Is there any simple service I could buy so that I could just slap a 10 MB MS Access file I’ve written up on the web and read/write to the thing from a Web UI?
It’ll be single-user, so locking isn’t an issue. The forms on the DB aren’t terribly complex, but if I had to just edit the tables directly through the web UI, that would work too.
An Access DB on the web is comparing fish and bicycles.
You are better off with a web site running MYSQL.
The most flexible way would be to create a simple ASP.NET app with a few data-bound GridView or FormView objects. If you download Visual Web Developer Express (which is free), you can create such a website without even resorting to VB.NET or C# coding (it can all be done through ASP.NET controls). The major downside, of course, is that you need to be able to run an ASP.NET website.
While this probably exists, I don’t have much experience with access (on the web or otherwise)
If you can convert your database to MySQL or Postgres or just plain CSV/SQL (shouldn’t be difficult), you can choose from a myriad of relatively cheap* hosting services that have databases and web-based access using phpmyadmin or similar programs as part of the contract - or will allow you to install the web gui yourself.
- one of my current hosting contracts is about 200 euros a year for 5 sites with 20 mysql databases including phpmyadmin, PHP, mod_perl and all the basics. You can probably get cheaper if you need less and/or search a little.
Duckster: I know that, but I’m trying to get this done without expending the labor to get it moved to MYSQL.
Our old website accessed a MS access file.
Bascially you have a dsn which connects to the file, and in your asp code you make a connection via the dsn and write to/read from the file. If you set up the dsn right then your website code (php or asp) will access it in almost exactly the same way it would access a ‘proper’ ms sql database.
Any web hosting that allows DSN connections should work with Access. We’ve had a number of sites connected to Access dbs, using asp, asp.net, and other web server software. Locking is the biggest problem, but you won’t have that.
Now, I don’t say it will work well, but it should work. Assuming it’s a fairly simple db, you should be OK.
On reread of the OP - I’ve never tried to connect to forms via the web, just tables; can’t help you with that.
Actually, just tables will work.
We’re looking at a theoretical maximum of 100 transactions per day, so… not exactly running General Electric’s accounting backend on an MVS-ish rig…
If you want a really simple, out-of-the-box solution, I’ve heard good reports about something called WhizBase.
Haven’t tried it myself, but on paper, it looks like it’s quite functional and easy.
Ooooh. Interesting.
Now searching for a hosting provider that offers this.
You could sign up for an Amazon S3 storage account (which is really cheap for small amounts of stuff: $0.15/GB/mo – I only store 20ish megabytes there and my monthly bill has always been 1 cent), then use a product like JungleDisk to mount an S3 “bucket” as a folder on your windows machine.
ETA: Oops, I didn’t notice you wanted to use it via a web UI. Never mind. This only works if you still want to run MS Access locally, but store the db on the web somewhere.
Actually, that option isn’t half bad, and I might use it.
Not my first choice, but… it might actually be the best idea.
I’d considered signing up with something like “I Drive” and just using that.
I have a working Mozy account, but honestly they uh… yeah, I HAVE to use the client, not http, to get at my files, which is annoying.