How can a relative path specify a linked table in Access 2007?

Question

I have a front end and back end of an Access database. The front end references linked tables and I need to do a relative link instead of an explicit one i.e. \"../dat

Answer 1

Tables linked to files (such as mdb, accdb, dbf, etc.) require absolute paths in their connection strings.

However there is a workaround: during the database startup you can use vba to redefine the the links to match the directory of the current database instance.

(The code below has not been tested / debugged)

Private Sub RelinkTables()
    Dim oldConnection As String
    Dim newConnection As String

    Dim currentPath As String
    currentPath = CurrentProject.Path

    Dim tblDef As TableDef

    For Each tblDef In CurrentDb.TableDefs
        oldConnection = tblDef.Connect

        ' Depending on the type of linked table
        ' some string manipulation which defines
        ' newConnection = someFunction(oldConnection,currentPath)

        tblDef.Connect = newConnection
        tblDef.RefreshLink
    Next tblDef
End Sub