If you want to distribute a Microsoft Access desktop application you need to ensure that users have either the full version of Microsoft Access or Access Runtime installed on their computers.
Microsoft Access Runtime allows users to run desktop applications built in Microsoft Access (.mdb or .accdb files) even if they do not have full Microsoft Access or a Microsoft Office installed. It also includes the Access Database Engine (ADE).
To determine if the Microsoft Access (and Runtime) is installed and get its version, we need to read version number of the "MSACCESS.EXE" file.
The path to MSACCESS.EXE is stored in the Registry under the following key (in the Default value):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MSACCESS.EXE
Examples:
for Microsoft Access Runtime 2010: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\MSACCESS.EXE
for Microsoft Access Runtime 365: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Root\Office16\MSACCESS.EXE
In Actual Installer, go to System \ Variables, and add:
Variable: <AccessPath> Bitness: Default Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MSACCESS.EXE Value Name: Value Type: REG_SZ Default Value:
The <AccessPath> variable will contain the full path to the MSACCESS.EXE file. Or empty, if Microsoft Access or Access Runtime is not installed.
Now we need to check the file version of the MSACCESS.EXE file. Here is a list of Microsoft Access versions and corresponding version numbers of MSACCESS.EXE:
Access 2007 12.0 Access 2010 14.0 Access 2013 15.0 Access 2016 16.0 Access 2019 16.0 Access 2021 16.0 Access 2024 (365) 16.0
Here is an example how to check and require Microsoft Access 2010 version or higher. Go to General \ Prerequisites \ Additional Prerequisites and add the following:
Name: Microsoft Access Runtime Command: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/access/download-and-install-microsoft-365-access-runtime OS: Any Condition: 5. File Version Greater or Equal Object: <AccessPath> Value: 14.0
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