Microsoft Access Object Dependencies
Provided by: FMS Development Team
In Microsoft Access 2003, a new feature has
been added to help you determine which objects
require another object, or whether the object is
needed for another object. This is what is known as
a dependency. For example a report is dependent on a
query for it's data, or a Main form may have a subform dependent.
To see an example of this new feature try the
following:
-
Open the Northwind Database
-
Click on the Forms tab
-
Click one time on the "Customer Orders" form to highlight it
-
From the Main Menu, choose View, Object
Dependencies...
This action will open a task pane titled
'Object dependencies', and gives you two options:
-
Objects that depend on me
-
Objects that I depend on
A Treeview of different categories for the object allows you to navigate
easily to see the dependencies. The categories are Tables,
Queries, Forms, and Reports. This can visually give you a better idea of how
any object is used throughout a database. There is nothing worse than
deleting an needed object that you thought was no longer used.
Requires Name AutoCorrect to be On
Microsoft Access generates the
dependency information by searching the name maps. These maps are maintained
by the Name AutoCorrect feature. If tracking name AutoCorrect information is
turned off, you cannot view dependency information. This setting is found on
the General Tab of the Tools/Options menu choice.
Limitations
Even if AutoCorrect is on, the object
dependencies are not complete. If objects are
referenced in VBA code, none of those
dependencies are detected. Without knowing these
references, you'll still need to be very careful
when renaming or deleting objects
Additional Resource
 For comprehensive
cross-reference documentation of your Access
databases, check out our Total Access Analyzer
program. This award winning product is the most
popular Access add-in and provides detailed
cross-references (including VBA code) for all
your Access objects and code. From tables,
queries, forms, reports, macros, procedures,
variables, constants, classes, and much more.
 It also includes three hierarchical diagrams to
show Application Flow, Data Flow, and Objects.
Here's more information on the product:
|
