How to: Deliver an Access application to 32-bit and 64-bit Office
Deliver one application to users whose Office is partly 32-bit and partly 64-bit.
Requires WKL Bootstrapper 1.0.
Solution overview
The starter is one 32-bit EXE for both: it starts Access as a separate process and reads the bitness from the installed
MSACCESS.EXE. Everything the application loads into Access must have the bitness of Access:
| Part | Follows | What to deliver |
|---|---|---|
The starter (Wkl.Bootstrapper.exe) | nothing - one EXE | One file for every PC |
| ACCDE | the Access it was made in | One per bitness, each in a source folder of its own |
| ACCDB | - | One file; it runs in both bitnesses |
| WKL components | the bitness of Access | Both folders, components\x86 and components\x64; the starter registers the matching one |
| .NET 10 Desktop Runtime | the bitness of Access | x86 for 32-bit Office, x64 for 64-bit Office (installed by IT, for the computer) |
| ODBC drivers | the bitness of Access | The driver in the bitness of Access |
Implementation
- Build an ACCDE per bitness - the build tool in a 32-bit Office produces
bitness: x86inapp-manifest.json, in a 64-bit Officex64. An ACCDB getsanyand needs no second build. - Deliver to two folders, for example
\\server\apps\Customers\x86and\\server\apps\Customers\x64, each with its database,app-manifest.jsonand both component folders. - Give each group of PCs its starter: the same EXE, a
bootstrapper.jsonwhosesourcenames the folder of their bitness. With an ACCDB one starter and one folder serve everybody. - Check on one PC of each kind:
Wkl.Bootstrapper.exe /diagnosenames the Access it found (“Full x86 …” or “Full x64 …”) and ends with0 Ok.
Remarks
- A starter pointed at the ACCDE of the other bitness stops with code 21 (see The version of the application does not match the installed Access).
- The WKL components are registered for the user in the registry view of their bitness; registering one bitness leaves the other untouched.
- Supported: 32-bit and 64-bit Office.
Related topics
en/wiki/msaccess/bootstrapper/how-to/install-for-32-and-64-bit-office.txt · Last modified: by Wolfgang van der Stille