"Make MDE File" or "Make ADE File" Command Is Not Available

When you try to make an MDE file or an ADE file in the Microsoft Access database (MDB) file or in the Microsoft Access project (ADP) file, one of the following behaviors occur:

• The command to make the MDE file or the ADE file may not be available.
  
  -or-
• You may receive the following error message:
  You cannot create a Microsoft Office Access ADE or MDE file from a database saved in Microsoft Office Access 2000 format.

This behavior occurs when you try to create an MDE file or and ADE file from an MDB file or an ADP file that is currently in the Microsoft Access 2000 file format that you open by using Microsoft Office Access 2003.

To work around the problem, convert the MDB file or the ADP file to the Access 2003 file format. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Access.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Database Utilities, point to Convert Database, and then click To Access 2002-2003 File Format.
3. In the Database to Convert From dialog box, select your database or the project file, and then click Convert.
4. In the Convert Database Into dialog box, specify the name of the new Access 2003 database, select the location where you want to store the new file, and then click Save.
5. To complete the conversion, click OK.
6. Open the database or the project file that is created in step 4.
   
   Notice that the Make MDE File (or Make ADE File) command is now on the Database Utilities option of the Tools menu. You do not receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

While it creates the MDE file or the ADE file, Microsoft Access stores a copy of the current object model as a part of the compiled Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications project. Because the Access 2003 object library contains new objects, methods, properties, and events that are not recognized by earlier versions of Access, Access 2003 cannot make an MDE file or an ADE file. Therefore, the option to make an MDE file or an ADE file in Access 2003 is disabled when the MDB file or the ADP file is not in the Access 2002 or Access 2003 file format.

Steps to Reproduce the Behavior

1. Start Microsoft Access.
2. Open a database or a project that was created in an earlier version of Microsoft Access that you have not converted to Access 2003 file format.
3. On the Tools menu, point to Database Utilities. Notice that the Make MDE File command is not available.
4. If the database or the project that is created in Access 2000 file format is opened in Microsoft Access 2002 or later, the command to make an MDE file or an ADE file option is available. However, when you click Make MDE File in the Database Utilities item of the Tools menu, you may receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article.

Note The default file format in Access 2003 is the Access 2000 file format.

For additional information about conversion of Microsoft Access files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For more information about conversion of Access files, click Microsoft Access 2003 Help on the Help menu, type conversion in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.