I am testing (in Access 2002) a simple multiuser database setup and I am
having problems with a form taking a *very* long time to find a record
(using Ctrl+F).  Here's the setup:

The back end is in a shared directory on a Win2K Pro machine.  It is
basically one large flat file (used for recording data from hand-written
catalog volumes).  I am testing it with one million records.

The front end is primarily a simple data-entry form.  Users generally go to
a particular record by opening the form and searching for a Catalog# value
using Ctrl+F (with Match: set to Whole Field).  Catalog# is a Long Integer
field with Indexed set to "Yes (No Duplicates)".  It is *not* the Primary
Key.

Here's the problem:  if I run a select query (from the front end) for a
particular record (say, Catalog#=3640207), the record is returned almost
instantly.  However, if I open the form and search (via Ctrl-F) for this
same record, it takes over 4 minutes to retrieve it.
I have tried both basing the form directly on the table and also basing it
on a query, to no avail.  If the underlying query limits the recordset
considerably (say to a range of 10,000 records), then of course retrieval
via the form is faster.  (And if the query is set to Catalog# *equals*
3640207, then the form opens to that record instantly.)  Unfortunately, I
want the user to be able to open this form and go to *any* of the million
records.  Clearly I can "get to" a particular record quickly through the
query; how can I make the form respond as quickly as the query?

I realize this question may be beyond the scope of this newsgroup; I am most
decidely *not* a programmer, and I'd appreciate a suggestion of the right
approach to investigate.  Clearly, the back end is not normalized; this is a
seat-of-the-pants setup for data capture.  Nonetheless, a query can
certainly find a record quickly, so I am hoping I can get the form to do so
as well.  Would this require a lot of coding to pass a search value to a
query?  I hope not, as that's probably beyond me.

Thanks,
Tom Trombone