How do you use version control with Access development?

Question

I\'m involved with updating an Access solution. It has a good amount of VBA, a number of queries, a small amount of tables, and a few forms for data entry & report gene

Answer 1

Based on the ideas of this post and similar entries in some blogs I have wrote an application that works with mdb and adp file formats. It import/export all database objects (including tables, references, relations and database properties) to plain text files. With those files you can work with a any source version control. Next version will allow import back the plain text files to the database. There will be also a command line tool

You can download the application or the source code from: http://accesssvn.codeplex.com/

regards

Answer 2

For those using Access 2010, SaveAsText is not a visible method in Intellisense but it appears to be a valid method, as Arvin Meyer's script mentioned earlier worked fine for me.

Interestingly, SaveAsAXL is new to 2010 and has the same signature as SaveAsText, though it appears it will only work with web databases, which require SharePoint Server 2010.

Answer 3

We had the same issue a while ago.

Our first try was a third-party tool which offers a proxy of the SourceSafe API for Subversion to be used with MS Access and VB 6. The Tool can be found here.

As we were not that satisfied with that tool we switched over to Visual SourceSafe and the VSS Acces Plugin.

Answer 4

Resurrecting an old thread but this is a good one. I've implemented the two scripts (compose.vbs / decompose.vbs) for my own project and ran into a problem with old .mdb files:

It stalls when it gets to a form that includes the code:

NoSaveCTIWhenDisabled =1

Access says it has a problem and that's the end of the story. I ran some tests and played around trying to get around this issue and found this thread with a work around at the end:

Can't create database

Basically (in case the thread goes dead), you take the .mdb and do a "Save as" to the new .accdb format. Then the source safe or compose/decompose stuff will work. I also had to play around for 10 minutes to get the right command line syntax for the (de)compose scripts to work right so here's that info as well:

To compose (say your stuff is located in C:\SControl (create a sub folder named Source to store the extracted files):

'(to extract for importing to source control)
cscript compose.vbs database.accdb     

'(to rebuild from extracted files saved from an earlier date)
cscript decompose.vbs database.accdb C:\SControl\Source\

That's it!

The versions of Access where I've experienced the problem above include Access 2000-2003 ".mdb" databases and fixed the problem by saving them into the 2007-2010 ".accdb" formats prior to running the compose/decompose scripts. After the conversion the scripts work just fine!

Answer 5

Text-file only solution (queries, tables and relationships included)

I have altered the Oliver's pair of scripts so that they export/import relationships, tables and queries in addition to modules, classes, forms and macros. Everything is saved into plaintext files, so there is no database file created to be stored with the text files in version control.

Export into text files (decompose.vbs)

' Usage:
'  cscript decompose.vbs <input file> <path>

' Converts all modules, classes, forms and macros from an Access Project file (.adp) <input file> to
' text and saves the results in separate files to <path>.  Requires Microsoft Access.
Option Explicit

Const acForm = 2
Const acModule = 5
Const acMacro = 4
Const acReport = 3
Const acQuery = 1
Const acExportTable = 0

' BEGIN CODE
Dim fso, relDoc, ACCDBFilename, sExportpath
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set relDoc = CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")

If (Wscript.Arguments.Count = 0) Then
    MsgBox "Please provide the .accdb database file", vbExclamation, "Error"
    Wscript.Quit()
End If
ACCDBFilename = fso.GetAbsolutePathName(Wscript.Arguments(0))

If (Wscript.Arguments.Count = 1) Then
 sExportpath = ""
Else
 sExportpath = Wscript.Arguments(1)
End If


exportModulesTxt ACCDBFilename, sExportpath

If (Err <> 0) And (Err.Description <> Null) Then
    MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation, "Error"
    Err.Clear
End If

Function exportModulesTxt(ACCDBFilename, sExportpath)
    Dim myComponent, sModuleType, sTempname, sOutstring
    Dim myType, myName, myPath, hasRelations
    myType = fso.GetExtensionName(ACCDBFilename)
    myName = fso.GetBaseName(ACCDBFilename)
    myPath = fso.GetParentFolderName(ACCDBFilename)

    'if no path was given as argument, use a relative directory
    If (sExportpath = "") Then
        sExportpath = myPath & "\Source"
    End If
    'On Error Resume Next
    fso.DeleteFolder (sExportpath)
    fso.CreateFolder (sExportpath)
    On Error GoTo 0

    Wscript.Echo "starting Access..."
    Dim oApplication
    Set oApplication = CreateObject("Access.Application")
    Wscript.Echo "Opening " & ACCDBFilename & " ..."
    If (Right(ACCDBFilename, 4) = ".adp") Then
     oApplication.OpenAccessProject ACCDBFilename
    Else
     oApplication.OpenCurrentDatabase ACCDBFilename
    End If
    oApplication.Visible = False

    Wscript.Echo "exporting..."
    Dim myObj
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentProject.AllForms
        Wscript.Echo "Exporting FORM " & myObj.FullName
        oApplication.SaveAsText acForm, myObj.FullName, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.FullName & ".form.txt"
        oApplication.DoCmd.Close acForm, myObj.FullName
    Next
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentProject.AllModules
        Wscript.Echo "Exporting MODULE " & myObj.FullName
        oApplication.SaveAsText acModule, myObj.FullName, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.FullName & ".module.txt"
    Next
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentProject.AllMacros
        Wscript.Echo "Exporting MACRO " & myObj.FullName
        oApplication.SaveAsText acMacro, myObj.FullName, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.FullName & ".macro.txt"
    Next
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentProject.AllReports
        Wscript.Echo "Exporting REPORT " & myObj.FullName
        oApplication.SaveAsText acReport, myObj.FullName, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.FullName & ".report.txt"
    Next
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentDb.QueryDefs
        Wscript.Echo "Exporting QUERY " & myObj.Name
        oApplication.SaveAsText acQuery, myObj.Name, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.Name & ".query.txt"
    Next
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentDb.TableDefs
     If Not Left(myObj.Name, 4) = "MSys" Then
      Wscript.Echo "Exporting TABLE " & myObj.Name
      oApplication.ExportXml acExportTable, myObj.Name, , sExportpath & "\" & myObj.Name & ".table.txt"
      'put the file path as a second parameter if you want to export the table data as well, instead of ommiting it and passing it into a third parameter for structure only
     End If
    Next

    hasRelations = False
    relDoc.appendChild relDoc.createElement("Relations")
    For Each myObj In oApplication.CurrentDb.Relations  'loop though all the relations
    If Not Left(myObj.Name, 4) = "MSys" Then
     Dim relName, relAttrib, relTable, relFoTable, fld
     hasRelations = True

     relDoc.ChildNodes(0).appendChild relDoc.createElement("Relation")
     Set relName = relDoc.createElement("Name")
     relName.Text = myObj.Name
     relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.appendChild relName

     Set relAttrib = relDoc.createElement("Attributes")
     relAttrib.Text = myObj.Attributes
     relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.appendChild relAttrib

     Set relTable = relDoc.createElement("Table")
     relTable.Text = myObj.Table
     relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.appendChild relTable

     Set relFoTable = relDoc.createElement("ForeignTable")
     relFoTable.Text = myObj.ForeignTable
     relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.appendChild relFoTable

     Wscript.Echo "Exporting relation " & myObj.Name & " between tables " & myObj.Table & " -> " & myObj.ForeignTable

     For Each fld In myObj.Fields   'in case the relationship works with more fields
      Dim lf, ff
      relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.appendChild relDoc.createElement("Field")

      Set lf = relDoc.createElement("Name")
      lf.Text = fld.Name
      relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.LastChild.appendChild lf

      Set ff = relDoc.createElement("ForeignName")
      ff.Text = fld.ForeignName
      relDoc.ChildNodes(0).LastChild.LastChild.appendChild ff

      Wscript.Echo "  Involving fields " & fld.Name & " -> " & fld.ForeignName
     Next
    End If
    Next
    If hasRelations Then
     relDoc.InsertBefore relDoc.createProcessingInstruction("xml", "version='1.0'"), relDoc.ChildNodes(0)
     relDoc.Save sExportpath & "\relations.rel.txt"
     Wscript.Echo "Relations successfuly saved in file relations.rel.txt"
    End If

    oApplication.CloseCurrentDatabase
    oApplication.Quit

End Function

You can execute this script by calling cscript decompose.vbs <path to file to decompose> <folder to store text files>. In case you omit the second parameter, it will create 'Source' folder where the database is located. Please note that destination folder will be wiped if it already exists.

Include data in the exported tables

Replace line 93: oApplication.ExportXML acExportTable, myObj.Name, , sExportpath & "\" & myObj.Name & ".table.txt"

with line oApplication.ExportXML acExportTable, myObj.Name, sExportpath & "\" & myObj.Name & ".table.txt"

Import into Create database file (compose.vbs)

' Usage:
'  cscript compose.vbs <file> <path>

' Reads all modules, classes, forms, macros, queries, tables and their relationships in a directory created by "decompose.vbs"
' and composes then into an Access Database file (.accdb).
' Requires Microsoft Access.
Option Explicit

Const acForm = 2
Const acModule = 5
Const acMacro = 4
Const acReport = 3
Const acQuery = 1
Const acStructureOnly = 0   'change 0 to 1 if you want import StructureAndData instead of StructureOnly
Const acCmdCompileAndSaveAllModules = &H7E

Dim fso, relDoc, ACCDBFilename, sPath
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set relDoc = CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")

If (Wscript.Arguments.Count = 0) Then
 MsgBox "Please provide the .accdb database file", vbExclamation, "Error"
 Wscript.Quit()
End If

ACCDBFilename = fso.GetAbsolutePathName(Wscript.Arguments(0))
If (Wscript.Arguments.Count = 1) Then
 sPath = ""
Else
 sPath = Wscript.Arguments(1)
End If


importModulesTxt ACCDBFilename, sPath

If (Err <> 0) And (Err.Description <> Null) Then
    MsgBox Err.Description, vbExclamation, "Error"
    Err.Clear
End If


Function importModulesTxt(ACCDBFilename, sImportpath)
    Dim myComponent, sModuleType, sTempname, sOutstring

    ' Build file and pathnames
    Dim myType, myName, myPath
    myType = fso.GetExtensionName(ACCDBFilename)
    myName = fso.GetBaseName(ACCDBFilename)
    myPath = fso.GetParentFolderName(ACCDBFilename)

    ' if no path was given as argument, use a relative directory
    If (sImportpath = "") Then
        sImportpath = myPath & "\Source\"
    End If

    ' check for existing file and ask to overwrite with the stub
    If fso.FileExists(ACCDBFilename) Then
     Wscript.StdOut.Write ACCDBFilename & " already exists. Overwrite? (y/n) "
     Dim sInput
     sInput = Wscript.StdIn.Read(1)
     If (sInput <> "y") Then
      Wscript.Quit
     Else
      If fso.FileExists(ACCDBFilename & ".bak") Then
       fso.DeleteFile (ACCDBFilename & ".bak")
      End If
      fso.MoveFile ACCDBFilename, ACCDBFilename & ".bak"
     End If
    End If

    Wscript.Echo "starting Access..."
    Dim oApplication
    Set oApplication = CreateObject("Access.Application")
    Wscript.Echo "Opening " & ACCDBFilename
    If (Right(ACCDBFilename, 4) = ".adp") Then
        oApplication.CreateAccessProject ACCDBFilename
    Else
        oApplication.NewCurrentDatabase ACCDBFilename
    End If
    oApplication.Visible = False

    Dim folder
    Set folder = fso.GetFolder(sImportpath)

    'load each file from the import path into the stub
    Dim myFile, objectname, objecttype
    For Each myFile In folder.Files
     objectname = fso.GetBaseName(myFile.Name)  'get rid of .txt extension
     objecttype = fso.GetExtensionName(objectname)
     objectname = fso.GetBaseName(objectname)

     Select Case objecttype
      Case "form"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing FORM from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.LoadFromText acForm, objectname, myFile.Path
      Case "module"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing MODULE from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.LoadFromText acModule, objectname, myFile.Path
      Case "macro"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing MACRO from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.LoadFromText acMacro, objectname, myFile.Path
      Case "report"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing REPORT from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.LoadFromText acReport, objectname, myFile.Path
      Case "query"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing QUERY from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.LoadFromText acQuery, objectname, myFile.Path
      Case "table"
       Wscript.Echo "Importing TABLE from file " & myFile.Name
       oApplication.ImportXml myFile.Path, acStructureOnly
      Case "rel"
       Wscript.Echo "Found RELATIONSHIPS file " & myFile.Name & " ... opening, it will be processed after everything else has been imported"
       relDoc.Load (myFile.Path)
     End Select
    Next

    If relDoc.readyState Then
     Wscript.Echo "Preparing to build table dependencies..."
     Dim xmlRel, xmlField, accessRel, relTable, relName, relFTable, relAttr, i
     For Each xmlRel In relDoc.SelectNodes("/Relations/Relation")   'loop through every Relation node inside .xml file
      relName = xmlRel.SelectSingleNode("Name").Text
      relTable = xmlRel.SelectSingleNode("Table").Text
      relFTable = xmlRel.SelectSingleNode("ForeignTable").Text
      relAttr = xmlRel.SelectSingleNode("Attributes").Text

      'remove any possible conflicting relations or indexes
      On Error Resume Next
      oApplication.CurrentDb.Relations.Delete (relName)
      oApplication.CurrentDb.TableDefs(relTable).Indexes.Delete (relName)
      oApplication.CurrentDb.TableDefs(relFTable).Indexes.Delete (relName)
      On Error GoTo 0

      Wscript.Echo "Creating relation " & relName & " between tables " & relTable & " -> " & relFTable
      Set accessRel = oApplication.CurrentDb.CreateRelation(relName, relTable, relFTable, relAttr)  'create the relationship object

      For Each xmlField In xmlRel.SelectNodes("Field")  'in case the relationship works with more fields
       accessRel.Fields.Append accessRel.CreateField(xmlField.SelectSingleNode("Name").Text)
       accessRel.Fields(xmlField.SelectSingleNode("Name").Text).ForeignName = xmlField.SelectSingleNode("ForeignName").Text
       Wscript.Echo "  Involving fields " & xmlField.SelectSingleNode("Name").Text & " -> " & xmlField.SelectSingleNode("ForeignName").Text
      Next

      oApplication.CurrentDb.Relations.Append accessRel 'append the newly created relationship to the database
      Wscript.Echo "  Relationship added"
     Next
    End If

    oApplication.RunCommand acCmdCompileAndSaveAllModules
    oApplication.Quit
End Function

You can execute this script by calling cscript compose.vbs <path to file which should be created> <folder with text files>. In case you omit the second parameter, it will look into 'Source' folder where the database should be created.

Import data from text file

Replace line 14: const acStructureOnly = 0 with const acStructureOnly = 1. This will work only if you have included the data in exported table.

Things that are not covered

1. I have tested this only with .accdb files, so with anything else there might be some bugs.
2. Setting are not exported, I would recommend creating the Macro that will apply the setting at start of the database.
3. Some unknown queries sometimes get exported that are preceded with '~'. I don't know if they are necessary.
4. MSAccess object names can contain characters that are invalid for filenames - the script will fail when trying to write them. You may normalize all filenames, but then you cannot import them back.

One of my other resources while working on this script was this answer, which helped me to figure out how to export relationships.

Answer 6

I found this tool on SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/avc/

I haven't used it, but it may be a start for you. There may be some other 3rd party tools that integrate with VSS or SVN that do what you need.

Personally I just keep a plain text file handy to keep a change log. When I commit the binary MDB, I use the entries in the change log as my commit comment.