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Creating a Team Solution from a Database

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This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

Before creating your team solution database, it is important you review information about schema requirements. For details, see Planning a Team Solution and Team Solution Development Guidelines.

An Access Workflow Designer team solution must be based on a SQL Server database. You can create that database using SQL Enterprise Manager or Access 2000. The preferred method is using an Access project (.adp). This new type of Access file provides efficient, native-mode access to a SQL Server database through the OLE DB component architecture.

Using an Access project, you can create a client/server application as easily as a file server application. This client/server application can be a traditional solution based on forms and reports, a Web-based solution using data access pages, or a combination of both. By using an Access project, you can combine the easy design interface of Access with the power of a SQL Server database.

You can add Access Workflow Designer features to an existing SQL Server database or start with an Access 2000 database (.mdb). Before you can use an Access database, you must use the Upsizing wizard in Access 2000 to convert the .mdb file to an Access project for a SQL Server database (.adp). For more information, see Using Access to Create the SQL Server Database and the Access online documentation.

An Access project is a project, because it contains only code-based or HTML-based database objects—forms, reports, data access pages, macros, and modules. These database objects are used to create an application. Unlike an Access database, an Access project does not contain any data or data definition-based objects—tables, views, database diagrams, or stored procedures (which can also contain application code). Instead, these database objects are stored in the SQL Server database.

For more information, see "What is a Microsoft Access Project," "OLE DB component architecture," and "Data access pages" in the Access 2000 Help.