Log Queries (Settings/Preferences tab)

"Log Queries" sets the Query History feature running. It can also be turned on and off from the "power" button on the Query History form. "Log Unique Queries Only" causes the software to check for duplicates before logging queries.

When the Query History option is ON, all questions successfully translated into SQL are recorded to the elfQueryHistory table of the elf32.mda library file. When both the "Log Queries" and "Log Unique Queries Only" boxes are checked, only the first occurence of a given question will be logged.

A couple of points bear noting in this statement. First, using the "Unique Queries" checkbox might not be appropriate if one of the purposes of logging is to determine the frequency with which certain types of questions are asked/answered. Second, questions which fail to be translated into SQL will only be recorded if the "Log Failed Queries" box is checked, so this option might also be required to assist an administrator determine what percentage of submitted questions are translated.

A second point is that the elfQueryHistory table is written into the elf32.mda library file. It's reasonable to ask why this table hasn't been moved into the Custom.mdb file specific to each View, since so many other view-specific tables have been relocated in this version. (See the What's New topic for more on Custom.mdb.) The short answer is that distributing the logs would make them far more difficult to compare and to administer. Neatly packaged into a single table, it's easy to see which Views of a given database are getting the most use. And by unchecking the "Restrict to this database" box (Query History window), you can get a comprehensive look at all questions posted to any-and-all interfaces over the entire Access ELF installation. You may also find this eases the process of deleting old log entries which are no longer of interest.