Microsoft Access automated build hangs at creation of .ACCDE

1
votes

I'm attempting to automate the build of a source controlled MS Access application (it's only the front-end, the back-end is SQL Server). The Access client is published to the users via a simple C# console app via ClickOnce... It's in that console project that I'm also building the MS Access application via a custom msbuild tasks from this CodePlex library: https://buildmsaccessdb.codeplex.com/ (which is also mentinoed in another StackOverflow post on the subject). On my machine, it all works fine. The Access source code is compiled into an ACCDB, which is then converted into an ACCDE which is what gets included in the published app.

However, when I make it an automated build in TFS, it always stalls at the step where it converts the ACCDB to an ACCDE. I've tried a variety of ways for executing the "Make ACCDE" (SysCmd 603) command. I've tried it in powershell scripts, in VBA, etc... but it always seems to stall. Is that because the automated build process is not an interactive process and maybe the the SysCmd 603 needs to be ran interactively? If I stop the build and take a look at the ACCDB, everything is good. It compiles and can be manually compiled into an ACCDE... so it's not that the ACCDB isn't compilable.

I'd like to test it as an interactive TFS service but I don't control the service account it's running under.

Any tips on suggestions are welcome and thanks in advance! We have this whole automated build and release process up and nearly working except for this one piece!

1
vbams-accesstfscommsbuild

1 Answers

1
votes

I don't know much about the MSBuild task library, but from a quick look at the source it looks like it opens Access to run the tasks and interacts with a dialog box at one point. If that's the case you'll definitely need to run the build in interactive mode.

The fact that your build is hanging and not erroring out would also indicate this is the case.

Even though you don't control the service account, I would presume there's someone else in your organisation that does. I'd suggest you work with them and to try the build in interactive mode and ensure it works. If needed you could always set up a second build machine that runs in interactive mode, with the current build server remaining in "run as a service" mode.