I've made an access page(webpage) and I can get to it and it works locally. However, when I try to get to it remotely, I get "Microsoft Office Web Components could not open the database 'C:\Inetpub/ Then I say ok and the page comes up but with no data. Again, it works just fine locally. Using IIS and Access 2002. Any ideas?
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Access Pages - accessing remotely
- Thread starter kwill
- Start date
Data access pages, in contrast to ASP, are not a "server side" technology.
In ASP, the connection to the data is created by code on the webserver, and data from the database is returned to the ASP server side program and sent out from the server as HTML.
In Data Access Pages, the data connection is between the client machine and the data, not the webserver machine and the data. This connection from the client machine requires that your client machine have a network file path connection to the data that is being accessed from the Data Access Page. That is, you must be able to access the database from your client machine on a network path like:
\\Databaseserver\clientdatabase\database1
This limits the usability of Data Access Pages over the internet, because not many scenarios will have this sort of connection set up.
Also, since the connection is from the client machine to server, and because Access databases, are not client server, you're going to have all the data processing and filtering occuring on the client machine, possibly over dial up connection. This is in many cases going to be incredibly slow. A better solution would be to upside the Access database to SQL Server or MSDE and get a true client/server database setup, where processing of queries will occur on server before data is sent to the requesting client.
I'm not sure about how to set up the network file path connection, although I think it will involve buzzwords like VPN (virtual private networking) or WebDAV.
The better solution may be to just code some ASP pages, which can be used to access and edit data in an Access database without the restriction of having to have a network file path connection. Coding of ASP pages is far more difficult than creating Data Access Pages, though.
Sorry to not be to encouraging, but really it's still no simple matter to put Access databases on the web. Data Access Pages can work well over an intranet, where all machines can easily have network file path connections to the data, but not so simple to do that over the internet. (Although I'm interested in hearing from how people have done so, if anyone at Tek-Tips has.) -- Herb
In ASP, the connection to the data is created by code on the webserver, and data from the database is returned to the ASP server side program and sent out from the server as HTML.
In Data Access Pages, the data connection is between the client machine and the data, not the webserver machine and the data. This connection from the client machine requires that your client machine have a network file path connection to the data that is being accessed from the Data Access Page. That is, you must be able to access the database from your client machine on a network path like:
\\Databaseserver\clientdatabase\database1
This limits the usability of Data Access Pages over the internet, because not many scenarios will have this sort of connection set up.
Also, since the connection is from the client machine to server, and because Access databases, are not client server, you're going to have all the data processing and filtering occuring on the client machine, possibly over dial up connection. This is in many cases going to be incredibly slow. A better solution would be to upside the Access database to SQL Server or MSDE and get a true client/server database setup, where processing of queries will occur on server before data is sent to the requesting client.
I'm not sure about how to set up the network file path connection, although I think it will involve buzzwords like VPN (virtual private networking) or WebDAV.
The better solution may be to just code some ASP pages, which can be used to access and edit data in an Access database without the restriction of having to have a network file path connection. Coding of ASP pages is far more difficult than creating Data Access Pages, though.
Sorry to not be to encouraging, but really it's still no simple matter to put Access databases on the web. Data Access Pages can work well over an intranet, where all machines can easily have network file path connections to the data, but not so simple to do that over the internet. (Although I'm interested in hearing from how people have done so, if anyone at Tek-Tips has.) -- Herb
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the info. However, I am working on an intranet and am able to simply open the database within access from another machine. It's just when I try to open it up with the webpage that I have problems. That's what makes it frustrating. thanks
Oh, in that case all you need to do is change the reference: 'C:\Inetpub/ to point to the same directory through a network file path.
To do this you can open up and edit the .htm file that Access generates for the Data Access Page. It's stored outside the .mdb so you'll have to look around for it. It will be a file with the Data Access Page name and a file suffix of .htm.
Open it up in Notepad or WordPad and search for the hardcoded directory reference 'c:\Inetpub\. . .', which you will find as part of a 'Data Source' designation. Then change that reference to whatever the network path name for that directory is, e.g., \\servermachine\Inetpub\. . .
In case you weren't aware of what's causing the problem, your computer has been reading the .htm data access page and trying to bind data located at c:\inetpub\. . . Obviously, there is no data at that address on your computer, only the server computer can reference it there. So you just need to specify a file path that all computers can use to locate a file on the server, i.e., one that accesses the data via a network file path, not a local drive name. -- Herb
a
To do this you can open up and edit the .htm file that Access generates for the Data Access Page. It's stored outside the .mdb so you'll have to look around for it. It will be a file with the Data Access Page name and a file suffix of .htm.
Open it up in Notepad or WordPad and search for the hardcoded directory reference 'c:\Inetpub\. . .', which you will find as part of a 'Data Source' designation. Then change that reference to whatever the network path name for that directory is, e.g., \\servermachine\Inetpub\. . .
In case you weren't aware of what's causing the problem, your computer has been reading the .htm data access page and trying to bind data located at c:\inetpub\. . . Obviously, there is no data at that address on your computer, only the server computer can reference it there. So you just need to specify a file path that all computers can use to locate a file on the server, i.e., one that accesses the data via a network file path, not a local drive name. -- Herb
a
- Thread starter
- #5
Another "gotcha" is that you may have to change Security settings in IE. I put my Access file of addresses up on my home PC (set up as a server), as a web page generated from Access. That way I can read my personal addresses anywhere in the world. However, you must change a setting under Tools, Internet Options, Security tab, Internet, Custom Level: Miscellaneous - Access data sources across domains must be Enabled.
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