Access 2002 runtime is the default file association for .mdb database files and for .adp project files

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This article was previously published under Q287448

SYMPTOMS

After you install a run-time version of Microsoft Access 2002 on a computer that has Microsoft Access 2000 or an earlier version installed, if you use Windows Explorer or a shortcut to open a file that was created in Access 2000 or in an earlier version, the file opens in the newly installed Access 2002 run-time environment.

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CAUSE

Access 2002 was either just installed or was the last version of Access that you ran on this computer. Because Access files share the same file extensions between versions, only one version of Access can be registered on the computer at any one time as the default file association for .mdb and .adp files. When you start Access 97, Access 2000, or Access 2002, including run-time installations, the version being started registers itself as the default file association for Access files.

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RESOLUTION

There are two ways to work around this behavior:

Always open the correct version of Access before you open a specific file.

-or-
Use a shortcut to open a file that specifies the version of Access to use. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Use Windows Explorer to locate the file that you want to open.
2. Right-click the file, and then click Create Shortcut.
3. Right-click the shortcut, and then click Properties.
4. Change the path to point to the version of Msaccess.exe that you want to use with this file by using syntax similar to the following:
  "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\MSACCESS.EXE" "C:\path\YourFileName.mdb"
5. Click OK.
6. Double-click the shortcut. Note that the file opens in the version of Access that you specified in the Target property of the shortcut.

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STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

In Access 2000, create and then save a new database.
Install an Access 2002 run-time application that was created by using the Microsoft Office XP Developer Packaging Wizard.
Start the run-time application and verify that it works. Close the run-time application.
Use Windows Explorer to find the file that you installed in step 2.
Double-click the file to open it. Note that the file opens in the Access 2002 run-time environment.

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REFERENCES

For more information about how to create Windows shortcuts, click Start, click Help, and then type shortcuts in the Search box.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

827491 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827491/ ) The Microsoft Office Access 2003 run-time environment is the default file association for Microsoft Access Databases (.mdb) and for Microsoft Access Projects (.adp)

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