Forum Discussion
Microsoft Access Version Comparison Matrix
- Hi Colleen,
Let's address this piece by piece. Access wasn't part of Office until Access 95. Please see this Wikipedia page for details on the history of Microsoft Office. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Office
I undrstand the issue of file names in 8.3 format with dBase and Paradox, but what does that have to do with Access? It's reports are inside the Access mdb file and not subject to 8.3 limitations. You can name a report with much more flexibility.
For "Access Services", do you mean Access Web Services? The latter is deprecated on Office365, but remains supported in on premise SharePoint for the current and next release. Those Apps were never comparable to Windows based versions of Access solutions.
Only one small error in this matrix...
Access 1.0/1.1 were distributed as freebies in Office Suite boxes. I remember installing and using Access in 1993. I worked for an environmental consultant where users were frequently overwriting reports because the 8.3 filename was a limitation they couldn't seem to work around.
I was a bit of a database noob, although I had worked with Dbase III and Paradox. In Access, I created a simple Access table in which users would grab the next 8-digit autonumber as their filename, with their initials as the 3-char extension (making it easy to identify authors and find one's own files). The table included the date, the client, the project, and a description of the document, making it quick and easy to query for any particular document.
And one omission...
What is the status of Access Services for SharePoint Online? Microsoft announced several months ago that this interactivity between Access and SharePoint lists is being deprecated and they recommend using PowerApps/CDS instead. This makes me hesitant to build in Access when clients want to use their SharePoint site.
Let's address this piece by piece. Access wasn't part of Office until Access 95. Please see this Wikipedia page for details on the history of Microsoft Office. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Microsoft_Office
I undrstand the issue of file names in 8.3 format with dBase and Paradox, but what does that have to do with Access? It's reports are inside the Access mdb file and not subject to 8.3 limitations. You can name a report with much more flexibility.
For "Access Services", do you mean Access Web Services? The latter is deprecated on Office365, but remains supported in on premise SharePoint for the current and next release. Those Apps were never comparable to Windows based versions of Access solutions.
My apology for the confusion. I was waxing nostalgic about the problem (documents with 8.3 names) and the solution I devised using Access (generating unique filenames and a searchable index) back in the Win 3.1 days.
The matrix does mention 1.0 and 1.1 and although they were not official Office apps, they were distributed with Office and that is probably how many people were introduced to the single-file database concept.
As for SharePoint... I am referring to Access Web Services for SharePoint Online (Office 365 service). On premise would be a nightmare for my clients who work mostly with virtual teams, external guest users, etc.
My apology for the confusion. I was waxing nostalgic about the problem (documents with 8.3 names) and the solution I devised using Access (generating unique filenames and a searchable index) back in the Win 3.1 days. BTW, Luke, if you check the Wikipedia article about Access, 2.0 was included in Office 4.3 (for Win 3.1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Access I recall getting Access 1.0 that way, but I could be wrong.
The matrix does mention 1.0 and 1.1 and although they were not "official" Office apps, they were distributed with Office and that is probably how many people were introduced to the single-file database concept.
As for SharePoint... I am referring to Access Web Services for SharePoint Online (Office 365 service). On premise would be a nightmare for my clients who work mostly with virtual teams, external guest users, etc.