Access 2007: Coming of Age

I’ve worked with and trained on Access since its infancy way back in Access 2.0 when we still used Windows 3.1, large floppy disks and most people didn’t have their own email address…believe it or not. It’s fun to reminisce, but baby, we’ve come a l-o-n-g way! Access, like most of Office, has gone through a significant make-over including not only cosmetic changes, but also significant enhancements to functionality and stability. My fondness for Access goes back a long way and it has been an honor to watch it come of age.

Databases used to be one of two things. Either they were too complex to consider for simple data or they were something IT professionals had to create and manage for critical and complex data. They were generally kept behind locked doors (the databases, not the IT pros). You were never able to touch the data, but if you spoke to IT nicely (and patiently waited days or weeks) you might get some type of report from the database that was supposedly related to what you actually had wanted, but usually wasn’t. For those who needed to access information, it was like being a kid again: don’t touch and don’t complain, just appreciate what you are given. In recent years, things have changed. Databases have come to the desktop. Access 2007 allows you to connect to high-end enterprise data sources, keeping the data protected, but allowing you to create your own Access queries and reports when and how you need them. You can also create your own databases without having to take weeks of training and swear to repeat the secret geek mantra in your sleep. It’s nice, really, and it’s about time. Non-technical people can now design and manage elegant, quality databases without having to be a designer, developer or administrator.

Beyond the new ribbon and Fluent interface that most of Office 2007 shares, the functional changes to Access are significant. It starts with how you create tables. Now I must admit that as a developer and instructor, part of me hates this, but in Access 2007 you can create tables by just entering data, without ever having to know what design view or data types are. Access lets you type directly into a datasheet and in doing so, it sets the data types based on what you enter. You can also rename fields right from the datasheet. Cool? Well, I’m starting to admit it is, but give me some time to get over my “you must have 2 hours of database design training before I let you touch an actual table” mentality that I had to have for the past 14 years of training. It’s a hard habit to break.

In addition to improved templates and rapid table development, the navigation structure of Access 2007 offers easier use too. The old database window has been replaced with a navigation pane. In this pane, you can sort, group, expand and collapse groups of database objects. You can even create custom views that act as simplified shortcuts to your most used objects and can replace the need to create switchboards for user navigation. Add that to the intuitive ribbon and navigation is a breeze.

If you’ve always wanted to do more with what Access has, then you’ll find the improvements that allow rich text fields, multi-value fields and adding attachments nice improvements. When it comes to outputting data, reports now offer an interactive report editing mode that allows you to modify design while actually viewing report data. This makes it easier to edit the size of controls, for example. Reports can be saved directly to PDF format. In this format, anyone with a computer and the free Acrobat Reader can view your reports. Sharing reports is now as easy as a few clicks.

If multiple people need to work with data, Access gladly accommodates. You can import Outlook contacts into an Access table and Access contacts to Outlook, but that’s only the beginning! You can save and reuse data import/export settings making ongoing tasks with applications like Excel more efficient. Collecting information is a breeze too! Send a form to email recipients with fields that correspond to an Access table. The form can be returned via email and the data automatically saved to the originating table. Wow! That means with just a few clicks you can send data requests in a common format (HTML email) and have it returned and added to the database without ever typing a single field entry! I know this is exciting, but please, continue to breathe when I tell you that if you want to take collaboration even higher, Access 2007 interfaces directly with SharePoint Services 3.0 (a free collaboration, document management and communication tool from Microsoft) allowing you to easily share and update list information and provide it to your entire staff or even the public via an intranet or Internet site. Please, hold your applause.

I know your head is probably spinning, but these are just a few of the improvements. If you really want to know what Access 2007 offers, check out LearnKey’s Access 2007 training course. It’s five sessions of non-stop info on these features and more. Learn how to implement Access in your organization. Outlook 2007 and SharePoint Services 3.0 courses are also available if you want the big picture on what the tools provide. It’s been a wonderful experience watching Access grow through the awkward infant/toddler years and evolve through the teenage years when it stretched its wings and asserted its independence and power. Now it has become a mature application to be reckoned with and should be considered a contributing member of your software family. Since we live and work in a data-centric society, Access is more important than ever. It’s time it came of age, offering a desktop solution for the management of data we all need. All of Office has had a facelift, but the changes to Access 2007 are significant for everyone from the novice to the database guru. If you haven’t seen it for a few years, I think you’ll say, “My, how you’ve grown!”