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.
Multi-line Text Box misleading text and cursor display
Starting with 365 Version 2603 on 4K monitor, in a multi-line text box, typing multiple words followed by line feeds (Enter key) then moving cursor back up to previous line causes trailing characters to disappear, entering characters at the end of the line shows the new character with the cursor in front of it, and other bizarre behavior. Selecting all the text shows it is all there but trailing characters at the end of a line can disappear depending on cursor position. If I change the monitor resolution to 2K, the issue goes away. If I rollback to version 2602 the issue goes away. This is an issue with version 2603 on 4K monitors. We have many customers reporting the same issue.
Office 365 no internet error
Outlook just stopped working yesterday. I have been using 356 for a couple of years now. One drive and Outlook both say I don't have internet access. Obviously I do. I can use one drive and outlook via a web browser, but not the desktop apps. I have tried most of the suggested fixes and nothing has worked. Anyone else having issues?Move Existing Sharepoint Linked Database to a different Sharepoint Site
Hi. I have a Sharepoint Linked Database that is working well within our company. We would like to use it within another subsidiary company that operates with its own Name and Sharepoint sites. Could you please assist as i am struggling to do this. ThanksAccess 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 adds brackets to text in quotes in Iif statement
I have a query of 1 short text field. If the field has the value "NOCOV" I want to return Null, otherwise I want the value in the short text field. The problem is that Access add brackets around "NOCOV" and treats it like a parameter. I enter: PRM_PreMedicare_Plan_ID: IIf([PRM Pre-Medicare Plan ID]=“NOCOV”,Null,[PRM Pre-Medicare Plan ID]) The result is: PRM_PreMedicare_Plan_ID: IIf([PRM Pre-Medicare Plan ID]=[“NOCOV”],Null,[PRM Pre-Medicare Plan ID]) It doesn't matter if I use <> or Like instead of = or Switch instead of IIf. The same problem occurs. I don't know how to prevent Access from adding brackets. I'm using Access for Office 365 Version 2603.
"File not found" error (Error 53) when opening Access database
I'm getting a "File not found" (Error 53) error when trying to open an Access database (.accdb file). The error appears during the database startup process and points to a VBA subroutine declaration line: The error message mentions "The file was not found where specified" which suggests VBA is looking for a file during project compilation, but I can't identify what file it's looking for. Has anyone encountered this issue where the same Access file works with some SQL Server backends but fails to even open with others?
Attachment.Add issue
I have the following sub routine Private Sub Command6_Click() Dim Msg As String Msg = & ",<P> Please find attached the quote you requested." Dim O As Outlook.Application Dim M As Outlook.MailItem Dim Brochure As String Set O = New Outlook.Application Set M = O.CreateItem(olMailItem) If Option1 = -1 Then OrderEntryProcedure = "File location" With M .BodyFormat = olFormatHTML .HTMLBody = Msg .To = "email" .Subject = "Test" .Attachments.Add OrderEntryProcedure .Display End With Set M = Nothing Set O = Nothing End Sub My problem is that I cannot return a null value for OrderEntryProcedure which is often the case. As far as I can tell the Attachments.Add must have a value. What type of work around exists so that I can simply not attach a file to the email if Option1 is <> than -1?
