Help deploying C# application connected to an Access database

Question

I made a small application that connects to an Access database (a .mdb file). Do other users who want to use my application also need to have Microsoft Access installed? If this is the case, are there ways to get around this requirement through the user installing some free package?

I've researched this for a while and can't seem to get any answers. Any help is much appreciated.

Answer 1

No one has clearly answered your question. If you're using MDB format, no, you don't need to distribute Access, as Jet 4 is installed on all copies of Windows starting with Windows 2000.

However, if you're compiling for something other than 32-bit, you'll have problems, in which case you'd need to download the 64-bit version of Jet/ACE that was created for Access 2010 64-bit and include it with your app.

Answer 2

Depending on the version of MS Access you're using, you need to install an appropriate version of the Microsoft Jet Engine. For older Access databases, the Jet Engine came with MDAC, but lately, it was removed from the MDAC distribution . Here is a blog that includes a link for the MS Access 2007 redistributable: Access Database Engine Redistributable . If you use a different version of Access, look for a different redistributable.

Answer 3

Try Downloading the new 2010 Access database redistributable from MS. Will work on 64 bit as well.