Like other productivity applications bundled with Microsoft Office, Access 2003 is typically viewed as the de facto database solution for home and small office users. It certainly merits consideration. The program is stable, secure, and stacked with features. Moreover, it’s priced reasonably at $229 and even more reasonably when bundled with Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 ($499) or Office Small Business Management Edition 2006 ($499, available as upgrade only).

Unfortunately, Access also is an intimidating program to anyone creating a database for the first time. The program lures users in with an effortless installation, a variety of database templates, and several handy wizards that guide inexperienced users step by step through the process of creating a database. For example, creating a table was as easy as filling in a spreadsheet. Creating relationships among multiple tables, on the other hand, demanded an advanced understanding of database concepts.

Indeed, such an understanding is crucial if the user wants to take full advantage of everything Access has to offer. This is a developer grade program packed into a consumer-oriented package. Access lets you set data validation rules, import data from other databases and Excel spreadsheets, draft queries and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications; an austere version of the Visual Basic programming language that’s typically used for coding simple routines within a program) macros, and link to other data sources through its ODBC (Open Database Connectivity; programming interface that allows disparate database programs to communicate with one another) interface. It also supports automatic error checking, smart tags, XML (Extensible Markup Language; a platform-independent formatting language that allows users to define the contents of a file), sorting based on as many as four fields, and the ability to merge content with Microsoft Word. It even features integrated NetMeeting capabilities for online meetings in real time.

The fact is that once a database is established, there is almost no end to what Access can do with it. Whether the typical home or small-office user needs such capabilities is questionable. And without a hard-copy users manual as a convenient source of additional guidance, inexperienced users will have a hard time learning how to take advantage of those capabilities.

For this reason, we recommend Access only to users who have complex data management needs, as well as the skills to build and manage a database that meets them.

Tags: Microsoft Access