DATABASE CHOICES
Microsoft Access 2007
 The design environment of Access 2007
is very different from the previous release.
Toolbars and Menus have been replaced by the Ribbon. The Ribbon supports sophisticated controls
– like the Split Button. There is a new Layout View which is supposed to make designing
Forms easier. The Visual Basic Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is (thankfully) unchanged.
- The second Service Pack for Microsoft Office is now available. Many of the issues with the
original release have been resolved. There are still some issues from past Access versions
that have not been fixed.
- Macros are now back in fashion, due to security problems with VBA code. Macros now respond
to Events, and can be embedded in a Form. The Macros will work despite any security restrictions.
- The Ribbon causes frustration when trying to find routines. The Ribbon may need to be minimised,
as it occupies much of the screen.
- For the first time, all ADO and ADOX libraries can be found in the References.
- DAO (Data Access Objects) is back in favour – although ADO (Active-X Data Objects) still
seems best for accessing an SQL Server database or an Excel spreadsheet.
- Data Access Pages are no longer supported – use ASP.Net instead.
- Security messages are a pain. Whenever a Macro (or Function or Procedure) is run, the message
"A potential security concern has been identified" appears. To get rid of these messages,
the Access database will need to be saved to a Trusted folder.
- Open Microsoft Access 2007
- Click the Microsoft Office Button (top left hand side).
- Click "Access Options"
- Click "Trust Center"
- Click "Trust Center Settings"
- Select "Trusted Locations"
- Click "Add new location"
- Enter the folder where the database is to be kept.
- Enter a description and then click OK.
Place all the database files into the Folder that you have marked as Trusted. You should not
get any Security warnings again for the database.
Upgrading using .mdb database files
- Access 2007 accepts the .mdb files from Access 2003, and the upgrade is painless.
- Code derived from Access 97 may not work – like File Dialogs. The code will need to
be upgraded.
- Controls derived from Access 97 may not work. The not very helpful message is "There is no
object in this control". Copy, then paste the Form. Using the newly copied Form, the message
should disappear. Any missing control (that caused the problem) will need to be replaced with
an Access 2007 version.
- You may have to turn off UAC (User Account Control), in order to get some features (like SendKeys)
to work.
- Smart Indenter is now standard.
Upgrading to .accdb database files
- There have been many changes (Vista, Office, Access), and one should expect some problems
in converting from Access 2003.
- Windows 7 will need some hot fixes to work.
- The file size on converting from the old format to the new, is unchanged.
- A new Switchboard can be created using Macros. It is better to use the VBA version that is
created with the Access 2003 database.
- Online documentation and user solutions on the Internet are now plentiful.
- If all Forms are displayed as maximised, here is what to do to restore the original size:
- Click the Microsoft Office Button
- Click Access Options
- Click Current Database
- Find Application Options/Document Window Options
- Select Overlapping Windows
- Click OK
This will remove the tabbed option which uses a full screen.
All conversions should be thoroughly checked!
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