In both cases, the “.mde” file must reside on the network server or on a shared drive with the appropriate users given read / write permissions. See also What should I download?
Access Runtime Information Notes The Microsoft Office Access 2003 run-time environment is the default file association for Microsoft Access Databases (.mdb) and for Microsoft Access Projects (.adp) When you use Microsoft Windows Explorer or when you use a shortcut to open a Microsoft Access database file or to open an Access database project file that was created in Microsoft Access 2002 or in an earlier version, the file opens in the newly-installed Microsoft Office Access 2003 run-time environment. This behavior occurs after you install a run-time version of Microsoft Office Access 2003 on a computer that has Microsoft Access 2002 or an earlier version installed.
