How to make 32 Bit MS Access application compatible with 32 bit and 64 Bit

MS Access Level required: Medium.

We are in business for 30 years plus and our ms access developers still develop and maintain ms access applications even in this era of the internet. In many cases we convert ms access to web-based solutions.

In some cases there are MS applications that were developed 30 years ago already. People simply fall in love in their MS Access application and would let go even though they may lose productivity against their competition.

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Today, we are going to show you how to deal with 32 and 64 bits in ms access database and make it compatible.

Although most systems nowadays are 64-bit by default, it is still very common for Users to have a 32-bit Office installation. One of the reasons could be the smaller footprint by a 32-bit installation, compared to a 64-bit installation, or the cost of upgrading.

As a result it is often found that, an MS Access Application based on 32-bit installation that worked for many years, suddenly don’t work when installed on a 64-bit system.

The solution calls for all Declared Functions to be made 64-bit safe.

Steps in making Declared Functions safe:

It is not enough to make all Declared Functions safe for 64-bit use, we must also ensure the application can still execute on a 32-bit system. As a result we must first check to see what system is being used. Below is a code sample to demonstrate:

In the above example all that is needed is too add the keyword PtrSafe before the Function.

This however will result in an error when executed on a 32-bit version. In order to resolve this, we need to first check what system is being used as seen in the example below.

In some cases the keyword VBA7 must be replaced with WIN64, mostly when Long declarations are made for example:

It might be necessary to test either of the above methods to ensure compatibility is reached.

Let us know if you need assistance in the above, or any other MS Access modification, upgrades or conversion to a Web Application to improve performance and availability.

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