Is there a lot of improvement from Access 2003 to 2007?

[jane2000]

I'd like to switch job to a data analyst. I took Excel 2003 Expert last week. I am thinking of taking Access. I don't know if I need to take the Access 2003 or 2007. Which certificate would be more valuable?

I know nothing about Access now. I have Access 2003 on my computer. And I just purchased the office 2007.

Thank you very much.

 

[SydneyGeek]

Go for 2003 first. It's more similar to the earlier versions, and most people have not yet switched. 2007 is pretty different from everything that came before it. Some of the new features are improvements, some are not.

Check out this page for a comparison: http://allenbrowne.com/Access2007.html

Denis

 

[jane2000]

Thank you very much. It's so helpful. I'll go for the 2003 first.

Also, is it better to install the office 2007 on a separate external disk, or it's fine to install on the same disk and change the registry.

Really appreciate your prompt help.

 

[Marbles]

Denis

I downloaded the trial version of 2007, then looked at how an existing database would look and work in the new version. After a while, some of the new features seemed okay, the automatic Calendar for instance, but it seems such a jump from 2003, that you would think that Microsoft are trying to draw the line, and start afresh with 2007.

Based on a 2003 report, I tried to recreate the same one in 2007, just to see how much work was involved. The only thing I couldn't get to work, was Conditional Formatting.

Bold worked, Font Colour as well, but Backround Colour doesn't come up. If I bring up the original Report, with the existing Conditional Formatting, and the same conditions, everything works. It's probably something in the Properties, but still annoying anyway.

 

[SydneyGeek]

Jane:

I wouldn't install full versions of both on the same system -- it gave me problems when I first tried it. The workaround for me was to use VirtualPC 2007. I installed that, put a second copy of Windows in the virtual machine, and installed Office there.
If you do install 2007 in the same OS, do this:
0. Do a full backup. I usually image my PC.
1. Create a second Office folder. You'll be prompted whether you want to overwrite the existing Office or not -- don't overwrite.
2. Do a Custom install and do not install Outlook 2007. It doesn't play well with other Outlook versions in the same Windows environment.
3. Don't register for a while -- check to see if everything behaves first.

Marbles:
I haven't played with conditional formatting in 2007 so I can't comment on your problem. I'll see if anything comes up in my travels.

Denis

 

[Marbles]

After a bit of searching, I've found that you have to set the Default Option to something before the Conditional Formatting will work. I don't really see the point of that, but maybe there's a good reason behind it.

 

[SydneyGeek]

Thanks for the info, but I'm not really sure what the reason might be. Maybe it's to be found in some white paper or other.

Denis