About how Access searches for reference libraries

The Visual Basic project of a Microsoft Access file contains references to object libraries, and it can also contain references to other files, including other Access files. The locations of referenced files are specified in the References dialog box that is available from the References command on the Tools menu in the Visual Basic Editor. When you open an Access file, if Access doesn't find a referenced file in the specified location, it searches for the reference as follows.

• First, Access searches for a RefLibPaths key in the following location in the Microsoft Windows Registry:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Access

  If the key exists, Access checks for the existence of a value name that matches the name of the referenced file. If it finds a matching value name, Access loads the reference from the path specified in the corresponding value data.

• If Access doesn't find a RefLibPaths key, it searches for the referenced file in the locations listed below in the following order:
  • Application folder containing the application (the folder where Msaccess.exe is located).
  • Current folder.
  • System folders (the System and System32 folders located in the Windows or WINNT folder).
  • Windows or WINNT folder.
  • PATH environment variable. For more information about environment variables, see Windows Help.
  • The folder that contains the Access file, and any subfolders located in that folder.
• If Access still can't find the reference after performing this search, you must fix the reference manually.