Create Base database from VB.Net?

dpbaker · Newbie Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 3

I have an application that creates incident reports inside Microsoft Access MDB databases. Managers can then simply double-click on the MDB file to open it and check the incidents.

I would like to do something similar now that we have scrapped Microsoft Office & moved to OpenOffice.

Is there any way to create any database from within VB.Net that can be opened in Base with a double-click? Managers are not happy with the way they have to open MDB files - use the wizard, register (or not), save the ODB then finally open the database. They want to just double-click and open.

Is there any other database format that I could create that Base will open immediately? Or can I create ODB files directly from VB.Net?

Thanks,

Dave

dacm · Super User Joined: 07 Jan 2010 Posts: 734

Dave,
Sounds like you're putting a square-peg in a round-hole in this case with OOo. Simply install the free MS Access Runtime on each managers computer. Versions for MS Access 2010/2007 are available (free) from Microsoft.
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dpbaker · Newbie Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 3

Unfortunately the application creates the reports into MSAccess 97 format. None of the new viewers can read Access 97 files without converting and of course the runtime viewers can't convert either. And there are licencing issues with the Access 97 runtime viewer even if it could be found after 13 years!

So, the choice is either write for OpenOffice or write for latest version of MSAccess and force users to get MS Office (which probably won't make it past the bean counters).

I saw a post here:
http://weblogs.asp.net/jmandia/archive/2003/09/26/29277.aspx
that gave me hope that something like this might be possibly, though finding any more info has so far proven unsuccessful.

Villeroy · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:46 pm Post subject:

As long as Windows is still the operating system in use, you can install the freely available database drivers for MS Access (some "connectivity tools" downloadable from microsoft.com), connect a Base file to your mdb and define a database report. Even Calc can be used as report engine for data from arbitrary databases.
Reusing most of the existing databases is the strength of both frontends OOo Base and MS Access.
You can use the office API by means of COM, .NET or any of the supported scripting languages. Normally this makes no sense if you do not understand the underlying application.
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dpbaker · Newbie Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 3