i would like to distribute an access front end to some people and i want to make sure that they do not edit anything in it; however when i change the extension to ACCDR it makes all the forms and tables disappear. what settings do i have to change in order for them to be able to open forms but not view them in design view or make any changes to the forms?
The accdr extension puts your Access application into the "runtime" mode of Access, meaning the end user does not have the ability to see the built in navigation tools within Access. You would need to provide the navigation mechanism within the application yourself (for example, a startup form with links to the forms \ tables you want the users to be able to interact with).
The accdr extension hides objects from the user, but it does not prevent them from changing the file extension back to accdb and modifying your code \ objects.
To completely "lock down" the application you need to create an accde file instead. This prevents the user from being able to open a form in design view and make changes.
The following two links provide additional information about the file types and ways to deploy your application:
来源：https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3989910/ms-access-when-i-change-extension-to-accdr-forms-tables-disappear