Customer Reviews

Microsoft Access 2010

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I use Access mostly for class work, but the 2010 version is so much more user friendly that I'm starting to use it regularly to help create database apps, use it for home organization, etc. In an IT/Database Management class I took (upper division college course) we had older students (50+) who were trying to move up still in their careers and even though they still weren't comfortable with some computer elements such as open-source software, the 2010 Access was user-friendly enough that they could use it. Overall I find it very user friendly and really like the formatting.

I created fifteen databases from 1998 to now to help me in the office, and one other to help me at home, all created in Access 97. I've been using these databases for years and the largest one has a file size of 60 Mb; Access 97 would not let me create new reports in that one. I decided to try Access 2010 and was surprised that all 16 databases converted without any problems, at least none detected so far. My home computer and office computer are both over six years old, running WinXP on an Socket A processor with old DDR memory. Access 2010 runs OK on these old systems. Access 2010 is a definite upgrade from 97, and as soon as I learned the menu changes, I was up and running. I am glad I started in Access 97 though because The Help resources are pitiful in 2010 and hitting the F1 key doesn't get you much. Creating macros in 2010 is very easy and I like the ease of exporting reports to pdf for emailing. My largest database has 19 tables, 120 queries, 66 forms/subforms, 122 reports/subreports, 40 macros and 2 modules - scrolling through the ribbon menu on the left can be dizzying and takes too much patience, but I like the organization of the menus at the top of the screen. I also like the organization of the extensive properties menus that pop up on the right, and I like that each time I click on a control on a form, the right-side properties menu changes automatically for that control; I can make changes on the fly. The new features on these menus are useful for tweaking. Although Access 2010 is not perfect, I can live with it. Internet resources may have to suffice in place of the Access 97 Help assets, at the cost of my time.

I fell for the hype that Access 2010 was so much better than earlier versions. And I figured I was using a ten-year-old product (Access 2000) so it was about time to upgrade. Well, I bought it and regret it. As is usual for Microsoft, the new features just made things harder and none of the changes I wanted were implemented. The ribbon is just a menu turned on it's side (reminds me of the infamous paperclip). The ability to publish reports from Access to the web is just a marketing scheme from Microsoft to get you to buy Shareport. Synchronization between databases is on it's way out, probably because Microsoft realized that without synchronization developers would have more incentive to move to Shareport. If you're using an older version of Access, don't upgrade.

I have been using ACCESS 2003 for several years to maintain a long list of adresses, phone, email info,etc. I was quite comfortable with it and expected that the 2010version would have advanced features. What I find instead are much the same features but the software seems more compliacted to use. I am having difficulty doing something as simple as printing of mailing labels.

Microsoft Access 2010 is well hyped but difficult to learn. I've had it for 2 months now and I still don't know how to use it. I've bought 2 how-to books and I am slowly reading through them.
There is nothing about this software that is intuitive. I see words I don't understand and icons that mean nothing to me. I tried to use their help program but it spent all its time bragging about how great the software is. When it did try to explain how to use it, they would try to tell me everything at once. I would read page after page of irrelevant material and never know for sure if any of it related to what I wanted to do. Even with the 2 books I bought, I am left confused.
I have never used a database program before. This one is not for beginners!

I wrote an application back in 2003 that I've been using ever since. However Access 2003 does not run well on the new family of processors and Windows 7 64 bit professional. So, I got this Access 2010 with the intention of converting my old application to the latest and greatest. Once the high-level settings got fixed, about 90% of my application came right over to 2010. Most of the problems were with screen formatting issues - there were some logic errors as techniques I'd used 7 years ago were no longer supported. But, generally, it all came over quite well. However, there is a fundamental problem: I cannot run the 2003 .MDB file exactly as it sits on Access 2010.... why is this a problem? Because the old application needs to run on 3 systems in stand-alone mode. So I need a 2003 version for backup and laptop and a 2010 version for production desktop. Time to look at alternatives!

I used to be a big fan of Microsoft Access and have been using it in my business since the initial version came out 15+ years ago.

However ...

It has become far too unstable and I have been spending far too much time repairing databases and recovering data since the 2007 version came out.

Sorry to say ... time to move on.

Microsoft has gone out of their way to screw up a good database tool like Access. Access 2010 is slightly better than 2007 but not much.

It takes a little working with to fully appreciate Access, since it's basically a more advanced Excel. Once I worked with it a while, I love it more than Excel.

Purchasing through Amazon-dot-com has been a real pleasure. No strain - no pain. The Microsoft Access was needed to help carry out chores for a local club to which I belong. Shifting gears from the old Access XP to the new version 2010 takes a little work. I have a habit of falling back to old keystrokes or task selections, then finding out they don't "work that way" any more. As with any new, upgraded software it takes time going through the book to get checked out. Software works fine.