Question Time to move to A2007?

[gemma-the-husky]

Posters here keep mentioning loads of features in A2007 that make you think - oh, thats a useful idea

so notwithstanding i need to support clients who dont have A2007, should we be moving TO A2007 if we have it?

 

[brickelldb]

What I have found is that I am subconsciously working much faster when creating/working in access 2007. I have yet to really come across something that has blown me away and is new feature. But then again I simply do data mining and accounting automation within access. Maybe someone else can give you a more technical answer.

 

[Banana]

Yet, I find myself using .mdb even though I'm using 2007. My impression is that it offers very little to me as a developer. It may have some cool features for end users who want to run an ad hoc database, but I wouldn't even touch those features.

For that reason, if they're happy with 2003 and they have no specific plan to upgrade, then they'll be fine on 2003. Even if they did upgrade to 2007, the file format is still quite operable in 2007.

My $.02

 

[Simon_MT]

Gemma,

Personally I think the the development is a bit slow particularly if you are used to Access 97, I didn't bother with the version inbetween and bit the bullet. No regrets though. However Access 2007's User Interface is much better I might even have to concede that it makes the older versions look outdated.

In real number crushing terms Access 2007 seems quick but the improved screen resolution does seem to slow screen rendering down but that maybe because I use windows themed controls but this is a small price to pay.

I would definitely change with the release Windows 7 as this is supposed to a far superior offering to Vista and much faster. The beta version is a road to nowhere, great shame that it can not be later converted to a commercial licence.

I found all the functionality of Access 97 is still there and underneath the bonnet little seems to have changed except image handling in the file's native format, particularly good if you are using compressed jpegs.

You will need Office 2007 SP1, as this is more stable.

Simon

 

[shadow9449]

I've posted my thoughts on Access 2007 and I'm just pasting them here for convenience:

1) You can get your toolbars working again with a few setting changes:
http://accessjunkie.com/faq_31.aspx
However, you can no longer modify them graphically! You were able to just drag items or create new menus and so on with a few clicks that now need to be modified either by code or 3rd party tools. If you have 6 or 7 menu items with 6-10 selections each, be prepared for a lot of difficulty.

2) Exporting reports to Excel. Whoops...Microsoft removed this ability. Their work-around is to "just" create the corresponding code to export the table or query. That's fine if your database has 2 or 3 reports but if you have 40 reports and you want to be able to export any of them as needed, you're out of luck. Of course the nice grouping and totalling is gone if you do this as well unless you're into writing piles of code to do something you USED to be able to do with one click.

3) Filters. One thing that seems to have changed is how you refer to your combo boxes or whatever provides the filter data. I haven't seen this documented anywhere but I found it to be a problem.

For example:

In the past if you had a combo box (cboLastName) that you drop down to see everyone in your table whose name is Charlie:

Me.Form.Filter = "firstname= forms!frmMyForm!cboFirstName"

After people getting Access 2007, I found that this stopped working. Must have made a lot of people smile that the program they've been using for 8 years stopped working.

What I found you have to do now is use quotes:

Me.Form.Filter = "Firstname = """ & forms!frmMyForm!cboFirstName & """"

Best of luck on the retro-fit.

4) New useful feature: the properties window for forms and reports can just disappear and be impossible to open. I have found out that this happens when you disable some toolbars using code. You need some more code to make the properties box open. I'm not sure why disabling the toolbars removes your property window. Whatever the rationale is, I guess Microsoft didn't think it should work that way for the past 15 years of Access.

6) Another surprise: if your users like to navigate using the mouse wheel as mine do, make sure they are prepared to lose that ability. Unless you use some code like Allen Browne's.

5) Last really cool thing: the time that it takes to refresh screens. I have one popup screen that "rolls" open and closed using just a few lines of code. It used to look pretty cool and take approximately 1.5 seconds for the animation. The same screen in Access 2007 - let's just say you can get a coffee and cigarette by the time it's finished. This is even on new computers with lots of RAM and good video cards.

There may be other things to be aware of but these are so far the ones I encountered.

SHADOW

 

[boblarson]

And my personal view - play around with 2007, but wait until Office 14 (as there is going to be some "knock your socks off" stuff).

 

[shadow9449]

(as there is going to be some "knock your socks off" stuff).

That usually means more bugs in things that used to work until SP 3 comes out.

Anyone ever hear why they disabled the exporting of reports to Excel or if they plan to put it back in?

SHADOW

 

[Banana]

Shadow,

Alisa, one of poster around here, told me that there was a legal trouble over the Excel exporting- seems that a guy originally developed the code, but Microsoft was accused of copying his code and using it without compensating him. For that reason, functionality was taken out. Whether it will be back, I do not know.

 

[shadow9449]

Thanks for the explanation, Banana

I wonder why they don't write their own code to make parts of Office interact, OR just pay the piper (whichever is cheaper). Many Microsoft applications were purchased from other parties. I do consider this to be one of the key reasons I didn't buy Office 2007. I'm not willing to lose funtionality I already have.

SHADOW

 

[brickelldb]

i initially jumped to access 07 simply because i could not figure out where to get the developer extension to create executables for 2003. its available for 2007 as a free download and very easy to find. but its like it dissapeared off the face of the earth for 2003. there's 100 ways to use the 2003 package wizard but cant find the actual thing ANYWHERE.

 

[shadow9449]

... for 2003. its available for 2007 as a free download and very easy to find. but its like it dissapeared off the face of the earth for 2003. there's 100 ways to use the 2003 package wizard but cant find the actual thing ANYWHERE.

You need to buy a product called VSTO (Visual Studio Tools for Office) to use the 2003 runtime.

SHADOW

 

[LPurvis]

>> as there is going to be some "knock your socks off" stuff

I think that depends upon how well stuck on one's socks are - or what gets a particular person's feet to turn so expulsive.
(Mine aren't tingling especially).

>> That usually means more bugs in things that used to work until SP 3 comes out.

To be fair - MS seem in no mad hurry to get Office 14 (or Windows) out.
I think they know they need these to be a hit.
(There haven't been two particularly buggy releases in a row before).
Stability and consistency is every bit as important as new functionality this time around.
(Oh and I've give cold hard cash to not have an install time lag :-s)


On the Excel legal issues - AFAIK that was just updatability through linked tables in Access that MS didn't want to fight on legal grounds. (Disabled in late service packs of 2002 and 2003).
The loss of the Report functionality is a mystery. Why would that be removed?
It was simply functional. It had value.
There are equivalents that folks have created (A.D. for example here).
Why didn't MS then bother similarly?
Who knows.
(There are better questions I'd have for them lol).

 

[boblarson]

>> as there is going to be some "knock your socks off" stuff

I think that depends upon how well stuck on one's socks are - or what gets a particular person's feet to turn so expulsive.
(Mine aren't tingling especially).

And I didn't see you at the Access Dev Kitchen and you weren't at the Summit, so you missed the stuff I would be talking about.

And I know you couldn't have found out about everything as an absentee person since nobody is supposed to be sharing anything with those outside of actual attendees.

 

[boblarson]

And, compared to Access 2007, it is MUCH better.

 

[datAdrenaline]

>> And I didn't see you (Leigh) at the Access Dev Kitchen and you weren't at the Summit, so you missed the stuff I would be talking about. <<

Despite that, what version do you think we talked about at the 2008 summit? (Which Leigh attended) ... it wasn't A2007! ... granted the topics may have been "fleshed out" a bit more, and of course MS is definately at liberty to change direction... but it seems unlikely that the direction discussed in 2008 has changed so significantly thought an extrapolation can not be made the "gets the gist" per se ...

 

[boblarson]

>>
Despite that, what version do you think we talked about at the 2008 summit? (Which Leigh attended) ... it wasn't A2007! ... granted the topics may have been "fleshed out" a bit more, and of course MS is definately at liberty to change direction... but it seems unlikely that the direction discussed in 2008 has changed so significantly thought an extrapolation can not be made the "gets the gist" per se ...

I think you might be surprised. But it is significantly enhanced over 2007 that it would benefit many to bypass 2007 and go to 14 directly and not suffer with some of what is in 2007 which is being addressed in 14.

 

[shadow9449]

I think you might be surprised. But it is significantly enhanced over 2007 that it would benefit many to bypass 2007 and go to 14 directly and not suffer with some of what is in 2007 which is being addressed in 14.

Without knowing more on the topic, I would suggest that only time will tell

SHADOW

 

[shadow9449]

>> as there is going to be some "knock your socks off" stuff

I think that depends upon how well stuck on one's socks are - or what gets a particular person's feet to turn so expulsive.

To elaborate on what you're saying, I wouldn't spend money on a new edition if:

a) This new edition compelled me to rewrite sections of existing code that works in all previous editions

b) This new edition removed features that I and users of my applications rely on

c) I need to install third party products to maintain my toolbars. Maybe Microsoft uses the word 'legacy' differently than I do, but my continuously updated applications do not become legacy just because Microsoft is peddling a new Access product. There is no excuse for my inability to drag and drop menu and toolbar selections.

d) The time it takes to render the screen, the background of combo boxes dissappearing and so on are problems not experienced in previous editions.

The bells and whistles provided in Access 2007 do not compensate, nor will whatever they are offering in the next edition if there are more problems created.

(There haven't been two particularly buggy releases in a row before).

Please have a click:
http://allenbrowne.com/Access2007.html#Bugs

SOME were addressed in hotfixes and patches; MOST were not. Hence my comment that the next edition will likely have intolerable bugs until SP 3 and after that Microsoft will just want more money for the next "whiz bang" edition (fraught with its own bugs).

Stability and consistency is every bit as important as new functionality this time around.

Just to add that new art doesn't compensate for the headaches either.

The loss of the Report functionality is a mystery. Why would that be removed?
It was simply functional. It had value.
There are equivalents that folks have created (A.D. for example here)

Right. More 3rd party solutions to Microsoft-created problems.

Why didn't MS then bother similarly?
(There are better questions I'd have for them lol).

Or buy the technology like they bought the Symantic defrag and Citrix's frame relay.

SHADOW

 

[LPurvis]

Yes I'm well aware of Allen's list of Access 2007 bugs.
I don't really see how it relates to my comment of "There haven't been two particularly buggy releases in a row before"

2007 has bug issues - 2003 didn't.
I'm saying that if 14 does have issues it will be the first instance of consecutive versions to do so.
Of course, historically, there's often been a consolidatory version to compensate afterwards (97 after 95 and 2002/03 after 2000).
This isn't the case this time - so the pattern may change.
Though 2002 did bring quite a bit to the party in its own way.

Beyond that I've no real interest in commenting further on all this.

 

[boblarson]

Beyond that I've no real interest in commenting further on all this.

I would if I could, but I can't (NDA), so I won't.

(sometimes I think it is a curse to be able to see some of this new stuff as it can be very frustrating to not be able to say anything about it - I'm thinking I might decide to not view anymore new stuff just for that reason)