[AccessD] A97 - 2003 conversion

It has begun.  I was given the IP of a Terminal Server that I can log into 
from dial up.  I opened a copy of the 97 FE applciation and it offered to 
convert.  Three times I was given various messages that there were unsafe 
expressions and notwithstanding my agreement to all, the program failed to 
open and offered no error message.

There were conversion errors logged to a table but they all appeared to be 
errors relating to linked data tables.  There was an offer to turn off 
warnings about unsafe expression messages but when I tried to accept, I was 
given a message that I had no rights to the registry.  I could open the 
application with the bypass key when I changed it before conversion and I 
was able to open forms in design mode and view code.  I also found that the 
conversion was to an Access 2000 version of the database rather than 2003.  
I have had no problem with 'upgrading' (now therre's a misnomer) to Access 
2000 as the file simply converted and opened without complaint.  I may have 
to attempt to convert in stages to see if that will work.  Fortunately they 
now allow floppy disk and WinZip on one of the machines so there is a way to 
do the interim upgrade by Access 2000 off site and move it (no other 
versions of Access are available on the otherwise highly secured network and 
there is no dial up file tranfer ability nor ftp and email is restricted by 
attachment size) to the server after the intervening upgrade to a format 
that 2003 seems to say it can open.

I have the Sybex Word 2000 Developers Handbook that I read about a year ago 
and I recall that Word permitted digital certificates to supress macro 
warnings on self signed certificates for use on an intranet.  Given that the 
powers that be like to view the application as a virus and Access in general 
as a threat to security, does anyone know whether Access 2003 has a 
capability similar to that of Word.  I have been told that there will be no 
commercially issued certificates such as by Verisign as the cost exceeds 
what they will allow, but a self signed free certificate to allow home grown 
'macros' may be allowed.

I'll give dial up another shot tonight.  I built the application secured as 
an mde with login coded in the mde by network login and the accounts they 
gave me on the test server use a different login name.  I should have at 
least received an 'Unauthorized User' message before I was dumped unless it 
was the unsafe expressions that forced the abort.

Now the big questions:  Is there a reason that it didn't offer to convert to 
2003 format?  What disadvantages does the new format force upon developers.  
If I build a single unbound form without any code and open it in 2003, will 
it still only upgrade to 2000?

Ciao
Jürgen Welz
Edmonton, Alberta
jwelz at hotmail.com

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