Using Full Versions versus Runtime Versions of Access

Many people have the misconception that using the Setup Wizard and distributing your application using the Access runtime version somehow means that the application is compiled. This is not the case at all! In fact, if the database is not secured properly, anyone can install his or her own copy of Access and modify the application's data and other objects just as you can. Using the Setup Wizard and distributing your application with the Access runtime version does not modify the database in any way. It simply gives you the license to freely distribute the engine required to run your application.

Actually, the engine is not even a modified version of the Access executable! The MSACCESS.EXE that you distribute is the same as the MSACCESS.EXE that you use to build your application. When you use the Setup Wizard to create installation disks for your users, the same MSACCESS.EXE that you use is copied to the installation disks. So how can there be any difference between the retail and runtime versions of Access?