Microsoft Access 2007 is the most powerful version yet of the world's most popular desktop database.
The new version of Access,
known as Microsoft Access 2007 is the best version of the world's most popular
desktop databases so far. If you have been using a previous version of MS Access
you will notice a completely new interface. As with other applications in
the Microsoft Office 2007 suite it introduces the new Ribbon interface.
This replaces the traditional tool bars and menus that were in previous versions.
There has been much debate about the Ribbon. Some prefer the old style tool bars
and are finding it hard to get to grips with the Ribbon. The Ribbon is made up
of a number of tabs each housing it's own set of commands. These commands are
grouped under headings. For example to create a new form you would click the
create tab and move along to the forms section to locate the form
command.
It is now possible to
create a basic form simply by highlighting the table in the navigation pane and
then clicking on the form button located in the Ribbon.
A new form design mode is
introduced called 'Layout View'. This allows you to actually see your data
whilst making changes to the form. This is very handy for getting an idea of how
the final interface will look.
Calendars were never the
easiest to implement. That's all changed in Microsoft Access 2007. Now all you do is declare a date/time data type
in the table and in form design mode drag the related text box field to the
form. Run the form - when you click in the text box a little calendar icon
appears next to it. Click it and select a date. The date is dropped into the
text box. You can also turn this feature off. No more fiddling about with code
or having to make a reference to a calendar control.
It is no longer possible to set security using a
work group file. Gone are the individual permissions for users and groups.
Security in Microsoft Access 2007 is limited to setting a password
on the database. If you need greater security it is recommended that you upgrade
the back end tables to SQL Server.
Overall it is worth looking at Microsoft Access 2007 as it marks a turning point for the product. Future versions are
likely to adopt the Ribbon interface and incorporate many other of the new
features.
