If you have created a Microsoft Access database application that you will be distributing, you will want to convert it to a format that will prevent users from copying or modifying the database’s functionality. This article will deal with how we can convert an Access database to an ACCDE file.
Situations may arise where you need to quickly and securely distribute an Access database that also contains VBA code. While allowing the database to provide all the necessary functions, you also want to prevent users from viewing and modifying code or altering the design of forms and reports. Converting your database to an ACCDE file will help you to lock the code and disallow design modifications.
An .accde file is the Office Access 2007 version of the .mde file in earlier versions of Access. It is a locked-down version of the original .accdb file. If the .accdb file contained any VBA code, only the compiled code is included in the .accde file - as a result, the VBA code cannot be viewed or modified by the user. The ACCDE file allows users to perform normal database operations, but prohibits creation of database objects and alterations to the designs of forms and reports.
An ACCDE file has the following benefits:
An ACCDE file does not allow you to:
Before converting a database to an ACCDE file, you must password protect the database and save all references to other Access databases.
The ACCDE file format in the Access 2007 application replaces the MDE format in earlier versions of Microsoft Access.
To convert an Access database to an ACCDE file: