Microsoft ACE 12 Prerequisite

[wes4dbt]

This is a follow up to this post http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...sions-question

Instead of running "AccessDatabaseEngine.exe" to install and register Microsoft.ACE.Oledb.12.0, is there a prerequisite(s) that I can set so that when I publish the app, the "setup" program will install all the necessary files?

Thanks for any input.

[kareninstructor]

Take a look at
Walkthrough: Embedding Type Information from Microsoft Office Assemblies (C# and Visual Basic)

[wes4dbt]

kevin,
Thanks for the reply. I actually do have the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Access and the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel embedded in my app. But, I can't seem to find a reference to the ACE.12.0 assemblies. There is an Microsoft.Office.Interop.Access.dao, is this my only option? It was my understanding that dao is dead.

EDIT - I read that Jet 4.0 was included as part of the .Net Framework 4.0. I could change the database to "mdb" and my provider from ACE to Jet. Could this be a good solution? Then maybe there wouldn't be any need for a setup program
EDIT 2 - Now I read that Jet 4.0 wasn't included in .Net Framework 4.0, But it usually comes on Windows 7 machines.

[kareninstructor]

I see a mention of Windows 7, if you are compiling as 64bit then download the 64bit version named AccessDatabaseEngine_x64.exe
If 32bit target when compiling, I would think if AccessDatabaseEngine.exe was used then the provider would be located.

In regards to Jet, no Framework versions include this.

So before changing to MDB I would (if possible try the 64bit version. Note in the install instructions they indicate the proper connection string for developers.

[jmcilhinney]

Interop assemblies are of no use. That's for Office Automation. For database connections you need the OLE DB provider installed on the system.

Also, be very, VERY careful about using the 64-bit edition of ACE. Just because you're running on a 64-bit edition of Windows, you should not automatically use a 64-bit edition of ACE. If you do then your app will not work on any system that has 32-bit Office installed. Microsoft recommend using 32-bit Office as the default and only using 64-bit Office if you have a specific need.

There is no prerequisite package for ACE but you can create your own:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...vs.100%29.aspx

[wes4dbt]

kevin, I have no problem if I run the "AccessDatabaseEngine.exe" on the workstation machine, I'm just trying to find a way to avoid having to do that because this program will be accessed by people in two different towns that are far a part and I don't want to travel that far.

jmc, I read this statement by you,

As far as I'm aware, the Jet engine is installed with every recent version of Windows

This was from post #3, here http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...281-Jet-vs-ACE

If this is still the case, maybe I should use the Jet instead of the ACE provider. I'm really trying to find a way to just copy the database and the application files from the Release folder to the network and avoid having to run a setup program. But if I do have to run a setup, I want to make it as simple as possible so hopefully I can send them a link or put the setup on the network and talk the operator thru installing it over the phone.
All the workstations have Windows 7, .Net Framework 4, MS Office 2010.

Thanks for the replies

[jmcilhinney]

You can use Jet if you are happy to use an MDB file rather than ACCDB, but ACCDB requires ACE.

Assuming that you don't fall foul of its limitations, using ClickOnce is the simplest way to deploy. If you were planning on just copying the files then it's unlikely that it would be a problem. If you create a custom prerequisite package for ACE then you can simply check it in the Prerequisites dialogue and it will be automatically included in the installer and automatically installed with the app. One of the main advantages of ClickOnce is automatic updates, so you can just put new versions on the web and they will be downloaded automatically when the user runs the old version.

[wes4dbt]

jmc,
Thanks for the reply. I'll have to research ClickOnce. I've always just published the app and then run the setup program. I've written several single user stand alone apps for this company, this is the first time I'm having to deal with putting an app on there network so the other office can access the program. It's a simple app, just some data entry and exporting selected data to Excel for creating mailings.

so you can just put new versions on the web and they will be downloaded automatically when the user runs the old version.

Hopefully I can just put the new version on the network, I don't have a web page.

[jmcilhinney]

Publishing the project IS creating a ClickOnce installer.