Error GoTo Err_AttachSqlServer
Set dbs = CurrentDb
strConnect = ConnectionString(Hostname, Database, Username, Password)
For Each tdf In dbs.TableDefs
strName = tdf.Name
If Asc(strName) <> Asc("~") Then
If InStr(tdf.Connect, cstrDbType) = 1 Then
If Left(strName, Len(cstrAcPrefix)) = cstrAcPrefix Then
tdf.Name = Mid(strName, Len(cstrAcPrefix) + 1)
End If
tdf.Connect = strConnect
tdf.RefreshLink
Debug.Print Timer, tdf.Name, tdf.SourceTableName, tdf.Connect
DoEvents
End If
End If
Next
For Each qdf In dbs.QueryDefs
If qdf.Connect <> "" Then
Debug.Print Timer, qdf.Name, qdf.Type, qdf.Connect
qdf.Connect = strConnect
End If
Next
Debug.Print "Done!"
AttachSqlServer = True
Exit_AttachSqlServer:
Set tdf = Nothing
Set dbs = Nothing
Exit Function
Err_AttachSqlServer:
Call ErrorMox
Resume Exit_AttachSqlServer
End Function
Public Function ConnectionString( _
ByVal Hostname As String, _
ByVal Database As String, _
ByVal Username As String, _
ByVal Password As String, _
Optional ByVal AdoStyle As Boolean) _
As String
' Create ODBC or ADO connection string from its variable elements.
' 2021-06-15. Cactus Data ApS, CPH.
Const AzureDomain As String = ".windows.net"
Const OdbcPrefix As String = "ODBC;"
Const OdbcConnect As String = _
"DRIVER=SQL Server Native Client 11.0;" & _
"Description=Cactus TimeSag og Finans;" & _
"APP=Microsoft® Access;" & _
"SERVER={0};" & _
"DATABASE={1};" & _
"UID={2};" & _
"PWD={3};" & _
"Trusted_Connection={4};"
Dim FullConnect As String
If Right(Hostname, Len(AzureDomain)) = AzureDomain Then
' Azure SQL connection.
' Append servername to username.
Username = Username & "#" & Split(Hostname)(0)
End If
If Not AdoStyle Then
FullConnect = OdbcPrefix
End If
FullConnect = FullConnect & OdbcConnect
FullConnect = Replace(FullConnect, "{0}", Hostname)
FullConnect = Replace(FullConnect, "{1}", Database)
FullConnect = Replace(FullConnect, "{2}", Username)
FullConnect = Replace(FullConnect, "{3}", Password)
FullConnect = Replace(FullConnect, "{4}", IIf(Username & Password = "", "Yes", "No"))
ConnectionString = FullConnect
End Function
Also, study my article: Deploy and update a Microsoft Access application with one click