ODBC, Oracle7, MS Access2.0 Now What?

I'm writing an app in Access that connects to our Oracle7 server with ODBC drivers ver 7 and SQLNET V2. I know that my users will pull up the app and leave it up for hours on end. Most of the time the app will be idle. (I could tell them not to do this until I'm blue in the face and I know they will still do it)

Sequence of Events:
1. App opened and connected to oracle via ODBC. 2. After about 5 minutes of inactivity, Access loses its connection to Oracle
(or Oracle terminates the session I don't know which).
3. Pull up a form for one of the oracle tables and Access goes into a fit with about 3 minutes of disk access.

4. Dialog appears asking for name and password for oracle.
5. Correct name and password won't allow Access to reconnect to Oracle.
6. Must quit Access and restart the App to re-connect to Oracle.

So.....
1. What is the correct way to connect MS Access to Oracle? (Not with Menu commands, but with program code that I can run from the Autoexec macro) Currently I ask for a name and password, build a connection string, and then refresh the attached database with:
MyDatabase.TableDefs![SAGE_AGENCY].Connect=Connect_String MyDatabase.TableDefs![SAGE_AGENCY].RefreshLink

2. What is the correct way to disconnect from an Oracle Attached table?

   The only way I know how is to quit Access.

3. Is is possible to set a background timer that will disconnect users from Oracle after 5 minutes then reconnect them after asking them for a password again?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I don't have the Access Developers kit
(it's on order) and am only working with Access Professional.

Andrew McAllister mcallister_at_neptune.grad.missouri.edu Received on Thu Nov 03 1994 - 13:04:43 CET