![]() ![]() ![]() • Pros New features allow databases to be published to the Web. Easier to do complex tasks like macros and calculated fields. Familiar Office interface makes for easy navigation. • Cons Dependent on SharePoint server for full feature set, including the publishing of Web apps. Help resources severely lacking. • Bottom Line Access 2010 is the best version of its database software that Microsoft has released, but there are better options out there that don't require Sharepoint server for full functionality. Microsoft Access 2010 ($139, list), the database component of ($499 direct, ) marks a big departure: a shift from creating desktop applications to Web applications. Access 2010like ($179-$299 list, ) and ($249.00-$349.00 direct, )strives to ease database design for non-programmers by allowing users to get sophisticated applications on the Web up with ease. There's nothing wrong with Access; it's a good option (and it won't cost you a dime if you already have certain versions of Office 2010), but Alpha Five offers greater flexibility, and Filemaker Pro 11 beats all comers when it comes to ease of use. FileMaker is our current Editor's Choice for database software. FileMaker makes it easy for the average user to get a database created and deployed. Plus, with instant Web publishing it's easy to get simple applications pushed out to the web. FileMaker Pro 11 also eases pushing out more complex, custom apps with FileMaker Server. Access 2010 however, has one thing FileMaker lacks: a true programming environments that allows for more sophisticated development by professionals. This is an ability Access shares with Alpha Five, so it' fairer to compare these two to each other. Access 2010 has caught up with Alpha Five when it comes to implementing Web database publishingexcept that to do so, you'll need SharePoint. Alpha Five's solution has all the tools you need already within it to get a database pushed out to the web. Microsoft Access 2010: The Evolution of Access Microsoft's move toward database creation simplicity began with Microsoft ($229 list, ), which introduced wizards and other user-friendly features that enabled non-programmers to develop sophisticated applications. Microsoft pushed the 'anyone-can-develop' concept a bit further with the very graphics-and-task-oriented Access 2007,which featured the ribbon interface, making for easier navigation. Microsoft Access 2010: Web Publishing Access has always been a program for deploying local database applications. Prior to this new version, pushing apps out to the Web using Access required the deployment and configuration of other Microsoft products, such as SQL Server, Active Server Pages and IIS, making the process complex and expensive (given all the licenses required). New tools in Access 2010 let you publish to the Web using the new Web Databases feature. It's a good relatively simple-to-use feature but it requires a back-end SharePoint serverand a SharePoint 2010 server at that. If an organization has a Windows ecosystem already in place with a SharePoint server, this reliance on SharePoint is not much of an issue. If not, the dependency on SharePoint to publish Web apps can be inconvenient. It is worth noting, however, that organizations without SharePoint can opt to use the hosted SharePoint Online. As mentioned earlier, Filemaker Pro and Alpha Five, on the other hand, include everything you need to get started. Of course, it depends on what you want to publish to the Web, too. Access Basic Business Accounting Database - Month - Week - Day view. Access Basic Business Accounting Database written all in Microsoft Access. Professional Microsoft Access Template Databases with full source code built in all Microsoft Access Form. SMALL BUSINESS. Access Asset Tracking Database. Businesses or users requiring more complex applications will find greater flexibility with Access' VBA programming environment or with Alpha Five's Ajax coding capabilities. And for real customization ability, Alpha Five and Access offer more than FileMaker Prothey have real, underlying programming environments, as opposed to FileMaker's script library. Mar 04, 2012 Microsoft Access has been part of the main set of programs shipped with. Small Business Blog from Microsoft Small Business Blog. Small business; Enterprise. Introduction to the Access 2010 templates. Microsoft Access 2010 provides various templates that you can use to quickly create a. Browser Control and Backstage View Access 2010 has other new capabilities, and they make the user experience more fluid. Web Browser Control is one; this feature integrates Web 2.0 into a database, allowing the easy creation of mash-ups based on data. For example, you can build it so that when a user clicks a contact's address, the location is opened within Google Maps. Even more complex tasks like creating macros and calculated fields, as well as expression building, are more intuitive than ever to use. Another noteworthy new feature is the Backstage View interface. This is a central location to perform common tasks. Backstage View extends across all Office 2010 apps, but I think it's of most value in Access. Savvy Office users know the shortcuts to save, rename, or print a Word or Excel file, so most of them will never use BackStage View to perform common tasks in those apps. In Access, however, Backstage View is more useful, because it's one central location to perform a variety database-associated tasks like Compact or Repair a database or enabling VBA macros. It's a definite improvement to Access' interface. Templates The number of templates and sample databases have been expanded; there are over 20 pre-created databases for almost any general business or home purpose. Microsoft has given macros the re-vamped User Account Control treatment in Windows 7, which is satisfying as working with those little snippets of code can get annoying if you have to repeatedly grant them permission to run. With the Trusted Document feature, I only had to apply those macros trust permission just onceno more incessant prompting. I found it a small but welcome change. My Database I created a database using the Contacts template. I have to say, as a heavy duty user mostly of Access 2003, I had a problem getting my bearings. A lot has changed since then, but the changes are for the better. I found the Layout views and Table Tools especially useful. The former now works much like a table within a Word documentit's easy to drag and drop attachments and other objects into them. With Table Tools, Access displays a list of commonly used fields that let me drag and drop any common field into a table. I tested Access 2010's publishing ability (using Backstage View) on a hosted SharePoint server. I simply pointed to the URL of the hosted server and followed the prompts to publish a database. I found the new Compatibility Checker really handy as it checks to ensure that a database is compatible with the Web, and makes remediation suggestions if it isn't. Help Needs Help I found the new features as impressive as I found the Help resources unimpressive. Help in Access 2010 is pitiful. Gone is the indexed listing where you can find help on very specific topics. For instance, I typed 'table relationships' into Help and got links to various tutorials on database design basics, a guide to Access 2010, and other very general subjects. I couldn't find a specific answer for my query. The lack of a good, structured help system is unfortunate, especially compared to vendors like Alpha Five who offer not just text help, but videos and help-heavy interactive user forums as well. And since Office 2010 is brand-new, there aren't a lot of third-party resources out there yet for users looking for assistance. Access 2010's new features make it the most polished version yet, but it isn't the killer app that sells Office 2010Word and Excel will take care of that. Plus, it isn't quite as impressive (or easy to use) as FileMaker Pro or even ($250 direct, ). If you're an Access devotee, you will find the new features to be an overall improvement due to the VBA customization, and ability to create front end apps for back-end ODBC database systems. If you aren't an Access fan, there are competitors out there who offer a lot of the same features without the SharePoint dependency. Filemaker Pro is the best for non-programmers, and Alpha Five still has the edge among programmers. Samara Lynn has nearly twenty years experience in Information Technology; most recently as IT Director at a major New York City healthcare facility. She has a Bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, several technology certifications, and she was a tech editor for the CRN Test Center. With an extensive, hands-on background in deploying and managing Microsoft Windows infrastructures and networking, she was included in Black Enterprise's '20 Black Women in Tech You Need to Follow on Twitter,' and received the 2013 Small Business Influencer Top 100 Champions award. Lynn is the author of Windows Server 2012: Up and Running, published by O'Reilly. An avid Xbox gamer, she unashamedly admits to owning more than 3,000 comic books, and enjoys exploring her Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and the rest of New York city with her dog, Ninja. Applies To: Access 2016 Access 2013 If you want to organize and manage your data with Access but just don't want to spend time creating a database from scratch, try using a desktop database template. To create an Access database for the web with a template, see. What is an Access template? An Access template is a file that, when opened, creates a complete database application. The database is ready to use, and contains all the tables, forms, reports, queries, macros, and relationships that you need to start working. Because the templates are designed to be complete end-to-end database solutions, they save you time and effort and enable you to start using your database right away. After creating a database by using a template, you can customize the database to better suit your needs, just as if you had built the database from scratch. Select a template Each template is designed to meet specific data management needs and you can either use one of the templates included with Access or find one online. Start with a template from your computer • On the Access startup screen, click Suggested searches: Access databases. Tip: Click a Category in the Filter by pane to templates filtered by specific categories. • Click an icon to select a template and enter a File Name. • To change the default database file location, click the folder icon next to the File Name > Create. Start with an online template If you are connected to the Internet, you can search for online templates: • On the Access startup screen, enter the type of template you want in the Search box. • Access shows you the available online templates. • Click the icon to select a template and add a File Name. • To change the default database file location, click the folder icon next to the File Name > Create. Before you start using some templates Depending on the template that you use, if you see any of the following messages, here’s what you do: If you see Do this SECURITY WARNING message in the message bar If you trust the source of the template, click Enable Content. Login dialog with an empty list of users • Click New User and fill in the User Details form. • Click Save & Close. • Select the user name you just entered, and click Login. Getting Started page Click links on that page to learn more about the database, or click other buttons and tabs to explore the database. Next steps • If you don't find a template that meets your needs, click New > Blank desktop database to create a new database from scratch. • Manage your database with.
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