Access 2002 vs. 2003

We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy is
upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL Server
at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he already has
licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even if
Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that much
of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I say in
support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil

Neil wrote:
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy is
upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL Server
at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he already has
licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even if
Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that much
of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I say in
support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil


The 2003 series has provided several fixes over the 2002 version.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer

Thanks, Joe. Do you know, specifically, what those fixes are; or is there a
web site that lists them?

The network guy will say that the fixes should be available as a service
pack to 2002. Do you know if that's true?

Thanks!

Neil

"Joe Obergfell" wrote in message
...
Neil wrote:
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy
is upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL
Server at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he
already has licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even
if Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I
say in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil
The 2003 series has provided several fixes over the 2002 version.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer

Neil wrote:
Thanks, Joe. Do you know, specifically, what those fixes are; or is there a
web site that lists them?

The network guy will say that the fixes should be available as a service
pack to 2002. Do you know if that's true?

Thanks!

Neil

"Joe Obergfell" wrote in message
...
Neil wrote:
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy
is upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL
Server at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he
already has licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even
if Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I
say in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil
The 2003 series has provided several fixes over the 2002 version.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer


I am not sure what the fixes are, but they were major fixes. I believe
if you go to Microsoft Office's site and then to Access, you should be
able to search for what the fixes have been. The network guy is right,
These fixes from 2002 to 2003 will be as service packs for 2002, but to
save time, 2003 would be quicker.

It is all a matter of time vs possible price. I am not sure if there is
a difference in price but if there is, you would pay through time, if
not in price.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer

We are also looking to do a fair amount of redevelopment of our
application, and I want to do it in 2003.

I also like 2003. Things like themed controls make the software look a LOT
better. here is some screen shots of what I mean

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKal...icles/Grid.htm

and

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKal...heme/index.htm


Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I say
in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

No, you are not. I can't see any good reason, or argument to upgrade here.
The only reason would be that you "like" a2003 better.....

There is little, if any changes in terms of support for sql server....so,
no, there is no big real argument here that I can make a case.

However, see below for a2003 features (this is a reposted message)


Also, here is a fabulous post by MVP John Viescas on this
very subject late last year.

(This was comparing Access 2003 to 2002).


They didn't make any major changes. Here's a summary:

View information on object dependencies

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can view information
on dependencies between database objects. Viewing a list
of objects that use a specific object helps maintain a
database over time and avoid errors related to missing
record sources. For example, the Quarterly Orders query in
the Sales database is no longer needed, but before
deleting it, you might want to find out which other
objects in the database use the query. Then, you could
either change the record source of the dependent objects,
or delete them, before deleting the Quarterly Orders
query. Viewing a complete list of dependent objects helps
you save time and minimize errors.

In addition to viewing the list of objects that are bound
to a selected object, you can also view the objects that
are being used by the selected object.

Macros, modules, and data access pages are not searched
for dependencies. Access projects do not support this
feature.

Error checking in forms and reports

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can enable automatic
error checking for common errors in forms and reports.
Error checking points out errors, such as two controls
using the same keyboard shortcut, and the width of a report
being greater than the page it will be printed on.
Enabling error checking helps you identify errors and
correct them.

Propagating field properties

In previous versions of Microsoft Access, whenever you
modified a field's inherited property, you had to manually
modify the property of the corresponding control in each
of the forms and reports. Now, when you modify an
inherited field property in Table design view, Access
displays an option to update the property of all or some
controls that are bound to the field.

Smart tags

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can use the SmartTags
property to add a smart tag to any field in a table,
query, form, report, or data access page in a database.

Back up a database or project

You can back up the current database or project before
making major changes to it. The backup will be saved in
the default backup location, or in the current folder.

To restore a database, go to the location of the backup,
rename the file, and open it in Access.

Windows XP theme support

The Microsoft Windows XP operating system offers you
several themes. If you have chosen a theme other than the
default, Access will apply the chosen theme to views,
dialog boxes, and controls. You can prevent form controls
from inheriting themes from the operating system by
setting an option on the database or project.

Improved sorting in controls

You can now specify the ascending or descending sort order
of up to four fields in the List Box and Combo Box Wizards
in forms and reports, and the Lookup Wizard in an Access
database. The sort page added to these wizards looks and
behaves like the sort page in the Report Wizard.

Autocorrect options

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you have more control
over the behavior of the AutoCorrect feature. The
AutoCorrect Options button appears near text that was
automatically corrected. If you find on occasion that you
don't want text to be corrected, you can undo a correction
or turn AutoCorrect options on or off by clicking the
button and making a selection.

Enhanced font capabilities in SQL views

In the SQL and query Design views of a query in both a
Microsoft Access database and Microsoft Access project,
you can now change the font and font size of the text by
using the Query design font option added to the
Tables/Queries tab of the Options dialog box under the
Tools menu. These settings apply to all databases and work
with the high-contrast and other accessibility settings of
your computer.

Context-based Help in SQL view

In the SQL view of a query in a Microsoft Access database,
you can now get help specific to Jet SQL keywords, VBA
functions, and Access functions. Simply press F1 to bring
up the help that corresponds to the text near the cursor.
You can also search the Jet SQL and VBA function reference
topics.

Importing, exporting, and linking

Importing, exporting, and linking to a Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services list from Access

You can perform the following operations with a Windows
SharePoint Services list:

?Export the contents of a table or a query to a list.

?Import the contents of a list into a table.

?Link a table to a list.

Exporting and linking to Access data from Windows
SharePoint Services

You can now export a list in its Datasheet view from
Windows SharePoint Services to a static table or to a
linked table in Access. When you export to a static table,
you create a table in Access. You can then view and make
changes to the table independent of the original list in
Windows SharePoint Services. Similarly, you can change the
list in Windows SharePoint Services, and that will not
affect the table in Access.

When you export to a linked table, you create a table in
Access and establish a dynamic link between the table and
the list such that changes to the table are reflected in
the list, and changes to the list are reflected in the
table as well.

Make a local table from a linked table

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can make a local copy
of the structure or data and structure contained in a
linked table.

XML support

With the enhanced XML support in Microsoft Office Access
2003, you can specify a transform file when you import
data from or export data to XML. The transform is then
applied automatically. When you import XML data, the
transform is applied to the data as soon as the data is
imported, before any new table is created or an existing
one is appended to. When you export data to XML, the
transform is applied following the export operation.

Often times a database contains lookup values that are
stored in another database. You can now include these
related tables when exporting. You can also include any
predefined filter or sort order for an object when
exporting the object.

Security enhancements

Macro Security Microsoft Office Access 2003 allows you to
protect against potentially unsafe Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA) code by setting the macro security
level. You can set the security level so that you are
prompted every time that you open a database containing
VBA code, or you can automatically block databases that
are from unknown sources.

Additionally, Access uses Microsoft Authenticode
technology to enable you to digitally sign a macro project
by using a digital certificate. The certificate used to
create this signature confirms that the macro originated
from the signer, and the signature confirms that it has
not been altered. When you set the macro security level,
you can run macros based on whether they are digitally
signed by a developer on your list of trusted sources.

Block Potentially Unsafe Functions Access utilizes the
Microsoft Jet Expression Service enhanced sandbox mode to
block potentially unsafe functions from being used in
expressions.

I don't see much difference between the two versions. The next version of
Access/Office will be DRAMATICALLY different. You may love it or you may
hate it but everything you think you know about the Office interface you
will need to relearn. So, my feeling is rather than fight to spend the
money for O2003 licenses now, use the O2002 licenses and fight for the
upgrade in next year's budget. Once you get past the interface changes,
there are some awesome new features coming up in Access.

"Neil" wrote in message
ink.net...
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy
is upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL
Server at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he
already has licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even if
Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I say
in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil

"Neil" wrote:

We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy is
upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL Server
at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he already has
licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even if
Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Note that most of your users only need the runtime version of Access.
Your power users who create queries will want a full version of
Access. Furthermore you can easily use the new features of Access but
create A2002 MDEs (using A2002) to distribute to your users.

Standard blurb follows.

I'd also strongly suggest your network guy stage his upgrades. This
month Win 2003 Server. Next month or two SQL Server. Later for
Office. Besides those upgrades really don't care about the server.

Hmm, the more I think about this, if he really wants to do all those
upgrades at the same time, he's an utter idiot.

Tony

Been working in A2003 and I really like the smart tags Access pops up
on the controls

For example I added some &s to some unassociated labels. Access
promptly tells me they're unassociated and gives me an option to
associate the label to a control. Nice.

Or if you've renamed fields in the tables the controls based on the
old names are obviously incorrect. Now a little triangle appears in
the corner. Again nice.

I created a report and I see a little flag in that little grey box in
the upper left hand corner of the report. I click on it and see a
"Common Report Error" "Report width is greater than page width" with a
bunch of options.

Someone spent some time on these little touches.

Oh, I'm developing in A2003. But the users will be given an A2000
MDE. So long as I use no new features I should be fine with that.

Very nice. I can see how this would help the newbie/itinerant Access
users.

I also see lots of flags for the label controls in the headers of new
reports. They're a bit of a pain but they are also easily ignored.
They won't appear once you close and reopen the report.
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm

If the 2003 fixes are available as 2002 service packs, I'm sure they'd go
with the SPs. It seems that there are no license packs for upgrades, so the
price to upgrade office is steep -- $410 a pop for Office Pro 2003 and $185
a pop for Access 2003 alone (that, in contrast to the fact that the Access
2003 off-the-shelf upgrade can be gotten for about $85 a box). So at 35
seats, it's a chunk of change to upgrade to Access 2003, which I'm sure
they'd avoid with SPs, if they're the same.

Neil


"Joe Obergfell" wrote in message
...
Neil wrote:
Thanks, Joe. Do you know, specifically, what those fixes are; or is there
a web site that lists them?

The network guy will say that the fixes should be available as a service
pack to 2002. Do you know if that's true?

Thanks!

Neil

"Joe Obergfell" wrote in message
...
Neil wrote:
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network
guy is upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and
SQL Server at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and,
since he already has licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade
to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even
if Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I
say in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil
The 2003 series has provided several fixes over the 2002 version.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer


I am not sure what the fixes are, but they were major fixes. I believe if
you go to Microsoft Office's site and then to Access, you should be able
to search for what the fixes have been. The network guy is right, These
fixes from 2002 to 2003 will be as service packs for 2002, but to save
time, 2003 would be quicker.

It is all a matter of time vs possible price. I am not sure if there is a
difference in price but if there is, you would pay through time, if not in
price.

--
Joe Obergfell
Web Developer

Thanks. Since we are looking to rework our app, I think whatever version we
go to will be it for a while. I like the idea of going with 2002/2003, since
it will require less reworking of code than the next version of Access will
require. So, if there's not that much of a difference between 2002/3, then I
guess 2002 is it!

Thanks again.

Neil

"Pat Hartman(MVP)" wrote in message
...
I don't see much difference between the two versions. The next version of
Access/Office will be DRAMATICALLY different. You may love it or you may
hate it but everything you think you know about the Office interface you
will need to relearn. So, my feeling is rather than fight to spend the
money for O2003 licenses now, use the O2002 licenses and fight for the
upgrade in next year's budget. Once you get past the interface changes,
there are some awesome new features coming up in Access.

"Neil" wrote in message
ink.net...
We are running an Access 2000 MDB with a SQL 7 back end. Our network guy
is upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and wants to upgrade Office and SQL
Server at the same time. We're moving to SQL Server 2005, and, since he
already has licenses for Office Pro 2002, he wants to upgrade to that.

I've been saying that we need to upgrade to Access 2003, not 2002, even
if Office is kept at 2002. We are also looking to do a fair amount of
redevelopment of our application, and I want to do it in 2003.

Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I
say in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

Thanks!

Neil

Thanks for this, Albert. I'll review it in detail.

One thing I'm wondering, though: Access 2003 uses a new file format (with
the ability to still use the Access 2000/2002 format). So that seems like a
major change to me. Or is that not a big deal?

Thanks,

Neil

"Albert D.Kallal" wrote in message
...
We are also looking to do a fair amount of redevelopment of our
application, and I want to do it in 2003.

I also like 2003. Things like themed controls make the software look a LOT
better. here is some screen shots of what I mean

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKal...icles/Grid.htm

and

http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKal...heme/index.htm


Am I right for insisting on Access 2003 over 2002, or is there not that
much of a difference? If there is a significant difference, what can I
say
in support of getting licenses for Access 2003?

No, you are not. I can't see any good reason, or argument to upgrade here.
The only reason would be that you "like" a2003 better.....

There is little, if any changes in terms of support for sql server....so,
no, there is no big real argument here that I can make a case.

However, see below for a2003 features (this is a reposted message)


Also, here is a fabulous post by MVP John Viescas on this
very subject late last year.

(This was comparing Access 2003 to 2002).


They didn't make any major changes. Here's a summary:

View information on object dependencies

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can view information
on dependencies between database objects. Viewing a list
of objects that use a specific object helps maintain a
database over time and avoid errors related to missing
record sources. For example, the Quarterly Orders query in
the Sales database is no longer needed, but before
deleting it, you might want to find out which other
objects in the database use the query. Then, you could
either change the record source of the dependent objects,
or delete them, before deleting the Quarterly Orders
query. Viewing a complete list of dependent objects helps
you save time and minimize errors.

In addition to viewing the list of objects that are bound
to a selected object, you can also view the objects that
are being used by the selected object.

Macros, modules, and data access pages are not searched
for dependencies. Access projects do not support this
feature.

Error checking in forms and reports

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can enable automatic
error checking for common errors in forms and reports.
Error checking points out errors, such as two controls
using the same keyboard shortcut, and the width of a report
being greater than the page it will be printed on.
Enabling error checking helps you identify errors and
correct them.

Propagating field properties

In previous versions of Microsoft Access, whenever you
modified a field's inherited property, you had to manually
modify the property of the corresponding control in each
of the forms and reports. Now, when you modify an
inherited field property in Table design view, Access
displays an option to update the property of all or some
controls that are bound to the field.

Smart tags

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can use the SmartTags
property to add a smart tag to any field in a table,
query, form, report, or data access page in a database.

Back up a database or project

You can back up the current database or project before
making major changes to it. The backup will be saved in
the default backup location, or in the current folder.

To restore a database, go to the location of the backup,
rename the file, and open it in Access.

Windows XP theme support

The Microsoft Windows XP operating system offers you
several themes. If you have chosen a theme other than the
default, Access will apply the chosen theme to views,
dialog boxes, and controls. You can prevent form controls
from inheriting themes from the operating system by
setting an option on the database or project.

Improved sorting in controls

You can now specify the ascending or descending sort order
of up to four fields in the List Box and Combo Box Wizards
in forms and reports, and the Lookup Wizard in an Access
database. The sort page added to these wizards looks and
behaves like the sort page in the Report Wizard.

Autocorrect options

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you have more control
over the behavior of the AutoCorrect feature. The
AutoCorrect Options button appears near text that was
automatically corrected. If you find on occasion that you
don't want text to be corrected, you can undo a correction
or turn AutoCorrect options on or off by clicking the
button and making a selection.

Enhanced font capabilities in SQL views

In the SQL and query Design views of a query in both a
Microsoft Access database and Microsoft Access project,
you can now change the font and font size of the text by
using the Query design font option added to the
Tables/Queries tab of the Options dialog box under the
Tools menu. These settings apply to all databases and work
with the high-contrast and other accessibility settings of
your computer.

Context-based Help in SQL view

In the SQL view of a query in a Microsoft Access database,
you can now get help specific to Jet SQL keywords, VBA
functions, and Access functions. Simply press F1 to bring
up the help that corresponds to the text near the cursor.
You can also search the Jet SQL and VBA function reference
topics.

Importing, exporting, and linking

Importing, exporting, and linking to a Microsoft Windows
SharePoint Services list from Access

You can perform the following operations with a Windows
SharePoint Services list:

?Export the contents of a table or a query to a list.

?Import the contents of a list into a table.

?Link a table to a list.

Exporting and linking to Access data from Windows
SharePoint Services

You can now export a list in its Datasheet view from
Windows SharePoint Services to a static table or to a
linked table in Access. When you export to a static table,
you create a table in Access. You can then view and make
changes to the table independent of the original list in
Windows SharePoint Services. Similarly, you can change the
list in Windows SharePoint Services, and that will not
affect the table in Access.

When you export to a linked table, you create a table in
Access and establish a dynamic link between the table and
the list such that changes to the table are reflected in
the list, and changes to the list are reflected in the
table as well.

Make a local table from a linked table

In Microsoft Office Access 2003, you can make a local copy
of the structure or data and structure contained in a
linked table.

XML support

With the enhanced XML support in Microsoft Office Access
2003, you can specify a transform file when you import
data from or export data to XML. The transform is then
applied automatically. When you import XML data, the
transform is applied to the data as soon as the data is
imported, before any new table is created or an existing
one is appended to. When you export data to XML, the
transform is applied following the export operation.

Often times a database contains lookup values that are
stored in another database. You can now include these
related tables when exporting. You can also include any
predefined filter or sort order for an object when
exporting the object.

Security enhancements

Macro Security Microsoft Office Access 2003 allows you to
protect against potentially unsafe Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA) code by setting the macro security
level. You can set the security level so that you are
prompted every time that you open a database containing
VBA code, or you can automatically block databases that
are from unknown sources.

Additionally, Access uses Microsoft Authenticode
technology to enable you to digitally sign a macro project
by using a digital certificate. The certificate used to
create this signature confirms that the macro originated
from the signer, and the signature confirms that it has
not been altered. When you set the macro security level,
you can run macros based on whether they are digitally
signed by a developer on your list of trusted sources.

Block Potentially Unsafe Functions Access utilizes the
Microsoft Jet Expression Service enhanced sandbox mode to
block potentially unsafe functions from being used in
expressions.