What Is Microsoft Access?
We know what you're thinking: "Microsoft Access is a database engine? it's in the Microsoft Office suite of applications that also includes Word, Outlook and Excel? " Yes! It's true. So why would you want to use it? Let us count the ways: It's easy to learn, so you can start using it immediately you can use it on just about any computer or mobile device and it's part of the Microsoft Office suite, so if you already use Word or Excel, you're already familiar with how it works. You can even integrate Access with other Microsoft products like SharePoint Server and SQL Server! Microsoft Access is a database management system that provides a user-friendly way to organize, store and share information. It's the perfect tool for anyone who needs to create or maintain an organized database. There are many reasons to choose Access as your database, but the most important one is that it's so easy to use. Access will be there if you're just getting started or if you're a pro who wants to get back to basics. Don't let its ease of use fool you into thinking it's not powerful. Access is used for both small and large database deployments. It is partly due to its easy-to-use graphical interface and its interoperability with other applications and platforms, such as Microsoft's own SQL Server database engine and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). If you've been using Microsoft Access for a while, you might need clarification about the new file format. In Access 2007, Microsoft changed the database file format from ". mdb" to ". accdb". Unfortunately, this new format supports more complex data types but is not compatible with prior versions of the Access software. It is analogous to the new ". docx" and ". xlsx" formats in Word and Excel, which are incompatible with the pre-2007 versions of these programs. You can still use Access 2003 or earlier versions. If you're still using a version of Office older than 2007, you won't be able to open your databases in newer versions of Access. To upgrade your software, you'll need to pay for an upgrade license (which isn't cheap! ) or buy a new copy of Office 2010 or later to open the files correctly.
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