Sorry for the extra time since the last post, I got run over with some other work when I got back and am just getting through that. Last time, we talked about modifying the issues tracking app . This time, we'll look at starting from scratch, but again from the point of view of someone new to Access. Creating Schema from Scratch Starting a new blank database in Access has always been very different than starting in Word or Excel. In those apps, getting started goes something like "boot the app, start...

I'll be out of town over the next week with intermittent net connections, so there will be no new posts in the next week. I’ll have new posts when I get back, and will try to respond to comments between now and then. Thanks, Erik

Last time, we looked at the Issues tracking application that will ship with Access 12 and provide a simple place for users to get started with Access. This time, we'll look at some of the new tools available to modify that application. Each of these toolsets is a full post (or more) in its own right, so I'll just skim the surface, but will be able to show how much easier it is to modify Access databases than it has been before. Modifying Dropdown Contents The simplest thing one might do in modifying...

The Issues tracking application is a great example of the set of tracking apps mentioned last time. It is quite simple - only 2 primary tables (for Issues and Contacts), a few forms, and several reports. One of the goals for the tracking apps was to make them super simple to customize, so the Issues application has no code (other than macros), few queries, simple schemas, and so on. It is fully functional as it stands, but we expect end users to be successful adding new fields or tweaking the forms...

Access 12 and Windows SharePoint Services v.3 will enable out of the box “tracking applications” that can span the client and server or can run standalone on the client. A “tracking app” is a small data application that adds database functionality to the simple lists of data that many users keep in Excel today. These out of the box apps will give customers the broad reach of SharePoint online, and the rich client of Access. SharePoint will provide a set of simple building blocks that are useful on...

The first thing Access 12 users will see is a completely new getting started screen. Before Access 12, users are confronted with database concepts as soon as they boot the application - they need to understand object types immediately, and data types very quickly before they can begin to enter data. This is a clear representation of how Access works, but has made it hard for new users to get going. Once users get over the object creation hurdle, they need to figure out what to build, and we hear...

Its been a long, long time since my last post, and I'm truly sorry to have fallen off the earth like I did. I'm re-launching the Access blog today, with a new look and a new commitment to keep the flow up. I'm finally at a point where I can dedicate most of a day each week to the blog - enough time to keep the content coming at a reasonable pace and respond to comments in a timely manner. You may wonder what on earth I've been doing for the last 2 months, and the answer is polish, polish, and polish...