Access™ 2007 VBA Programmer's Reference

21.1. The Redistributable Access Runtime

Any computer with a full version of Microsoft Access installed can run any Access-based application, assuming the database version is compatible with the version of Access installed. Simply copy the database application and other necessary files to that computer, invoke the application, and the user is off and running. However, if a computer does not have Access installed, using the database application on that specific machine presents a dilemma. Often, it may not make sense to purchase a full version of Access just to run a few specific database applications on a given machine if the Access program itself won't be used for any other purpose. In cases where the user does not want to purchase a full version of Access for each machine where the application will run, redistributing the Access Runtime can greatly reduce the overall cost of the running those applications.

Consider the following question: Why do you want to deploy an Access application on another computer? An all-too-common scenario is someone in a workgroup creates a database to fill a need or solve a problem that the group frequently encounters. Other members of the group hear about the application and want to use it as well. Pretty soon, 20 or so people are using the application and maybe even requesting additional features or reporting problems with the database. At this point in the application's lifecycle, the developer begins to consider what the minimum requirements ...