title: MS Access 2003 - Help understanding the structure of mdb, mde and be
body: <p>I was just wanting some explanation as to what is going on once you have split your tables out into a back end file, and set an mde out for use. </p>
  
  <p>When a user accesses the mde, is the mdb still required to get to the tabes (or in order to make it work)? Let say I put these access apps on a shared drive for folks to use. If I split the be end on to the shared drive, and placed the mde on the shared drive, would I the mdb have to exist for that version mde to work (communicate with the tables)? Or does the mde sort of speak to the mdb which speaks to the tables?</p>
  
  <p>Hope this question makes sense.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks </p>
  
  <p>EDIT:</p>
  
  <p>One additional question: I have an MDE set up on a network share drive, but I was not certain as to whether or not I had to have the mdb present on the same share drive as my mde and back end (tables)....if not then I would prefer to not have it there because user insist on getting into it, and making copies of it and such.....</p>
  
  <p>But my question is, as I said I put A MDE out on a shared drive, which means there is one that about 10-12 people max, share, and the likelihood that even half these folks would be in there at the same time is very very unrealistic. But I recently read that I should have an MDE for each person? Is that true? What is a good example of distributing one to each person? I have only ever gone with the one on a shared appraoch before, and was unaware that this was, if in fact it is, a bad approach?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks for your help!</p>