The Microsoft Office Access 2003 run-time environment is the default file association for Microsoft Access Databases (.mdb) and for Microsoft Access Projects (.adp)

When you use Microsoft Windows Explorer or when you use a shortcut to open a Microsoft Access database file or to open an Access database project file that was created in Microsoft Access 2002 or in an earlier version, the file opens in the newly-installed Microsoft Office Access 2003 run-time environment.

This behavior occurs after you install a run-time version of Microsoft Office Access 2003 on a computer that has Microsoft Access 2002 or an earlier version installed.

This behavior occurs because the Access files share the same file extensions between versions and only one version of Access can be registered on the computer at a time as the default file association for .mdb files and for .adp files.

When you start Microsoft Access 97, Microsoft Access 2000, Access 2002, or Access 2003, the version of Access that is currently running on your computer is registered as the default file association for all the Access files, even during run-time installations. Therefore, if you have recently installed an Access 2003 run-time application or if Access 2003 was the last version of Access that you ran on your computer, all the Access files start in the Access 2003 run-time environment.

To work around this problem, use one of the following two methods.

Method 1: Start the appropriate version of Access

1. Start the appropriate version of Access.
   
   For example, If Access 2002 is installed on your computer and you intend to open an Access 2002 database, start Access 2002.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, click the appropriate Access database project file or click the appropriate Access database file, and then click Open.

The Access file opens by using the Access version that you started in step 1.

Method 2: Use a shortcut

You can create a shortcut for the Access database file or for the Access database project file. The Target property of the shortcut indicates the version of Access that the shortcut uses. To use a shortcut, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Windows Explorer.
2. Locate the file that you want to open. Right-click the file, and then click Create Shortcut.
3. Right-click the shortcut, and then click Properties.
4. In the Target box, type or paste an appropriate command that is similar to the following command:
   
   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\MSACCESS.EXE" "C:\<path>\YourFileName.mdb"
   
   Note In this command, use the version of Msaccess.exe that you want to use with the shortcut.
5. Click OK.
6. Double-click the shortcut.

The file opens in the version of Access that the Target property of the shortcut indicated.

This behavior is by design.

Steps to reproduce the problem

1. Start Access 2002.
2. Create a new database. Save the new database.
3. Close Access 2002.
4. Install an Access 2003 run-time application that you created by using the Access 2003 Developer Extensions Package Wizard.
5. Start the run-time application. Verify that it works.
6. Close the run-time application.
7. Start Windows Explorer.
8. Locate the database file that you created in step 2. Double-click the file to open it.

The file opens in the Access 2003 run-time environment.