Top 10 benefits of Access 2010

• Get started faster and easier than ever before.

  Harness the power of the community in Access 2010. Build on database templates created by others and share your own designs. Use new prebuilt database templates available on Office Online, designed for frequently requested tasks, or select from community-submitted templates and customize them to meet your specific needs.

  

• Create a centralized landing pad for your data.

  Integrate your Access reports using multiple data connections and information linked or imported from other sources. With improved Conditional Formatting and calculation tools, you can create rich and dynamic reports with visual impact. Access 2010 reports now support data bars, enabling you and your audience to more easily track trends and gain insight.

  

• Access your application, data, or forms from virtually anywhere.

  Extend your database to the Web so that users without an Access client can open Web forms and reports via a browser and changes are automatically synchronized.1 Or work on your Web database offline, make your design and data changes, and then sync them to Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 when you're reconnected. With Access 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010, your data can be protected centrally to meet data compliance, backup, and audit requirements, providing you with increased accessibility and manageability.

• Apply professional designs across your Access database.

  Take advantage of familiar and appealing Office themes and apply them to your databases with high fidelity both on the Access client and the Web. Choose from a variety of themes, or design your own custom theme, to get great looking forms and reports.

  

• Add navigation to your database using drag-and-drop functionality.

  Create professional looking, Web-like navigation forms to make your frequently used forms or reports more accessible without writing any code or logic. Choose from six predefined navigation templates with a combination of horizontal tabs or vertical tabs. Applications with a large number of Access forms or reports can be displayed using multi-level horizontal tabs. Simply drag-and-drop forms or reports to display.

  

• Accomplish your work more quickly and easily.

  Access 2010 simplifies how you find and use features. The new Microsoft Office Backstage™ view replaces the traditional File menu to let you publish, back up, and manage your database with just a few clicks. And, with the improved Ribbon, you can access your favorite commands even more quickly by customizing tabs or creating your own to personalize the experience to your work style.

• Build your expressions effortlessly using IntelliSense.

  The simplified Expression Builder makes it faster and easier for you to build out logic and expressions in your database. IntelliSense — Quick Info, ToolTips, and AutoComplete — enables you to reduce errors, spend less time memorizing expression names and syntax, and spend more time focusing on building application logic.

• Design your macros faster than before.

  Access 2010 has a revamped Macro Designer that makes it easier to create, edit, and automate database logic. The Macro Designer enables you to be more productive, reduce coding errors, and easily incorporate more complex logic to create robust applications. Increase code maintainability by using Data Macros to attach logic to your data, centralizing the logic on the source tables. With the more powerful Macro Designer and Data Macros, you can extend automation outside the Access client to SharePoint Web databases and other applications that update your tables.

  

• Turn portions of your database into reusable templates.

  Save time and effort by reusing database parts built by other users in your database. You can now save frequently used Access objects, fields, or collections of fields as templates that you can add to your existing databases and make you more productive. Application Parts can be shared across your organization to create consistency in building database applications.

• Integrate your Access data with live Web content.

  You can now connect to data sources via Web service protocol. Include Web services and line-of-business applications data right in the databases you build through Business Connectivity Services.² And, the new Web Browser control enables you to integrate Web 2.0 content in your Access forms.

1 This feature requires Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 to publish and share a Web database.
2 This feature is configured in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.