Creating an LIMS 4.x Edit LimsCode Shortcut

Summary

This information in this article applies to LIMS 4.x.

If you have an LIMS Full System license and a full copy of Microsoft Access 2010 you can customize the LIMS software by modifying your LimsCode4.mdb file. You will need to create a new shortcut to start Access 2010 with LIMS’ workgroup security file LimsUser4.mdw then open LimsCode4.mdb using the Shift bypass key to preserve the Access 2010 ribbon. This article provides step-by-step instructions to create an “Edit LimsCode” shortcut and open LimsCode4.mdb. The instructions below assume that both LIMS and Access 2010 are already installed on the workstation.

More Information

To customize the LIMS software, you must open your LimsCode4.mdb file (LimsCode), the LIMS front end software, using Access 2010. Since LimsCode is a secured Microsoft Access application, Access 2010 must be started using the LIMS workgroup file LimsUser4.mdw, which contains your login accounts. The LIMS 4.x startup process disables the Access 2010 ribbon. However, the ribbon is required to do any development work so specific steps must be followed to open LimsCode4.mdb while preserving the ribbon. Follow the steps below to create a dedicated “Edit LimsCode” shortcut and open LimsCode4.mdb.

Step One: Install file LimsCode4.mdb

Step Two: Find the Access 2010 executable

Step Three: Download AutoClose.mdb

Step Four: Create the Edit LimsCode shortcut

Step Five: Open LimsCode4.mdb

Step One: Install file LimsCode4.mdb

Using Windows Explorer, copy file LimsCode4.mdb to the workstation folder where LIMS is installed. With an LIMS Full System license, you will find LimsCode4.mdb in the MDB folder in the Setup folder containing the LIMS installation software. If your system has already been customized, be sure to copy the current LimsCode4.mdb file which may have been saved to a file server folder. Copy file LimsCode4.mdb to the local folder where LIMS is installed, which is normally C:\LIMS.

If you are unsure where LIMS is installed, you can find the LimsCode folder listed on the System Info tab of the System Configuration screen in the LIMS. Note that file LimsCode4.mde will also exist in this folder. In normal operation, the LIMS always uses the MDE file, which is an executable version of the MDB file minus all source code.

Step Two: Find the Access 2010 executable

Your new shortcut must include the full path name of the Access 2010 executable file MSACCESS.EXE. Unfortunately, your existing Access 2010 Start menu shortcut is a special Microsoft Installer (MSI) shortcut that does not reveal the location of the executable.

To find the Access 2010 executable in Windows XP, open Windows Explorer, select the Program Files folder, then click the Search toolbar button. Enter “msaccess.exe” for the named file to locate then click the [Search Now] button. In Windows 7, click the Start button , enter “msaccess.exe” in the Search field then right-click the found program and choose Open file location. The screen below shows the results of an example search.

Hover your mouse over the found MSACCESS.EXE file or right-click and choose Properties and verify the file’s version. Microsoft Access 2010 is version 14.x. Note the full path name of the file’s folder.

Step Three: Download AutoClose.mdb

Download file AutoClose.mdb and save it to the folder where LIMS is installed. This should be the same folder where you copied LimsCode4.mdb in step one. AutoClose.mdb is a database that simply closes itself when opened. This database will be used with the Edit LimsCode shortcut so that we log on with LimsUser4.mdw before we open LimsCode4.mdb with the Shift bypass key to preserve the ribbon.

Step Four: Create the Edit LimsCode shortcut

Right-click the LIMS shortcut on your desktop and choose Copy then right-click on the desktop and choose Paste Shortcut. Right-click the new shortcut, select Rename and change the shortcut’s name to “Edit LimsCode.” Right-click the new shortcut then select Properties. The contents of the lengthy Target property on the Shortcut tab should be very similar to the following:

	"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sagekey Software\StartAccess3_2010.exe"
	/profile "LIMS"  /wrkgrp "C:\LIMS\LimsUser4.mdw"
	"C:\LIMS\LimsCode4.mde" /runtime /excl

In the Target property, replace the full path name of file StartAccess3_2010.exe with the full path name of file MSACCESS.EXE found earlier. Delete the “/runtime” and “/excl” command line switches. Change “LimsCode4.mde” to “AutoClose.mdb” then click [OK]. Following is an example Target property after editing:

	"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.EXE"
	 /profile "LIMS"  /wrkgrp "C:\LIMS\LimsUser4.mdw"
	"C:\LIMS\AutoClose.mdb"

Step Five: Open LimsCode4.mdb

To work in the Access 2010 development environment with the ribbon, the Shift key must be used to open LimsCode4.mdb so its normal startup options are bypassed. However, when opening a secured database the shift key can only be used after logging on. Therefore any database must first be opened so the logon occurs before opening LimsCode4.mdb with the shift key bypass, which is the purpose of the AutoClose database our shortcut opens.

To open LimsCode4.mdb for editing, double-click the new “Edit LimsCode” shortcut and log on using the LimsAdmin account. Although any login account in the Admins security role can be used it is good practice to use the LimsAdmin account with this shortcut to maintain LimsAdmin’s ownership of all objects in the database.

After logging on, the AutoClose.mdb file opened with the shortcut will automatically close itself. Use Open on the File tab then navigate to the folder where you copied LimsCode4.mdb in step one. Hold down the Shift key while double-clicking LimsCode4.mdb. If LimsCode4.mdb is already in your list of recent files on the File tab as shown below, simply hold down the Shift key while clicking the file.

Selecting LimsCode4.mdb without using the Shift bypass key will run the normal startup procedure which removes the Access 2010 ribbon. You can use this feature to switch between the development environment and the simulated runtime environment. When you open LimsCode4.mdb using the Shift bypass key, LIMS’ startup software is bypassed enabling the ribbon. However, the startup software must be run if you plan to open any forms or reports. Double-click either the AutoExec macro or frmMainMenu to run the system startup software.

While testing forms or reports with the ribbon present, use the Add-Ins tab of the ribbon to access the LIMS menus and toolbars. The screen excerpt below shows an example. Alternatively, use Close Database on the File tab then reopen LimsCode4.mdb without using the Shift key bypass to test without the ribbon. To return to Access, use either the Exit button adjacent to the version number or the Exit toolbar button on the main menu. Note that File | Exit will exit completely and not return to Access.