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 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.Access announces removal of Salesforce ODBC driver in October 2025
MS Access 2019 (and newer) ships a licensed Salesforce ODBC driver from InsightSoftware that will lose sustaining support after June 30th, 2026. But because we can no longer provide updates for the driver, the Access team has decided to accelerate the removal of this driver and remove it from the product in October 2025. 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) The Salesforce ODBC driver bundled with Office includes shared libraries such as: libcurl.dll libcrypto-3.dll libssl-3.dll These libraries are located under the following path: Program Files\Microsoft Office\ODBC Drivers\Salesforce. They may also be present in different locations. Drivers installed by Office and used to access your Salesforce data will be removed on permanently on October 28, if you are using Access as part of a Microsoft 365 Apps monthly version and on November 11 if you are on the semi-annual release. For customers using perpetual Access 2019, 2021, or 2024, the drivers will be removed on November 11. You do not need to manually remove the drivers. Access currently doesn't have a way to talk directly to the Salesforce APIs so customers must continue to use the standardized ODBC driver framework that we currently support. Customers can independently purchase the Simba.DLL driver if needed from InsightSoftware. There are also other vendors that offer a Salesforce driver. Simba driver from InsightsSoftware https://insightsoftware.com/simba/ ODBC driver from devart https://www.devart.com/odbc/salesforce/ Salesforce integration from boomi https://boomi.com/solutions/application/salesforce/ Salesforce driver from cdata https://www.cdata.com/drivers/salesforce Once you purchase and install the driver, Access can connect to your Salesforce external data source. On the External Data ribbon, choose New Data Source > From Other Sources > ODBC Database We will provide more updates when available.End of support for Access 2016 and Access 2019 nears
Your product will still work, but when Microsoft says a product has reached "end of support", it means the product will no longer receive: Security updates Non-security updates Bug fixes New features Assisted support (free or paid) What this means for Access users: No more updates: Customers will not receive any new builds, patches, or improvements—even if vulnerabilities are discovered. No support: Microsoft will no longer provide technical support or troubleshooting assistance. Increased risk: Continued use of unsupported software can expose systems to security threats and compliance issues. Migration encouraged: Customers are advised to upgrade to a supported version or product to maintain security and functionality. We strongly encourage all Access users with perpetual licenses to upgrade to a Microsoft 365 Apps subscription. Subscription users get more out of the same Office desktop apps with artificial intelligence (AI) backed design ideas and analytic insights, rich contents and templates, cloud powered connected experiences and more. They also enjoy additional benefits beyond capabilities in Office apps, such as 1TB storage, Office on multiple devices and mobile, Microsoft Family Safey app, etc. I've noticed many perpetual users are "subscription adverse." I hear "I've used the desktop version forever and prefer not to switch to the cloud." Migrating to subscription does not mean that you'll get a different version of Access. You'll still get the desktop version you know and love, plus all the premium Office features a subscription provides. My favorites are Editor in Word, Money in Excel, and all the extra OneDrive storage. Check with Microsoft Sales Support to see if you're eligible for upgrade incentives depending on your region or organization type. (Yes, we know the Access icon does not appear with the other Office apps. You'll find it directly below the icons in the alphabetized apps list.) Sources: End of support for Office 2016 and 2019 Overview - Product End of Support and Retirements - Microsoft Lifecycle Access 2016 - Microsoft Lifecycle Access 2019 - Microsoft LifecycleAccess releases bug fixes in version 2506
Bug Name Issue Fixed Error when trying to run append query When an update/append query qualified column references (e.g., Table1.Field1) the reference might fail to resolve and produce an error reading “The INSERT INTO statement contains the following unknown field name: Table1.Field1” Error when trying to save or run a query containing certain characters For queries containing some Unicode characters, attempting to run or save the query could generate the error “The SQL statement is invalid.” Can't create a query directly in SQL view We have now added a button to the Queries section of the Create ribbon to allow you to create a new query opened to the SQL editor, rather than the QBE (Query-By-Example) designer Exporting data to a text file might export some characters incorrectly When exporting data containing some Unicode characters and choosing the “Export data with formatting and layout” option, invalid characters would sometimes be output to the text file. Using the clipboard to transfer data from tables/queries to text did not work for some Unicode characters Access was not rendering text from tables/queries with the CF_UNICODETEXT format so when you copied a table/query from the Navigation Pane, then pasted into a destination that accepted text, Unicode characters might not be preserved When exporting to Email using the HTML format Unicode characters might not be preserved Some characters would be replaced by question marks rather than preserving the original content when exporting to HTML Email When exporting a table with a relationship but no lookup defined Access may hang during the validation step During export Access tries to create a lookup in Dataverse that corresponds to a lookup defined in Access for related tables. However, if a relationship was defined but there was no lookup defined for the foreign key, then Access could hang during the export process. If the Display Form option is set in the Options dialog, then any time the Options dialog is closed you incorrectly get a message saying that you must close and reopen the database for changes to take effect This could happen even if no changes were made. Access will now only generate this message if you really do need to close and reopen the database for changes to take effect.Access Releases 7 Issue Fixes in Version 2310 (Released October 25th, 2023)
Our newest round of Access bug fixes was released on October 25th, 2023. In this blog post, we highlight some of the fixed issues that our Access engineers released in the current monthly channel. If you see a bug that impacts you, and if you are on the current monthly channel Version 2310, you should have these fixes. Make sure you are on Access Build # 16.0.16924.20106 or greater.
