Description:
Intended for use on the corporate intranet or over the Internet, Access 2002 is the latest version of Microsoft's popular database application. Designed to integrate with a variety of sources and viewers (including Web browsers), Access users can convert forms and reports into Web pages, and edit these Data Access Pages from within their browsers. Access 2002 now includes support for XML, the Extensible Markup Language standard, allowing users to export their databases to an XML document that can be viewed in any browser with HTML 4.0 support. XML support runs both ways: XML documents can also be imported into a Jet or SQL Server database. With this new version, Access users can link Data Access Pages or other database files to SQL Server services without the need to perform any programming. In fact, many projects in Access can be handled with minimal or no coding required. A variety of helpful wizards walk you through the steps of creating different types of project databases. Although it uses a new format for its database files, Access 2002 can open and edit Access 2000 files without converting them to the new format. Access 2002 also allows new databases to be saved in earlier Access formats, making them easier to share with users of earlier versions of Access. When converting older Access files to 2002, Access keeps track of any problems in an error log, making it easier to solve problems as they occur. New features on the design side include expanded undo and redo functions, which let users move back and forth through more changes when creating reports, forms, and Data Access Pages. There are also a variety of new keyboard shortcuts, including ones that allow users to move easily from one view to another. Access 2002 also includes speech support for dictation and menu navigation via voice commands (with surprisingly high accuracy). Database tables and charts can now be expressed using PivotChart and PivotTable, two new dynamic and interactive views, just by dragging fields to the appropriate area within Access or selecting the option from the View menu. PivotChart and PivotTable expressions can also be saved as Data Access Pages for viewing via the Web. Tables and charts can also be converted to an Excel spreadsheet format simply by dragging the information to Excel. Microsoft Access 2002 isn't a leaps-and-bounds improvement over Access 2000. But the bevy of new features--including XML support, PivotChart and PivotTable views, and Data Access Page creation--make it an appealing upgrade for the database designer. --J. Curtis
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