MS Access tutorials for beginners

MS Access Database

What is MS Access ?

MS Access stands for Microsoft Access. This is a database system developed by Microsoft targetted for simple database applications. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite of products.

MS Access uses a simple, file based database and does not need any database server to be installed on client machine. Each database is stored as a single file. The extension of the MS Access database file is .MDB. All tables within the database are stored within teh same database file.

MS Access allows to design simple windows forms based applications without using any external programming languages/platforms. Also, you can easily generate reports using the MS Access reports wizard.

Some of the programs use MS Access as fully functional applications using it's forms and reporting features. In this case, there will be no separate applications deployed. Only the database file is copied to the client machine. The forms and reports are embedded within the .MDB file.

Majority of the applications use MS Access as database system. The application itself will be developed using some other programming tools (like VB.NET, ASP.NET, C++ etc) and application will use the Access database to store and retrieve data.

In either case, there is no need to deploy the MS Access software. Only the database file (.MDB) need to be deployed in the client machine. 

Download MS Access

Do you need MS Access ?

If you want to run any applications that use MS Access database, you don't need the MS Access software. You just need to copy the database file (.MDB).

But if you want to design database or create tables in the Access database, you need the MS Access software.

Download MS Access trial version

MS Access software is not available for trail or free download. If you want to use MS Access you must purchase the Microsoft Office suite of products or purchase MS Access software separately.

Purchase MS Access

You can purchase MS Access software from Microsoft or third party resellers. In general, it costs around US$ 230 or more per license. There are various licensing options available from Microsoft. Visit Microsoft website for more details on purchasing or downloading MS Access software.

Student version of MS Access

Microsoft offers a student version of the MS Office suite of applications, but they have NOT included the MS Access software in it. 

Benefits of MS Access

What makes MS Access attractive compared to SQL Server or other advanced database systems ?

Easy to deploy. No database server required on client machines. Just need to copy the database file (.MDB). File based database. Easy to copy to different folders and take backups. Built in feature to develop forms and reports. It is easy to develop fully functional database applications using MS Access itself. The easy to use reports wizard allow to create simple reports. Simple user interface. It is easy to create or modify tables using the MS Access software. All In One package - the MS Access software has all features available within one software (design tables, write and execute queries, generate reports, design forms etc). There is no need to open different software to perform differnet tasks on database. (Database systems like SQL Server has different tools to perform differnet tasks - like Entrerprise Manager, Query Analyzer etc) Less targetted by hackers - most of the hackers who attack the public web sites usually target advanced database systems like SQL Server or Oracle. Also, since the features offered by MS Access are less than advanced systems like SQL Server, there are less options to hack MS Access database. Many of the SQL injection attacks will not work on Access databases due to the limited feature set. The need for NO server software on the client machines and ease of deployment make MS Access the attractive platform for small and medium scale applications.

MS Access Integrated Development

MS Access comes with an integrated development environment (IDE), a fully interactive visual debugger with breakpoints and step-through options. These capabilities make Microsoft Access an extremely powerful platform for developing client-server database solutions.

The drag and drop features in the Form Designer allows you to simply drag and drop controls in to the form and design it just like the familiar Visual Studio designer!