"About MDE Files" help topic is incorrect in Access 2002 (290421)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2002

This article was previously published under Q290421
For a Microsoft Access 97 version of this article, see 162451.
Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

For a Microsoft Access 2000 version of this article, see 208735.

SYMPTOMS

The "About MDE files" Help Topic contains the following paragraph:

If your database contains Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code, saving your Microsoft Access database as an MDE file compiles all modules, removes all editable source code, and compacts the destination database. Your Visual Basic code will continue to run, but it cannot be viewed or edited. Saving your database as an MDE file secures you forms and reports without requiring users to log on or requiring you to create and manage the user accounts and permissions that are needed for user-level security.

Your database will continue to function normally--you can still update data and run reports. Additionally, the size of the database will be reduced due to the removal of the code, so memory usage is optimized, which will improve performance.

The last sentence of the last paragraph is incorrect. MDEs are no faster than the equivalent, fully compiled and compacted, MDBs. Visual Basic for Applications uses the same memory optimizations for both; that is, source code is not loaded if the project is compiled. MDEs can never decompile like MDBs, which makes them run consistently at the same speed. MDBs can decompile when changes are made to the underlying Visual Basic code, which may make them appear to run more slowly.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/28/2006
Keywords:kbdocerr kbprb KB290421