Access 2007, what is your opinion 2

[niteraven]

Hello all

I am wondering if anyone has built a database in Access 2007. I would like to know if it is worth the money before i buy it. Downloaded a trial version, it looks like alot of changes have happened. But am wondering if there are any known bugs.

Anyone have any info?

Thanks

 

[DougP]

All I can say is it is VERY different. I opened it up and nothing even looked like any Access of years gone by. and I have worked with Access extensively for 15 years since version 2.0 way back in 1992. I created a simple database in 2007 then tried to create a report. Whoa, I spent 15 minutes just staring at the screen wondering where everything was. The terminology is different and everything. The file menu as you know it is gone. If you have spent a lot of time in Access then it is going to be rough going for a while. I guess if you are new to Access you might like it. I got a beta a while back and it did not seem too bad. But this final release is like nothing I have ever seen. From someone who spent years slinging VBA code I hated the product for a good 30 minutes. Thought I would help a friend whip out this database. NOT !!!!

DougP, MCP, A+

 

[belovedcej]

I haven't tried it yet - but my theory is simple. Since it just came out, wait a year. Let Microsoft finish getting all the Windows and Office patches out that always happen right after a new release. I'll probably look into getting it in January of 2008, when I'm sure it's more stable. (Somewhat superstitious of me, but it works. . .)

 

[uncleG]

I also had a brief look at it and was pretty much lost, tried searching with google on different topics and got nowhere. Maybe after a year they will give us the option to go to back to classic view. Yeah right.
Belovedcej I with you, let them fix it first then learn it.
UncleG

 

[lars7]

I installed it on my home PC and put together a simple database, then I wondered if it would work on earlier versions so I unistalled it and reinstalled my Office XP pro which did not recognise the database as being an Access file. I do plenty of work here at home so what would be the point if I take it into work to XP machines and nothing works. It does look great though.

 

[Bill6868]

I heard the new version of Access will no longer support VBA and that there is another system with a different syntax that is being used. Has anyone heard anything about this?

 

[belovedcej]

I think that is not true. According to what I have read, VBA is still being used and 2007 can run previous versions of Access. What probably did change is how Access itself was developed. It is my understanding that all of Vista products use the .Net framework.

However, what matters to us is that it does still use VBA. Check out the following website. I found the blog, particularly, to be helpful.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access/HA100484061033.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/access/

 

[tman72]

It will probably support VBA but if they made major changes then things may not work properly or may be disabled and the code will need to be re-written. Chances are there are some bugs that need fixing too. Do some testing. See if you applications work. You might find they are okay or they may not function at all.

 

[jmgaddis]

You can also do an online test drive of all the 2007 Office Programs... currently looking at the Access 2007 now, it gives a pretty good idea of what it is like. I haven't downloaded the trial yet, just wanted to get a feel of the new menus etc... the online version accomplishes this.

Search Google for: access 2007 test drive

John

 

[lameid]

I found all of Office 2007 to be a resource hog (slow). Then Again I did have the audacity to install it on an XP machine with only 1 GB of ram and a Pentium D 3 Ghz computer <sigh>. If you have to use multiple versions of Access I found the Office 2003 and Office 2007 installers each trying to finalize setup everytime I used an App from a different version (or was it just Access). HATEFUL.

I did not use it long as most systems on my network are less robust than mine. The feel is definitely different as mentioned before. When I first opened it and a coworker (another programmer) saw it and said "Does it store data?" So it was good for a laugh.

I did not do any development in it as it was such a pain on performance and I would have to support multiple versions. But the other good news (other than the glib comedy above) I found if you have an ADP with a backend moved to SQL 2005, Access 2007 can manage the SQL objects (previous versions can't). Thankfully I have SQL management Studio and dual monitors.

 

[JAES]

I just unloaded Access 2007 from my Vista system. First of all most of my databases are in Access 2002. Even when I tried to "save as" 2002 it seemed to corrupt the database.

I decided to use Access 2002 for the older databases and 2007 for newer ones. When I switch between 02 and 07 it has to re-initalize each program and going from 07 to 02 seems to corrupt 02. It will no longer correctly run my 02 applications. I reload/repair Access 2002 and everything works fine.

 

[Bill6868]

If I may jump back into the conversation.....I have good source that contracts with Microsoft. She tells me that Access VBA will morph into something quite different in terms of syntax and language and that Access 2007 will no longer support VBA as we know it. She cites that VBA is not a favorable language among programmers who are looking forward and that it has been abandoned in the 2007 version in favor of a different language and methods. …..Just what I hear in the streets. I hope I am wrong.

 

[missinglinq]

A gentleman from down under, Allen Browne, has been around pretty much since the beginning, and has written a rather extensive white paper called The Good, The Bad and The Buggy! He does a comparison to older versions and goes over what's hinky about it. He also has a paper on converting earlier version DBs to 2007. The site is:

http://allenbrowne.com/Access2007.html

The Missinglinq

Richmond, Virginia

There's ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat!

 

[lameid]

Great site missinglinq... Have a star.

I found it interesting that ADP's are "less supported" and "MS recommends linked tables".

The best news I saw was the added support for specifying datatypes for Excel imports. This was perhaps the most obtrusive missing feature in Access.

 

[rccline]

I can suggest you go to the Microsoft presentation CD211 "Access 2007 Rich Client Solutions" at the following URL for a 70 minute discussion of Access 2007. It will give you a good overview of the new features:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905378.aspx

I personally like many of the features. I especially like being able to tab through open objects.

Also, I'm excited about the possibility of Sharepoint services. See the CD212 presentation on "Rich Client for Windows Sharepoint." However, hours of searching the internet, I haven't found Access 2007 hosting for the Sharepoint. Apparently, many of the Sharepoint hosting services don't provide all services featured for Sharepoint.

Robert

 

[missinglinq]

Just one point! VBA is still supported in ACC2007, but by default this support is turned off! Don't know what you have to do to turn support back on, but it can, of course, be done! Micro$oft may go crazy, at times, but they're not going to go that crazy!

Remembering Windows98, when they were putting out patches for their patches, I never move "up" to any new version of any M$ program for at least 2 years!

The Missinglinq

Richmond, Virginia

There's ALWAYS more than one way to skin a cat!

 

[Remou]

I have not used 2007 much, but so far it is working out for me. You must self-certify your projects to get them to work properly, which can be annoying. It works ok with my 2000 mdb's, too.

 

[belovedcej]

Missingling -
to turn on support for VBA you must make your folder in which the Access database into a "trusted location."

check out this blog for a few tidbits on what I have been learning about Access 2007.

http://accesstips.blogspot.com/search/label/Access 2007

"First Encounters" talks about how to set up a trusted location.

 

[maxhugen]

Many moons ago I wrote an app in Access 2.0. It ran a packaging production line for one of the big mobile phone companies. The app had to capture each phone's barcoded Serial Number, at the rate of better than 1 per sec. Several million records per year.

Between shifts, the app would replicate the data to a master data file. It ran on, I think, an x386. This box had a power supply unit and a hard drive replaced, and they went through 2 or 3 displays until 2005.

Then IT stepped in and introduced an 'enterprise' system, which amongst other functionality, replaced my app. They spent ~$3M, and nearly a year to sort it out. The factory schedule became a disaster.

I wonder what the TCO (total cost of ownership) of that one x386 box and one Access 2.0 app would be?

Step up to the current day, and what do I find? Quite a few large corporate clients still using Office 97. They simply didn't buy into M$'s 'productivity' and 'TCO' claims.

So, it's not unusual for me to develop in A97 and migrate the app to A2000/2003 when the client has a mixed environment of 97/2000/2003.

And I won't embarrass myself by revealing the vintage of my own previously cutting-edge workstations (or was that bleeding-edge?). Suffice it to say you'd get a giggle.

Before I can move to A2007 - which I won't do until at least a couple of service packs - I'll have to spend major sums replacing pcs. Fortunately, many businesses are just as reluctant to spend huge $$$s replacing perfectly good pcs just so they can experience the wonders of Vista, Office 2007 (oh, and replacing or upgrading every other program they use that will not run under Vista).

Max Hugen
Australia

 

[rccline]

There is more to bringing funtionality to VBA than selecting "trusted locations." There are a number of VBA functions that are disabled even with trusted locations set.

I found the reference by following "followhyperlink" in the Access help file. It lists numerous functions and properties that are blocked by "sandbox mode." Save this reference, you'll need it.

You must modify your Registry to disable the sandbox.
Like a lot of searches with Access help, finding out how to disable sandbox isn't easy. Curiously, you can't find the instructions for disabling the sandbox by a search on "sandbox." "Followhyperlink" will get you there.

Robert