2013
52 TopicsMicrosoft Access Version Comparison Matrix
Microsoft Access debuted in 1992 and recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary! Over the decades, Microsoft Access evolved with a large number of enhancements, database formats, and discontinued features. It's hard to remember all the changes. We created a page that shows the different Microsoft Access versions and changes in an easy to understand comparison matrix. Microsoft Access Version Features and Differences Comparison Matrix See when versions were released, their latest service packs, database formats, linked tables, field types, security features, Windows Operating Systems, and many other features both new and old. Hope this helps. Let us know if we missed anything.Solved30KViews13likes13CommentsFuture of Microsoft Access: PowerApps｜CDS｜VSTO｜VBA｜Flow｜JS｜VS｜.NET｜Graph Cloud｜Mobile｜Web｜Developers
Access & Office Development Roadmap & Suggestions In addition to summing up recent Access updates & resources (including those from Access), I've compiled some suggestions & questions for the Access & Office Dev Platform teams (ranging from PowerApps & Common Data Service integration to VSTO Add-in dev, VBA & VBE) here. I've also recapped the recent Microsoft reorg changes along with thoughts on potential implications for Access & Office. Also, if at all possible, any glimpse the Microsoft Access and Office Developer Platform (VBA, VBE IDE, Office.js, VSTO) teams could provide us with into what they are considering (even if not confirmed yet) as possible future enhancements, fixes and data connectors for Access and improvements for Access developers (automation/macros/add-in development) for Access 2019 / Office 2019 (http://www.codekabinett.com/rdumps.php?Lang=2&targetDoc=office-access-2019-news) onward would be greatly appreciated. Promising Trend of Access Updates vs. Cloud-first Focus & Dropped Web Support Considering, on one hand, the number of promising recent Access updates (summarized below, per Access Day) and, on the other, the deprecation of Access Web Apps (AWA & Access Services for Microsoft-hosted SharePoint Online going read-only by April 2 '18) and Microsoft's recent Cloud-first focus (PowerApps, Common Data Service, Azure) and Cloud vs. UX reorg. shakeup. Microsoft Reorganization (Cloud vs UX Shakeup) Implications Also, I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on possible implications of the just-announced http://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-and-why-microsoft-is-splitting-up-windows-in-its-latest-reorg/ on Access, Office development and Microsoft Office / Office 365 in general. Specifically, as I will detail in my next post, Microsoft has combined their 4 groups into just two groups, essentially splitting by Cloud vs. non-Cloud - a "Cloud & AI" group, including Azure, PowerApps, Power BI, Dev Tools/APIs, among other things vs. a "Devices & User Experience" group, including Office, Windows, Surface & Mobile. Recent Access Features & Updates I'd like to start off by recapping all the recent advancements we've seen with Microsoft Access, at Access Day and beyond. Considering all the http://www.fmsinc.com/microsoftaccess/history/features.htm and toying with removal of Access from most Office editions, it's really great to see that Microsoft ended up (after the user backlash) https://twitter.com/PowerAccessSQL/status/974477100521525248 instead! More than that, its really incredible to see all the new Access updates, such as new Data Connectors (Microsoft Dynamics & Salesforce), https://blogs.office.com/en-us/2017/03/06/new-in-access-2016-large-number-bigint-support/ support, an upcoming https://blogs.office.com/en-us/2016/09/07/back-by-popular-demand-dbase-file-support-in-access/, https://support.office.com/en-us/article/featured-access-templates-e14f25e4-78b6-41de-8278-1afcfc91a9cb?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US (experimentally) and 32-bit SSMA release (with the SQL Server Migration Assistant for Access previously only usable with uncommon 64-bit Office installs). Also, I'm glad to see the Access Accessibility Updates (Screen reader, F6 navigation, high contrast, etc.), which even as I understand, helped lead to Microsoft receiving the https://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2017/09/07/microsoft-recognized-for-leadership-in-bringing-inclusion-to-product-design/ for tech enabling the over 1 Billion across the world with disabilities. Congrats to the Access, Office and Accessibility teams on that achievement! Access Team's Support & Updates I also very much appreciate the new content and support from the Access team. For those not familiar with all of it, that includes new resources under and https://support.office.com/en-us/access with https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/access/docs and https://support.office.com/en-us/article/access-video-training-a5ffb1ef-4cc4-4d79-a862-e2dda6ef38e6, as well as https://support.office.com/en-us/article/featured-access-templates-e14f25e4-78b6-41de-8278-1afcfc91a9cb?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US and the attention the Access dev team is providing to https://access.uservoice.com/ and https://officespdev.uservoice.com/, as well as all the activity in the the new Access blog and Access forums here. Upcoming Features for Access and Access Day Revelations I was exciting hearing about the upcoming support for New Chart types and R2 update of https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54920, all covered at http://jstreettech.com/RedmondWA2018Schedule.aspx by Access Program Manager Michal_Bar, as seen in her https://www.facebook.com/JStreetTech/videos/1871973549481976/ (thanks to ArmenS and his post on the new charts). Access Dropped from Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) for .NET Add-in Development However, there are a few things long-missing or rarely updated which I would love to see to simplify life for Access developers and enable better integration with or taking advantage of the latest, Cloud-focused Microsoft product and developer tool/API advancements. For example, I, and many others https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6331932689293279232/, would really like to see at least Access supported with https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms268878.aspx for add-in development again, as well as modernizing development tools/APIs for macros/automation. Specifically, it would be great if at some point in the future we could see updates to the VBE / VBA IDE (eg. adding tabbed documents, both forward/backward edit navigation, etc. as missing most VS updates since forked from VS around VB6), updates to VBA language (which hasn't seen much in the way of updates since VB6 it was based on), Visual Studio use for VBA (for macro coding, debugging & edit-and-continue), Microsoft Flow automation (eg. using On-premises Data Gateway or VPN connection or OneDrive), Office.js API, and/or VB.NET / C# / .NET for macro coding. VBE (VBA IDE) Issues There are also long-standing issues with VBE (VBA IDE) like it being unable to handle multiple monitors with different resolutions without ghosting when resizing tool panels. And missing modern text editor features (let alone modern Visual Studio features) like Tabbed Documents, Forward & Backwards edit navigation/history, etc. We ended up seeing and dealing with this for example (in addition to encountering it all the time myself) even during the presentations at Access Day. Automation (Macro & Add-in Development) API Limitations For Add-in developers and VBA Macro/Automation developers, Access could really benefit IMO from adding events, like for OnAppExit, OnSave globally and for each object/window, access to multiple objects selected in Navigation Sidebar, defining hotkeys via code (vs AutoKeys), extend the Nav sidebar context menu - to name a few. I will likely post a compiled list of suggestions later on regarding Access and VBA/VBE Automation APIs. Documentation & Samples Missing However, developer docs and content is completely missing for Access from https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/office/gallery/?filterBy=Samples,Access and https://dev.office.com/training, and https://products.office.com/en-US/business/office-365-roadmap?filters=access (which only has 3 entries for Access: Salesforce + BigInt as completed, and Dynamics 365 connector shown as still WIP/Still Rolling Out) as well as https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-ins/, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/23cw517s.aspx and https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/creating-project-and-item-templates. Content missing from those last three places is likely due to Access being dropped entirely from VSTO for some reason, but even then there are other ways (eg. COM APIs, 3rd party wrappers, etc.) that could at least be mentioned there, or even include older VSTO docs. People are developing add-ins with Access, regardless of it being dropped from VSTO, but there is no documentation on how to do that. Making the Access Templates Experiment Permanent Also, Access Templates should definitely be kept permanently and shown to everyone all the time. As Michal had pointed out, Access Templates end up being shown randomly (for A/B testing) just for some users on https://templates.office.com/. However, after refreshing 2 dozen times, trying with a dozen Incognito sessions across several dozen sessions it took dozens of attempts to finally see it, so I'm not sure it's shown as often may be though. Cloud Data Connectors (Common Data Service and Graph) like Excel & other Office Apps Similarly, I would love to see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/common-data-service/ and https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph support (and maybe direct access to Power BI-embedded data) in Microsoft Access. As Juan Soto had pointed out, Excel and other Office and MS apps provide Common Data Service support, with just Microsoft Access as the one missing out. Access Web App "Replacement" PowerApps Supports Everything Except Access For other improvements beyond Access/Excel/Office Macros and Developer Tools/API, I'd really think it valuable for https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/, https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/, and https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/ Online (beyond just Desktop version, for Service / Premium / Report Server / Mobile / Gateway, and without import Desktop to Service hack) to provide direct support for Access databases. On-premises Data Gateway: Possibility for Using Access from PowerApps & Power BI for Web & Mobile It's frustrating not even being able to setup the https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-gateway-onprem (installed on local PC for "File System" access, shared by PowerApps and Power BI) to support Access databases in PowerApps - just Excel workbooks. Concerns Regarding Microsoft Priorities for Azure & PowerApps vs. Access However, considering how even Access Services (for SharePoint-Access integration via Access Web Apps (AWA) as well as earlier Access Web Databases) being deprecated and going read-only (April 1, 2018), I wonder how likely that might be that we get further Cloud/Web/Mobile features. Considering this and how Microsoft attempted to even remove Access from most Office editions recently, as well as their Cloud-first focus, it's a bit concerning. It seems like with Access being included in Office there is a lot less revenue to be made from it compared to billing monthly (and by usage) with PowerApps, Power BI, Azure, etc. I can understand Microsoft's business priorities there, but, considering Access is often used for prototyping databases for SQL Server and Azure SQL, as well as quick, end-user-editable front-ends for them, I think it would make more sense IMO to expand Access' integration with Azure and Cloud Services versus trying to drop it from Office editions and replace with PowerApps which can't even connect to Access (pushing use of Excel spreadsheets for data storage and queries instead, for file system connectors). There is little-to-no support for even connecting to Access Databases from PowerApps and Power BI and even OneDrive/Dropbox deployment not being feasible (unlike Excel, now with its real-time multi-user collaborative desktop editing enabled when deployed that way, let alone Excel Online deployment). Remaining Deployment Options: VPN File Shares & Remote Access (RDP, RemoteApps, Citrix) Considering this, the we are limited for multi-user deployment to Network Shares over VPN (not feasible if want clients or customers to be able to use, or access from home for many) and Remote Desktop (RDP - though RemoteApp is a pretty good option), or Citrix & other RDP-like options (now that Azure RemoteApp hosting is deprecated). Questions for Access & Office Dev Platform Teams To sum up, my primary questions (and suggestions) for the Access development team are the following: Is there any chance we may see Microsoft Access integration with PowerApps, Common Data Service, Azure, Microsoft Graph, Power BI Online, SharePoint, Office Online, On-premises Data Gateway, OneDrive, Dropbox and/or Microsoft Flow? Any other possibilities to simplify Web, Mobile, Cloud Drive (eg. making OneDrive feasible to use, like with Excel for multi-users), or otherwise simplifying Multi-User use and deployment for Microsoft Access? Is there any chance we could get Access added back to Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) for officially supported and documented (complete with Visual Studio project templates) for .NET Add-in development for Access, like with Excel and other office apps? Any possibility of updates to VBA, VBE IDE, or support for Visual Studio for VBA or C#/VB.NET for macro coding, or JavaScript (eg. Office.js), or even Microsoft Flow (eg. via Gateway, VPN, or OneDrive) for automation?Solved27KViews6likes6CommentsWelcome to the Access Tech Community!
This is a place to share ideas, news, discuss the product, promote Access events and engage with Access MVPs. In this community you'll also find the Access product blog, where we share updates from the Access team, customer success stories and MVPs articles. If you have technical questions and would like to receive support, we recommend that you visit one of these active Access online forum geared towards support and/or Access development: Microsoft Answers: Answers.com MSDN Access for Developers Forum: MSDN Dev Forum UtterAccess -UtterAccess Stack Overflow: Stack Overflow LinkedIn - Professional Microsoft Access Developers' Network --The Access Team18KViews24likes32Comments
Phantom Breakpoints in MS Access VBA
I've been using Access for better than 20 years at this point. Only in the last few versions have I noticed this problem of "Phantom breakpoints." This is where you'll be working on a module, or piece of VBA code behind a button, form, label, or other object, and you click the breakpoint little maroon circle out to the left of your code, and when you run the code it stops at that breakpoint. It works great! The problem comes however when you try to un-check the maroon breakpoint - either by clicking it and it goes away, or by using the menu option "clear all breakpoints" - and then most of time time breakpoint will cease to stop the flow of the code. Unfortunately it doesn't always go away. Maybe 2 out of 10 times it will not really clear the breakpoint, and typically I don't find out about it until it's been distributed to the clients and I get a call that "Your application has stopped on that stupid yellow code thing again!" If it only happened 1 out of 100 times, that would be something I could live with, but 20% of the time is move than I can bear. Can someone people tell me of a cure for this problem? Is it something Microsoft is aware of? Microsoft makes changes to the interface that involve the look of buttons, or the alternate row color setting on reports, which are nice I guess - I prefer the plain jane look of forms and reports, however You would think they would fix this bug before devoting time to making more "flash" for the interface. -Breakpointed in TampaSolved8.5KViews0likes14Comments
Access automatic calculation is wrong
Hello I have a grafic with a tendence line but the grafic is wrong This is my case: I have a grafic with a tendence line but the grafi worg X Y 2 29,9 28 64.4 y=16,263Ln(x)+29,667 in the excel simulation the equation is y=13,458Ln(x)+18,6724.8KViews0likes23Comments
DB Corruption
I have an Access 2013 DB with about 15 concurrent network users. Each user has a copy of the front end but we experience periodic backend DB corruption. There is no discernable pattern but it often happens 2-6 times a week. I do use some form timers but have shut down the one in the main menu but the corruption still occurs. Has anyone experiSolved3.9KViews0likes1Comment
Inserting empty rows
This should be simple, but my SQL skills are rusty. I have a query that extracts the year and a count of incidents from a table. SELECT year, Count(year) AS incidents FROM Table2 WHERE ((Table2.cause_ID=15) OR (Table2.cause_ID=16)) GROUP BY year; Of course, many years have no matching cause_ID = 15 or 16. I would like an output of year and 0 for those years.Solved3.4KViews0likes20Comments
Access Prompts to enter password when trying to Compact/Repair DB
It's me again with another possible MS Access bug! This issue: MS Access asks for my database password when I go to compact/repair. I enter the password correctly and it doesn't take it.. What is going on!? Thanks, Justin3KViews0likes4Comments
Ms Access, after opening the database with the /decompile key, leaves the database in exclusive mode
For many years I have been running the Ms Access database with the /decompile key and it remained in multi-user mode after decompilation (I did not close the database). But a week ago, about after updating the program, the problem started. Ms Access, after opening the database with the /decompile key, leaves the database in exclusive mode. Now I can't even back up an open database. I understand that I can close the database and open it again, but I would like to avoid this Office 2013, Windows 10, Access database format 2007-2013 I believe that this is an introduced error that needs to be corrected (Automatic translation from Russian)2.1KViews0likes4CommentsMove Data from One Row to Another in Separate Columns
Hi, I have file where the original format has two questions per person and puts the questions & answers in two separate rows. (See rows 2 & 3 below) I need to have the questions and the answers from row 3 moved to row 2 in separate columns. Thanks in advance for any helpSolved2.1KViews1like3Comments
