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Portable Application which makes Access 2007 Data Connectivity Components available on USB?

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July 4, 2009 - 8:32am
#1
Peterkr
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Portable Application which makes Access 2007 Data Connectivity Components available on USB?

Hello,

I'm a Visual Basic 6 programmer. I’m developing an application that is provided to users by an USB-stick. The users only have to plug-in the stick and are able to use the application. They do not have to install anything to use our tool. The application has to work on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, …. Also when Office is not installed on the PC!

Recently we have decided to change the database we use from Access 2003 to Access 2007. To make a connection with access 2007 one needs a Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 connection string (http://www.connectionstrings.com/access-2007). To be able to use this connection string to connect to access you need to have some drivers installed. When you have Office 2007 or 2007 Office System Driver: Data Connectivity Components (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7554F536-8C28-4...), these drivers are available on your PC. However, when this software is not installed, these drivers are not available.

We want our users to be able to use our application on USB-stick, such that they do not have to install anything. Therefore we want to include the Microsfot.ACE.OLEDB.12.0 drivers on our stick.

Is there an Portable Application available that makes these drivers available on a usb-stick?

Furthermore, could you please help how I should load Portable Application into Visual Basic 6, such that each PC is able to connect to our Access 2007 database.

Thank you very much!!!!

Kind regards, Peter

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July 5, 2009 - 9:18pm
Bensawsome
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One thing I'd like to mention

One thing I'd like to mention is that in order to install drivers in the first place you need admin privileges... so I'm not sure if your users are going to be using them on computer where they do have admin or what but I just thought I'd mention that...

 iLike Macs, iPwn, However you put it... Apple is better ^_^ 
"Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world..."

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July 6, 2009 - 4:02pm
(Reply to #2)
Peterkr
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Jep...

Hi,

That is just the reason why I want to have these drivers on a USB. My users are not able to install anything on their PC. So I have to provide them access to MSAccess 2007, even if they have no Office version installed.

Any suggestions??

Thanks!

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July 7, 2009 - 11:20am
(Reply to #3)
Bensawsome
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...

You can't just have the drivers on the USB drive and expect it to work. You *have* to install them into the operating system or it will not work.
Thanks,
Bensawsome

 iLike Macs, iPwn, However you put it... Apple is better ^_^ 
"Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world..."

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July 7, 2009 - 5:15pm
(Reply to #4)
Peterkr
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Reply

Hello,

For example Thinstall offers solutions that 'trick' the PC to think that drivers are installed on a computer. Now I'am wondering (since there are also protable Office versions), if there are portable access driver versions.

Kind regards, Peter

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July 8, 2009 - 4:12am
(Reply to #5)
ottosykora
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but thinstall

will use the the normal drivers, but will divert the communication to them. So this is not some portable drivers, just ordinary drivers for windows.
In such case you can use thinstall for the standard windows solution for the problem and thinstall it.
This may work or not, have recently attended a seminar of vmware company on that subject, but they say they can not tell you in advance if something works or not. Just try it.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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July 8, 2009 - 10:36am
(Reply to #6)
Bensawsome
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Also thinstall costs

Also thinstall costs thousands of dollars and just to tell ya all the portable Microsoft offices you found are illegal no matter how they are portablized as ms's licenses prohibit this.
Thanks,
Bensawsome

 iLike Macs, iPwn, However you put it... Apple is better ^_^ 
"Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world..."

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July 8, 2009 - 12:05pm
(Reply to #7)
ottosykora
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not exactly,

commercial use of thinstalled ms office and other things is noting unusual and prohibited. There are many different licensing agreements for this and that purpose.
Also pricing for such software as MS office is very flexible. It has to be, otherwise even more commercial users will go for alternatives.
VMware did buy that ThinApp project exactly with the aim to offer it as advantage to big systems, big companies, government bodies etc.
The idea is, to have the actual application thinstalled on some server, write protected. Then each user can store his settings and variables on other place and use the thinapped application to read some data from database XY, or write some letter with office application etc. No need for any local installation.
Some similar approach is the installation of just 'a driver' on local workstation and this can connect you to a server with the actual app running.

As I mentioned, we have nearby quite large network of whole county running almost entirely all software needed thinstalled. And not only all sorts of office apps are there, many other specialized management apps as well.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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July 9, 2009 - 2:15pm
(Reply to #8)
Bensawsome
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well...

Portable ms office is illegal no matter what (thinstalled or otherwise) because of the licensing... Each office license can only be used on one computer which trumps the point of being able to run on multiple computers portably... so yes it is illegal portableapps wise. Your way of having it on one server (as long as its a proper site license) is ok but for portableapps it doesn't fit no matter what. And even if you have a site license it's limited to that organization's building(s) so...
Thanks,
Bensawsome

 iLike Macs, iPwn, However you put it... Apple is better ^_^ 
"Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world..."

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July 10, 2009 - 4:38am
(Reply to #9)
ottosykora
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the text of all the license

stuff is hardly understud by anyone and the thing you will get with your copy of office is one thing. Then you go to the local MS representative and tell him you need this and that, but you have certain costs in mind. And if he does not cooperate, you will look for alternative. OK, this is not possible for some single installation, but bulk licensing allows more then that.
This is kind of the way the vmware projects go on with the end customer being charged only fraction of all. In fact all the apps are fully portable, reusable, transfered from one hardware to other, would theoretically run from any media but here the speed is a problem. The servers itself are distributed to sites to avoid extreme load on the network. So you can have for example some small office having one real hardware computer and there you will store the thinstalled copies of all relevant apps and on other share on a remote central server folders and settings for the 6 users in that office. When a user needs for example write something in word, he 'borrows' the copy from the only one local real pc and will load his settings and variables from the central remote server.
All that is rather automatic for unskilled users, the only difference is that when a user is starting his dummy 'gadget' computer first, it can take slightly longer then if all was installed locally.
There is nothing illegal behind it, MS will make you an offer for such operation if needed, one has just ask for. They seem to be more flexible then many people think. Illegal is to take your boxed copy and do that, but you can make other contract then the EULA on the box any time.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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July 10, 2009 - 10:00am
(Reply to #10)
Oni-Neoxes
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ummm...

Portable ms office is illegal no matter what (thinstalled or otherwise) because of the licensing...

nuff said.
need more?
Under "2.How You May Use the Service"
It states and I quote

* use the service in any way that harms Microsoft or its affiliates, resellers, distributors and/or vendors (collectively, the “Microsoft parties”), or any customer of a Microsoft party,
* engage in, facilitate, or further unlawful conduct,
* damage, disable, overburden, or impair the service (or the networks connected to the service) or interfere with anyone’s use and enjoyment of the service,
* resell or redistribute the service, or any part of the service, unless you have a contract with Microsoft that permits you to do so,
* use any unauthorized third-party software or service to access the Microsoft instant messaging network (currently known as the .NET Messenger service),
* use any unauthorized means to modify or reroute, or attempt to modify or reroute, the service.

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July 10, 2009 - 11:32am
(Reply to #11)
ottosykora
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the link

is concerning something completely different, it is concerning usage of online office provided by microsoft and this has nothing to do with the distributed and modulized system I am talking abt.

But as I said, if you have need for this and that, you go to MS representative and make appropriate agreement.
The thinstalled office agreements are something entirely different, MS is very much interested in such projects, since also they know that this is very much future oriented.
Thinstalled apps are something between online office and local install. The one thing is that admins of the particular network, enterprice or organization wants have kind of controll over the avaiability and the network might have also needs that can not be met by online office. Those are often security measure etc.
Therefore as the technology advances mix of virtual machines and real machines using the same software packages becomes avaiable. Thinstalling of single software solutions has the advantage that it will run in a virtual machine as well as on standard old kind of machine and the end for the end user all is the same.
Furtermore it gives much more flexibility then pure online applications, since the admin can decide whare copies of the app should be stored, where the data and setting depending on harware capabilities e.g. speed of the network, number of users in certain locality, possible work if network connection is interrupted etc.
While online application depend entirely on permanent connection to the hosting server, the the prepared universal versions can be stored distributed and variables can be stored local and synced later when connection comes back.
Charging is often done on precalcualtions of usage of the different software apps,
logging and possible later change of the charging agreement. MS is only one of the suppliers on such network, many highly specialized software packages are here in use as well, number of true local installation of many things etc.
The thinstalling of apps is done because this can be used by computers having windows installed on it as well as those which have no windows at all, some units have strange unix based proprietary operating system and they need also to write letter in word. Windows is then also a compact virtual machine and on this one the thinstalled office is run in such case.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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July 10, 2009 - 11:47am
(Reply to #12)
Oni-Neoxes
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Dude!

Can it get simpler than this!?

* use any unauthorized means to modify or reroute, or attempt to modify or reroute, the service.

You really got to read more...

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July 10, 2009 - 7:01pm
(Reply to #13)
ottosykora
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yes but

did you copy that from the license agreement which did sign the VMware comapny, Microsoft and the county of Basel-Land IT administration?

Yes or No?

No, then,
what you mention is from rules set for the use of public online office.It has nothing to do at all with what I am describing. Not from thinstalled dozens of applications for use in complex IT environment.
Do you think that Vmware is investing XX million $ just produce some illegal copies of something? They did buy the company which invented the thinapp not for fun, but for very serious business targets.

If you have need to do same, you just apply at the authors of the software and get authorization from them. In this case it was much much cheaper then even any kind of bulk license.
I want just tell that the general expression that thinstalling some products like MS office is forbidden due to licensing conditions is not true this way. Because the text of any license can be set up between the customer and seller. Big decentralized systems are more and more using this technology since it is more simple to be managed. Thousands of different software are packaged this way and it is completely legal. There is big IT industry behind this and I believe in near future will many complex networks use this entirely.
It is not matter of reading anything just see how things work, how pleased the users of such government network are with the results of such installation and how all participants talk abt the so much stressed expression win-win situation.

I was also very surprised when all that has been demonstrated to me, but was finally impressed how simple such things are. Particularly companies and organizations being spread over wide geographical area start using this more and more.

Go for the start to Vmware website and try to gain there some information such projects. Ask them for reference projects, they will be pleased to give more info where worldwide such projects are being run.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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July 8, 2009 - 11:43am
(Reply to #14)
ottosykora
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I could see

some way if you thinstall the connectivity component. This is the part you need when you want only to get soma data to read from the access, not really use it intensively I think. By this, you will have portable infrastructure for the rest.
As I mentione, vmware themselves do not tell you if this works or not, this is also probably one of the reasons they distribute some trial versions of the thinstall. Fetch that one, create clean windows environment in vmware workstation and try to thinstall the connectivity component. With some luck it could lead to this connectivity component become portable and you could use it to build for it the rest of the app.
Yes they are some licensing questions, but vmware, as the present manufacturer and distributor of the thinstall will give you certainly an advise how far here some legal problems comes up.
They themselves produce whole office and server infrastructure for big companies and according to the local salesman here , even when one does license all what is asked, it all comes to fraction of the price.
A nearby county has theirs complete administration software thinstaled, workstations run even only embeded operating system, no installation of any office or other admin software locally and use of single apps is then paid by kind of estimation how much is it used altogether. Their powerful office workstations are just little bigger then cigarette package, have no hard drives in it, and one can place cup of coffee on the shiny metal case of it, it will keep it worm.

Anyway, if you succeed with this project, let me know, we were planning similar things at our company too, but had not much time for it so far.

Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland

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