Part VI: Access as an Enterprise Platform
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FIGURE 38.5
Choosing how you want your Access application upsizedYou could just as easily have decided to simply upsize the tables without making changes
to the current Access database file. This might be a good option if the intent were to cre-
ate copies of the Access tables in SQL Server so that other users, working with other SQL
Server client-side applications, could use the same data. However, because the data is
copied to SQL Server, there would be no connection between the data remaining in the
Access application and the data seen by other users.
The SQL Server database created by the Upsizing Wizard is accessible to any qualified
SQL Server user. Just because the data came from Access doesn’t mean that the data can
only be used in an Access context. Other users will be able to access the upsized Access
data using applications written in Visual Studio .NET, Web pages built with ASP .NET,
and any other application able to consume SQL Server data (like SharePoint).
- The final dialog box of the Upsizing Wizard (shown in Figure 38.6) asks whether you
want to (in this case, at least) open the new .adp file.
If, instead of upsizing and creating a new .adp file, you had chosen to upsize the tables
and link them back to the current database, you would be returned to the database. But,
for the purposes of this demonstration, go ahead and open the new .adp file. The alter-
native (Keep the Database file open) means that Access creates the new .adp file but
leaves the current database open in front of you. You may prefer keeping the database
open if you know you have other work to perform in the existing database.