A Personal Note to the Access Community
Today is my last day at Microsoft. After many wonderful years, I have accepted Microsoft's Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP) and am beginning a new chapter. It feels a little surreal to write those words. For much of my career, I've had the privilege of working with products, communities, and people I deeply care about. In recent years, that has included serving as Program Manager for Microsoft Access, one of the most passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated communities in technology. Before I go, there is one message I want to leave you with: Access is alive, well, and continuing to evolve. One of the most common questions I hear is, "Is Access going away?" The answer remains the same as it has always been: No. Access continues to ship with Microsoft 365 and Office, continues to receive engineering investment, continues to receive bug fixes, security updates, accessibility improvements, and yes, new features. In fact, we've released multiple new capabilities recently, including improvements such as enhanced zooming support, larger form and report design capabilities, and new developer-focused functionality, with additional features already in various stages of development and rollout. Over the last few years, I've had the opportunity to work alongside an incredibly talented engineering team that genuinely cares about Access and the customers who depend on it every day. I've seen firsthand the discussions, the prioritization meetings, the customer feedback reviews, the accessibility work, the bug triage sessions, and the long hours spent making sure Access continues to serve businesses, governments, schools, non-profits, and developers around the world. Access remains an important part of Microsoft's productivity ecosystem, and the team remains committed to keeping it relevant, reliable, and useful for years to come. I know many of you closely follow the public roadmap and occasionally worry when it's quiet. What doesn't always make it into public announcements is the steady stream of work happening behind the scenes: security investments, compliance work, accessibility improvements, bug fixes, customer-requested enhancements, and the engineering work required to keep a 30-plus-year-old product healthy in a rapidly changing technology landscape. As for what comes next, I don't yet know who the next Access PM will be or when that transition will occur. What I do know is that Access deserves thoughtful stewardship, active engagement with the community, and a clear understanding of why this product continues to matter. I am hopeful that whoever steps into that role will bring fresh ideas, curiosity, and a commitment to listening to the customers, MVPs, partners, and developers who make this community so special. To our MVPs: thank you for your advocacy, your feedback, and your willingness to tell us what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. Many of the features we've delivered started as customer requests, conference conversations, forum discussions, and MVP feedback. Your voices matter, and they have made the product better. To the Access developers around the world: thank you for continuing to build solutions that solve real problems. Every time someone says Access is only a relic of the past, I inevitably hear from another organization running a mission-critical application, supporting a small business, managing a research project, tracking inventory, or helping people get work done. The creativity and ingenuity of this community never cease to amaze me. And finally, thank you for letting me be part of your journey. It's been an honor to help tell the story of Access, share new features, write documentation, engage with the community, and occasionally fight to get your favorite feature request prioritized. While I'm retiring from Microsoft, I'll always be rooting for Access and the people who use it. The future of Access belongs to all of you, and I believe that future is bright. Thank you for your support, your passion, and your trust. See you around, Linda Cannon Former Program Manager, Microsoft AccessAccess begins rollout of Big Forms for Modern Monitors feature
We're excited to announce that support for large-sized forms is now available in Beta for Microsoft Access. This long-requested feature removes the longstanding 22-inch form size limitation and lays the foundation for a more modern, scalable, and accessible form experience. It's one of the most highly requested enhancements from the Access community and a top-voted request on the Access feedback forum. This feature is in Beta now and expected to be in the Current Channel preview by July 21st, 2026. Why we're making this change When Access was originally designed, form dimensions were constrained by underlying technology that effectively limited forms to approximately 22 inches in width or height. As monitor resolutions increased and ultrawide displays became common, that limitation became increasingly restrictive. Developers were forced to design for the lowest common denominator screen size, even when their users had significantly more screen real estate available. The result? Complex business applications often required excessive scrolling, crowded interfaces, or compromises in design. With this Beta release, Access developers can now create forms that take full advantage of today's larger monitors and higher resolutions. What's changing The 22-inch limit is gone. The primary enhancement is simple but powerful: Forms can now exceed the previous 22-inch size limitation. Controls can be placed beyond the historical boundary. Form sections can be designed at much larger dimensions. Developers can create richer and more detailed business applications. For customers building dashboards, operational workspaces, inventory systems, CRM solutions, or other complex applications, this means more content can be displayed simultaneously without forcing users to navigate between multiple forms. Designed for modern workspaces Large monitors have transformed the way people work. Many customers now use: Dual-monitor setups Ultrawide displays High-resolution 4K monitors Vertical monitors for specialized workflows This feature allows Access applications to better leverage those environments. Developers are no longer forced to design around constraints that originated more than 20 years ago. As a result, users can: View more information at once Reduce unnecessary scrolling Create more sophisticated layouts Improve efficiency during data entry and review tasks Accessibility benefits Although the primary audience for this feature is Access developers and users working with larger displays, removing the size limitation also delivers important accessibility benefits. Larger form designs allow more flexibility in presenting information, increasing spacing between controls, displaying larger text, and reducing visual clutter. These improvements can make applications easier to use for customers with low vision and others who benefit from magnified content. We hope you enjoy this improvement and as always, look forward to your comments. (Thank you to MVP Colin Riddington for the thumbnail image.)Bug fixes in Microsoft Access - Current Channel Version 2605 (Build 16.0.20026.20118)
Bug Name Issue Fixed Edge Browser Control didn't render PDFs on some machines When the Edge Browser Control was used to display a PDF, on some machines the PDF would not render at all if the registry value "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pdf\Content Type" was missing. Access now provides the missing content type, so the Edge Browser Control can render the PDF. Export to SharePoint failed for tables with both lookup fields and attachment columns When exporting an Access table to a SharePoint list, if the table contained both a lookup field and an attachment column, the export could fail with an error. The export now handles this combination correctly, so the export completes successfully. Conditional Formatting color picker showed a reduced palette in Version 2604 A regression introduced in Version 2604 caused the Conditional Formatting color picker to display a smaller set of color choices than previous versions. The full legacy color palette has been restored. Some Unicode characters displayed incorrectly in objects exported to Excel When exporting an Access object whose name contained certain extended Unicode characters, the resulting file's sheet name displayed the characters incorrectly. These characters are now preserved correctly during export. Power BI Gateway couldn't refresh semantic models from .accdb files Refreshing a Power BI semantic model that connected to a .accdb file via the on-premises gateway could fail with "Unspecified error". Connection setup has been adjusted so the gateway can successfully refresh the model. Monaco SQL view: Ctrl+Z didn't undo Ctrl+Shift+K line deletion In the new Monaco-based SQL editor, pressing Ctrl+Shift+K to delete the current line removed the line, but a subsequent Ctrl+Z would not restore it. Undo now works correctly for this and similar editing operations. Document tab text didn't scale with Windows text-size setting When the Windows display setting for text size was increased, document tab labels and the record navigation bar continued to render at the standard size, while other Access UI scaled correctly. The document tabs and record navigation bar now honor the system text-size setting. Error when editing a Long Text field after a write conflict When a write conflict occurred on a record containing a Long Text field, subsequent attempts to edit the field could fail with an error. The data path now refreshes the cached field values correctly after a conflict so that further edits succeed. Access terminated unexpectedly when reading Edge Browser Control properties in form design view In form design view, retrieving the ReadyState or LocationUrl property on an Edge Browser Control could cause Access to terminate unexpectedly. Both properties now return safely in design view. "Copy" prefix was prepended instead of appended to copied object names When duplicating a database object, Access named the copy "Copy of Form1" instead of "Form1 - Copy". This made copies of related objects sort apart from their originals in the Navigation Pane. Copy-of names now append the suffix, so related objects stay together when sorted alphabetically.Zoom in or out of forms, tables, and queries when in Form View or Datasheet View
Access now lets you zoom in and out when you’re working with forms, tables, and queries in Form View or Datasheet View. Zoom in for a closer look at your data or zoom out to see more on screen at once. You can adjust the zoom level using the Zoom button on the ribbon, the zoom slider on the status bar, or keyboard shortcuts. Zoom is also available in Print Preview for reports. Zoom isn’t supported in Report View or Design View. This feature is available in Access for Microsoft 365, version 2605 and later. Choose a magnification setting from the ribbon On the Home tab, select Zoom and choose one of the following options: 50%, 75%, 125%, 150%, 175%, 200%, or 500%. To return the view to 100% zoom, click Zoom 100%. If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can press Ctrl + Alt + 0 (zero). Use the zoom slider to quickly zoom in or out On the status bar in the lower right-hand corner of Access, select the zoom slider. Slide to the percentage zoom setting that you want. Press – or + to zoom in gradual increments. Use zoom keyboard shortcuts or mousewheel To zoom in, press Ctrl + Alt + Plus (+). To zoom out, press Ctrl + Alt + Minus (-). To return to 100% magnification, press Ctrl + Alt + 0 (zero). To use the mousewheel and scroll to zoom in or out, press Ctrl + mousewheel. Change your default zoom percentage Access doesn't save zoom settings on closing and reopening a form. Instead, it opens your form using the default zoom setting. To set your zoom default percentage, choose File > Options > Current Database > Application Options and choose the Default Zoom setting. Note Content inside of ActiveX controls, such as the text in a TreeView control, doesn't resize when zoomed. Zooming in Access only affects Access-native controls. If a form uses ActiveX controls, consider replacing them with native Access controls so they scale with the rest of the form.Access fixes released in Version 2603 (Build 19822.20114)
Here's a summary of bug fixes in the latest version of Access: Bug Name Issue Fixed Edge Browser Control didn't navigate from code when inside a tab control When the Edge Browser control was hosted in a tab control, calls to the Navigate method from VBA succeeded, but the control didn’t refresh to show the new page. Switching tabs forced the refresh. The control now refreshes automatically after navigation, even when it’s hosted in a tab control. Some Unicode characters displayed incorrectly in Quick Import Certain extended Unicode characters were displayed as squares when importing data using Quick Import. These characters are now displayed correctly. Modern Chart titles truncated in Print Preview When viewing a report containing Modern Charts in Print Preview, chart titles might be truncated. Chart titles now render correctly in Print Preview. Some Unicode characters displayed incorrectly in exported object names When exporting an object whose name contained certain extended Unicode characters, the sheet name in the exported file displayed the characters incorrectly. These characters are now preserved correctly during export. Some Unicode characters displayed incorrectly in error messages for long object names When renaming a database object to a name that was too long, the error message displayed certain extended Unicode characters incorrectly. These characters now display correctly in error messages. Standard colors in Access didn't match other Office apps The standard color palette in Access used different color values than other Office applications like Word and Excel. For example, the standard red in Access was #ED1C24 instead of the updated Office standard red #EE0000. The color palette has been updated to match the rest of Office. Field.Properties("Precision") and Properties("Scale") on a query column caused the query to execute Accessing the Precision or Scale properties of a field in a query's Fields collection caused the query to execute. This was a regression that broke add-ins and code that enumerate field properties, since query execution can be expensive and have side effects. These properties are now returned without executing the query. Toggle filter button in status bar didn't work when no records were displayed When a form filter resulted in no matching records, clicking the Toggle Filter button in the status bar to remove the filter had no effect. The button now properly removes the filter even when the filtered result set is empty. PDF files with capitalized extension didn't render in Edge Browser Control When navigating to a PDF file using the Edge Browser control, if the file extension was capitalized (e.g., ".PDF" instead of ".pdf"), the file contents were rendered as raw text instead of as a formatted PDF document. The extension comparison is now case-insensitive. Monaco SQL editor inserted blank lines in multi-line comments When switching between Design View and SQL View, the Monaco SQL editor inserted blank lines between each line inside /* multi-line comment */ blocks. This affected both local and passthrough queries. The editor now preserves the original comment formatting. Please continue to let us know if this is helpful and share any feedback you have.Access fixes released in Version 2604 (Build 16.0.19929.20090)
Bug Name Issue Fixed Values display in the wrong control when using a form as a sublist When a form was used as a sublist (subdatasheet), field values could display in the wrong control, showing data in incorrect positions. Values now display in the correct controls. Applications that use the Access Database Engine (ACEOLEDB) terminate unexpectedly on exit Third-party applications using the Access Database Engine (ACEOLEDB) provider could terminate unexpectedly when closing. The shutdown sequence has been corrected. Long Text field corrupted when a query updates a record while a user is editing it When a query updated a Long Text field on a record that was simultaneously open for editing, the field data could become corrupted. The record update now correctly handles concurrent access to Long Text fields. Rendering errors with Aptos (Detail) font Controls using the Aptos (Detail) font variant could render incorrectly, with characters appearing misaligned or garbled. The font rendering has been corrected. Standard colors in Access didn't match other Office apps The standard color palette in Access used different color values than other Office applications like Word and Excel. The color palette has been updated to match the rest of Office. Option Group with Vertical Anchor Bottom: option buttons show incorrect visual state after clicking When an option group control had its Vertical Anchor property set to Bottom, clicking an option button would not correctly update the visual state of the buttons. The visual state now updates correctly regardless of the anchor setting. Query Design: Insert/Delete Columns don't work when ribbon is set to Show Tabs Only In Query Design view, the Insert Columns and Delete Columns commands on the ribbon did not work when the ribbon display option was set to "Show Tabs Only." The commands now work correctly regardless of ribbon display mode. SQL View: Ctrl+K should toggle pretty formatting off/on In the Monaco SQL editor, the Ctrl+K keyboard shortcut did not toggle SQL formatting. Ctrl+K now correctly toggles pretty formatting on and off. Monaco editor incorrectly converts Unicode characters in SQL view When switching between Design View and SQL View, the Monaco SQL editor could incorrectly convert certain Unicode characters, corrupting the SQL text. Unicode characters are now preserved correctly. Importing text files with Unicode characters in the filename fails Attempting to import a text file whose filename contained certain Unicode characters would fail. File imports now handle Unicode filenames correctly. Added VarP and StDevP to the Totals query aggregate dropdown The VarP (population variance) and StDevP (population standard deviation) aggregate functions were missing from the Totals row dropdown in Query Design view. They have been added alongside the existing Var and StDev options. Added VarP and StDevP to the datasheet totals row dropdown The VarP and StDevP aggregate functions were missing from the Totals row dropdown in Datasheet view. They have been added to match the options available in Query Design view. Access hangs at shutdown when VBA holds temporary DAO field references Access could hang during shutdown when VBA code created temporary DAO field references. The shutdown process now correctly cleans up temporary field references. Full Screen Mode ribbon display option does nothing in Access Selecting "Full Screen Mode" from the ribbon display options had no effect in Access. This option now works correctly, hiding the ribbon to maximize the available workspace.Access announces retirement of Database Compare tool in June 2026
MS Access currently ships a standalone Database Compare tool (DATABASECOMPARE.EXE) that enables comparison of two Access databases. As of June 2026, this tool will no longer be distributed and installed with Office. Access is retiring the Database Compare tool because it depends on components that are no longer available and fails to launch reliably on many Office installs. Because we can no longer provide updated components, it will no longer install with new Office setups. This applies to: Access 2019 volume licensed and Enterprise plans Access 2021, Access 2024, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions Access 2021 and Access 2024 as part of the Office 2021 and Office 2024 perpetual licenses (standalone versions) DatabaseCompare.exe is installed typically under the DCF folder of your Office installation (for example, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\DCF\DATABASECOMPARE.EXE), and it often comes alongside Microsoft Spreadsheet Compare as part of Office Professional Plus or Microsoft 365. In addition, supporting DLLs and configuration files are located within the same DCF subfolder. These files handle database connections, reporting, and comparison functions. These files will be removed. If you're running an older version of Office and have a working version of this tool, you can continue to use it until June 20, 2026. After that, it will be removed and will not be available for download. Therefore, we advise you to find a replacement for Database Compare. You can find similar standalone tools that compare two Access databases from other vendors: AccessDiff: This tool easily compares all objects in Access, including forms, code modules, queries, macros, and more. It is designed to help users retrieve lost software and compare all objects in Access databases. AccdbMerge: This tool is an easy-to-use diff and merge tool for Microsoft Access database files. It compares table definitions, data, forms, modules, and more. A free version is available for the main database objects. DataWeigher: This tool compares and synchronizes data between two MS Access databases. It provides a visual result with each type of record (added, deleted, changed) represented by a different color. The comparison results can be saved as a report or SQL script for data synchronization. Total Access Detective: This tool allows you to find differences between any two objects in one Microsoft Access database, including fields, controls, properties, macro lines, module code, and data. It also supports comparing two blocks of text from text files on disk or the text you copy and paste. We recognize this change may require planning, and we encourage customers to review these alternatives and plan a transition away from Database Compare ahead of its retirement in June 2026.Access fixes released in version 2602 (Build 19725.20126)
Here's a summary of bug fixes in the latest version of Access: Bug Name Issue Fixed Monaco query editor applied unwanted autoformatting to passthrough queries The Monaco SQL editor was applying automatic formatting (such as adding whitespace or changing capitalization) to passthrough queries. Since passthrough queries are sent directly to the server's SQL engine without Access interpreting them, autoformatting could alter the SQL in ways that break server-specific syntax. Autoformatting is now disabled for passthrough queries, preserving the exact SQL as written. Monaco query editor font size did not match Access settings When using the Monaco SQL editor, the font size in the query editor didn't match the font size configured in Access's client settings. An incorrect unit conversion resulted in text appearing slightly larger than expected. The conversion has been corrected so the editor font size now matches the configured setting. Datasheet selection could extend past the last column When selecting cells in a datasheet by clicking and dragging, it was possible to extend the selection rectangle past the rightmost column into an empty area. Releasing the mouse and then clicking elsewhere would leave the selection highlight drawn in that empty area, since Access did not erase the over-extended selection. The selection is now properly limited to the actual columns of the datasheet. Please continue to let us know if this is helpful and share any feedback you have.Access bug fixes — Versions 2511 through 2601
Version 2511 (Build 19426) Bug Name Issue Fixed Query Design view showed incorrect joins after selecting SQL text When using the Monaco SQL editor with a query containing multiple joins, selecting text in SQL view with Ctrl+A and then switching back to Design View could trigger a spurious alert and cause one of the joins to appear removed in the design grid. The underlying SQL wasn't actually affected, but the Design view displayed incorrect join information. This is corrected so that switching between SQL view and Design view preserves all joins accurately. Version 2512 (Build 19530) Bug Name Issue Fixed Datasheet forms with nested subforms showing errors after system changes When using datasheet forms containing nested subforms on systems where a system change occurs — such as disconnecting and reconnecting a Remote Desktop session — Access could display a GDI error. This happened because collapsed sublists held references to system brushes that were destroyed during the system change. This is fixed so that all sublists properly handle system resource changes. F4 key did not open the Properties pane in the Query SQL editor When the Monaco SQL editor was enabled, pressing F4 in the Query editor's SQL view didn't properly open the Properties pane. Instead, the pane would either flash briefly or appear incorrectly positioned in the top-left corner of the screen. The F4 shortcut now correctly opens the Properties pane in SQL view. Pressing F5 in the Query SQL editor cleared all SQL text When using the Monaco SQL editor in the Query designer, pressing F5 (Run) could clear all the SQL text from the editor. This is fixed so that running a query with F5 no longer affects the SQL text in the editor. Text not visible when renaming items in the Navigation Pane in dark themes When using the Black (or other dark) Office theme, renaming an object in the Navigation pane resulted in text that was nearly invisible due to insufficient contrast. The rename text box now uses appropriate colors that provide sufficient contrast in all themes. Advanced Filter/Sort opened a standalone query window instead of a filter window When opening a table in Datasheet view and selecting Sort & Filter > Advanced > Advanced Filter/Sort from the ribbon, Access incorrectly opened a full standalone query design window instead of the expected limited filter query window. The filter query window includes a Toggle Filter button to apply the query as a filter. This is corrected, so the command opens the proper filter window. Refreshing an Access ODBC connection in Excel returned an error When refreshing an ODBC connection to an Access database from Excel, users could receive the error "Operation is not supported for this type of object." This is resolved so that Access ODBC connections refresh successfully. Please continue to let us know if this is helpful and share any feedback you have.
