Access 2007 or 2003? My big dilemma!

[George]

Dear friends,

I am using Access for several years, developing several databases. It’s been
more than a week, I have bought and installed Office 2007 and I am trying to
decide whether I shall continue with Access 2003 or I will go to Access 2007.

By trying Access 2007 I have seen (this is my opinion only) a lot of
changes, most of them making the whole process more difficult. For example
the Ribbon always rests on top of the forms, reports etc (the user can easily
minimize or cancel that). Most of the commands must be selected by using 2
clicks and not just one as in previous versions. You cannot create a Form
and see how will look in other versions. Export report to excel is
deactivated, and much much more.

So, I am asking you, Gurus, what is your opinion? What have you decided?
Staying in Access 2003?

Thanking you in advance,

GeorgeCY

 

[Allen Browne]

George, you may have already read this article:
http://allenbrowne.com/Access2007.html
It gives practical usage examples of how you can take advantage of the many
new features, and identifies several issues that need addressing.

To some extent, the answer to your question will depend on who you are
developing for. If for yourself, you will ultimately need to come to terms
with the ribbon, and you don't need to worry about compatibility with the
old menus/toolbars. You will adapt, and find lots of stuff helpful. But you
may want to stay with the old version until MS releases SP1 for Office 2007.

If you are developing for others, you probably want to develop using the
version they are using. That's what I'm doing, and then adapting the mdb so
it's okay in 2007 also:
http://allenbrowne.com/ser-69.html

There are other options that the either/or approach. For example, the German
MVPs have created a window like the Database Container if you like that
interface:
http://www.avenius.de/index.php?Produkte:DBC2007

Ultimately it's your call, but you will need to plan to become fluent in
A2007 at some point.

 

[George]

Dear Allen,

Thanks a lot for your valuable help. Yes, my customers have older versions,
so I can continue developing in Access 2003.

One more question. If I develop a database in 2003 and my customer has
2007, will it be a problem?

Ο χÏήστης "Allen Browne" έγγÏαψε:

 

[Allen Browne]

Good An Access 2007 can natively use an MDB in Access 2002/3 format
(or even in Access 2000 format), i.e. they can edit the data and modify the
objects, just like you can in A2003.

Bad Access 2007 crashes in places that the more mature versions do
not. So, while new users can use it, I can't really recommend it at this
stage. At very least, test what you are doing. The 1st link provides more
details.

Mixed Using A2003, you may want to run the code in the 2nd link so
A2007 can't modify the database in ways you did not intend. And if you are
relying on custom toolbars, ...

 

[Art Vandaley]

According to me 2007 is best!

If you change a textbox format as date a pop-up calendar appears for
selecting date. Even this improvement is enough for me to upgrade to 2007.

Best Regards.

Art Vandaley

 

[Larry Linson]

According to me 2007 is best!

No doubt the Access Team loves you!

If you change a textbox format as date a
pop-up calendar appears for selecting date.
Even this improvement is enough for me
to upgrade to 2007.

Gee, mine have been doing that since Access 2.0, and it wasn't much trouble
to add the functionality that various people have created. Remember the old
saying, "day late and a dollar short"? This functionality is much, much
later than that...

Larry Linson
Microsoft Access MVP

 

[DarS]

Users with 2007 will not be able to export report to excel even if you
develop in 2003 or earlier. My clients have been instructed for years to
use the export of Access reports to Excel. Removing that function is causing
a lot of grief. I will instruct clients to be aware of this BIG problem
before upgrading to 2007. I have clients that want to go back to 2003 after
experiencing the pitfalls of 2007. MICROSOFT ARE YOU LISTENING?

 

[Paul Shapiro]

While it's true that reports can't be exported directly to Excel in Access
2007, queries can still be exported to Excel. I generally export queries and
not reports.