The following features are available only with databases that are in Office Access 2007 ACCDB file format. To use these features with existing databases, you must first convert the databases to Office Access 2007 ACCDB file format.

• Complex data (multi-valued data types)

• Attachment Date type

• Append Only Memo fields

• Compressed image storage for any Picture property

• E-mail database as attachment

• Publish database to a Document Library in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

• Full support for Linked Tables to Office SharePoint Server 2007

• Offline support for Linked Tables to Office SharePoint Server 2007

• Linked Tables to files in ACCDB format

• Encrypt with database password

The following features are available only with databases that are in Access 2003 or earlier MDB file format. They are not available with Office Access 2007 ACCDB file format.

• Ability to open the database by using previous versions of Access

• Object Level Security (also known as Workgroup Security)

• Database replication

• Encode database (replaced with Encrypt with database password)

Note:
To understand the changes that were made in the new Access File Format see the Introduction to the Access File Format.

The following features are no longer available in Office Access 2007:

• Data Access Pages (DAPs) cannot be opened by using Office Access 2007.You must use Access 2003 or earlier to create or make design changes to DAPs. To browse DAPs, you must use Internet Explorer. To browse Access 2000 DAPs, you must install Microsoft Office 2000 Web Components, which installs with Access 2000. To browse Access 2002 and Access 2003 DAPs, you must install Microsoft Office XP Web Components, available at Office XP Tool: Web Components (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=36954).

• Microsoft Office XP Web Components is not installed with Office Access 2007. Forms in PivotTable or PivotChart view still function correctly. Databases with references to OWC10.DLL point to the new OFFOWC.DLL. The new OFFOWC.DLL does not support all of the functionality in OWC10.DLL. In some cases, you might need to download and install the Microsoft Office XP Web Components.

• By default, toolbars used in previous Access versions are not used in Office Access 2007. They are used only if the following Startup options are configured:

  • The Allow Built-in Toolbars option is disabled

  • A default menu bar is specified.

• The user interface for toolbar and menu customizations is removed and replaced by the new ribbon. The toolbars and menus can be modified in previous versions of Access or by using the VBA object model or macros.

• The user interface for some early import and export formats is removed. There is no user interface to export to ASP or IDC/HTX. There is no user interface to import files from Lotus 1-2-3/DOS (*.wj*) or Exchange. Code and macros created to work with these formats continue to work.

For more information about features that have changed in Office Access 2007, see Changes in Office Access 2007.

By enabling a database, you make it compatible with Office Access 2007. You can open objects and edit data, but all object definitions are read-only. You can open enabled databases in Access 97 or Office Access 2007, but you can only make design changes in Access 97. You can make data changes in either Access 97 or Office Access 2007. This option is useful in mixed environments where a database must open in both Access 97 and Office Access 2007.

By default, Access 97 or earlier format databases are converted into Access 2002-2003 format. If a database is converted to Access 2002 or Access 2003, the database can only be opened by Access 2002 or Access 2003. To convert an Access 97 or earlier database to Office Access 2007 ACCDB file format, you must first convert it to Access 2002, Access 2003, or Access 2000. You can then convert the database to Office Access 2007.

MDE files are MDB files that have VBA source code compiled into computer code and VBA source code removed. Office Access 2007 cannot convert or enable an MDE file. To upgrade an MDE file, you must find the original MDB file and convert that file.

VBA references are handled the same way in Office Access 2007 as in previous releases. References to other applications in 2007 Microsoft Office system, such as Microsoft Office Word 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, reference their new type libraries in 2007 Office system when you make design changes in Office Access 2007. If you do not make design changes, the references are not automatically modified by Office Access 2007.

If the references are upgraded and the database opens on a computer that does not have 2007 Office system installed, the database has a broken VBA reference. This can cause error messages. VBA references are compatible with previous versions of a type library, but they are not guaranteed to work with future versions of a type library. To fix these databases, you must manually fix VBA references to point to the version of the Office applications installed on that computer.

In general, when you are working with multiple versions of Office, the best practice is to test the database on the oldest version of Office and the oldest version of Microsoft Windows that you plan to support. Make sure all of the references are fixed. When the database is opened by using a newer version of Office or Windows, the references still work.

Access creates front-end applications that use SQL Server as a back-end data source. Access forms and reports can be optimized as efficiently as Microsoft Visual Basic front-end for SQL Server. Office Access 2007 offers two ways to connect to SQL Server data: linking to SQL Server and Access Data Projects (ADPs).

The preferred way to connect to SQL Server is MDB file format or ACCDB file format. This enables you to use the full flexibility of local tables and local queries, while leveraging the full power of SQL Server. In addition, MDB and ACCDB files link to multiple SQL Server computers and a wide variety of other data sources. Office Access 2007 contains many new features that are available in both MDB and ACCDB file formats, but only a subset of those features are available in ADPs.

Linking to SQL Server

Access Data Projects (ADPs)

An Access Data Project is an OLE document file, such as the .xls or.doc file formats. It contains forms, reports, macros, VBA modules, and a connection string. All tables and queries are stored in SQL Server. The ADP architecture was designed to create client-server applications. Because of this, there is a limit to the number of records that Access returns in any recordset. This limit is configurable, but you typically must build enough filtering into your application so that you do not reach the limit.

Access uses OLEDB to communicate with SQL Server. To provide the Jet-like cursor behavior desired for desktop applications, Access implements the Client Data Manager (CDM) as an additional layer between Access and OLEDB.

Because of the layers required to get from Access to SQL Server in the ADP architecture, it is often easier to optimize MDB/ACCDB file solutions. However, there are some scenarios where a report might be generated significantly faster in an ADP file. To add these performance improvements and retain the flexibility of SQL Server, you can build the majority of the application in an MDB or ACCDB file and have the file load reports from a referenced ADP file.

One advantage that ADP files have over files in MDB or ACCDB format is the ability to make design changes to SQL Server objects. ADP files include graphical designers for tables, views, stored procedures, functions, and database diagrams.

You cannot directly modify the design of Linked Tables. You must use an ADP file or Enterprise Manager included in SQL Server to make schema changes or design changes.

Note:
For more information about ADPs, see Create an Access project (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143703).

You can use the Access 2003 Conversion Tool, available at Access 2003 Conversion Tool (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=49681), to analyze databases for upgrade and conversion to Office Access 2007.

Note:
This tool does not convert your databases. It only helps you with scoping and identifying known issues that have an impact on the conversion process.