A trip down memory lane

[Pat Hartman]

Great article.
PS - the links don't work

 

[isladogs]

Great article.
PS - the links don't work

@Pat Hartman
Thanks for letting me know about the links.
Think I had a memory lapse as the same superfluous ">" was in all 9 links
All now fixed.

 

[sonic8]

Hi Colin / @isladogs !
Well done! That's a nice article.

I've got a couple of corrections and comments below.

Access 97
Source code control integration was already available for Access 97. - And it was *not* just Visual SourceSafe integration but MSSCCI integration. The real *integration* in Access is limited to the SaveAsText/LoadFromText methods. Anything beyond that is not directly integrated but provided by a PlugIn included in the Developer Edition of Access.

Access 2000
For Access 2000 you absolutely *must* mention the upgrade to VBA version 6, which was a major progress. - Unfortunately the last major progress VBA has ever seen.

Access 2003
Are you sure about ...
Linked Sharepoint lists - I might be mistaken, but I thought they were only added in 2007.
Digital signatures - Weren't they available previously already?

Access 2007
Reports - PDF output was not in A2007 immediately/directly. It was later provided by a PlugIn that hat to be installed separately. A2010 was the first version with integrated PDF output.

Access 2013
Visual source safe removed - Not Visual SourceSafe but MSSCCI (which was the integration API for VSS)
Access web apps (based on SQL Server) - They are not based on SQL Server but on Sharepoint!
Access Data Projects (ADP) deprecated - I think the word "deprecated" is not correctly used here. ADPs were not supported at all anymore.
(That applies to all occurrences of the word "deprecated" in that paragraph.)

 

[GPGeorge]

A couple of subtleties.

Access Web Apps did store their data in tables SQL Azure Databases, one database per AWA. The apps themselves were stored, if that's the right word, on SharePoint. Unlike their predecessor, Access Web Databases, the forms ran only in a browser. Neither supported Reports, a big shortcoming, IMO, but not the only one. Access Data Macros in AWAs were implemented as SQL Azure Triggers and regular macros as stored procs (if I recall that bit correctly) and maybe as functions.

I have to verify, but I do think we had the ability to link to SP lists in A2003. Now, I wonder where I left that A2003 VM....

 

[GPGeorge]

A couple of subtleties.

Access Web Apps did store their data in tables SQL Azure Databases, one database per AWA. The apps themselves were stored, if that's the right word, on SharePoint. Unlike their predecessor, Access Web Databases, the forms ran only in a browser. Neither supported Reports, a big shortcoming, IMO, but not the only one. Access Data Macros in AWAs were implemented as SQL Azure Triggers and regular macros as stored procs (if I recall that bit correctly) and maybe as functions.

I have to verify, but I do think we had the ability to link to SP lists in A2003. Now, I wonder where I left that A2003 VM....

SP Lists in A2003. The answer appears to be "yes or no". A2003 offers a link to "Windows SharePoint Services", but refuses an MS365 SP site, so I'm not sure what the full answer would be.

 

[isladogs]

Thanks for the feedback Philipp/George - very helpful
I knew there would be errors & omissions as, although I have all the old versions, I haven't made much use of most of them in recent years.

Some of the information was taken from the FMS article Microsoft Access Version Features and Differences Comparison Matrix (fmsinc.com) (which does have a couple of errors) but a lot of it was based on my own recollections of each version

I will go through each of the points you raised later, make amendments / add info where necessary ...and re-check the questions raised
As I understood it, Access Web Apps were based on Sharepoint Lists in A2010 but changed to use SQL Server in A2013.
The MS article What's new in Access 2013 (microsoft.com) supports that as well

I only ever used the A2010 version of Access Web Apps. I gave up on them due to performance issues and the lack of reports.

As well as adding the VBA6 info, I'll also add that A2010 onwards have been supplied with VBA7 - needed for 64-bit versions

The A2003 Help definitely shows Sharepoint as being supported.

Thanks again. Will do some more checking & may respond again later....but first I have an Access Europe meeting in 2 hours @18:00 UK time.
Hope you can join us.

 

[GPGeorge]

Pedantic point.
Access Web DATABASES, 2010
Access Web APPS, 2013

And now we also have PowerApps. If you want to learn more about PowerApps, I have invited Shane Young to present to the AUG Access Pacific Chapter tomorrow night. Of course, all you folks on the other side of the pond would have to stay up until 2:30 in the morning.....

 

[GPGeorge]

I did a bit more investigation on SharePoint lists in Access 2003. In fact, I believe they were supported, but because of differences in SP, I think it's either no longer possible, or would require tweaking of the connection that I am not knowledgeable about.

I created an mdb in A2019 and linked it to lists in a Sharepoint site. Then I opened it in Access 2003. The links appear, but are not valid.

It looks like Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 reached end of support in 2017. That suggests it would have been possible to link Access 2003 to SP lists at one time, but with WSS no longer supported, you'd have to do some serious digging to figure out how to do it today. Effort NOT warranted, IMO.

 

[isladogs]

George/Philipp
I've made some corrections as well as add some items originally omitted
For now, Visual SourceSafe integration item info remains as it was - based on FMS article

Any remaining errors, let me know

 

[chaaptilak208]

I agree that Corel owns the rights, I have not actually seen Paradox anywhere that I have looked.