Access Community Update with Karl Donaubauer

Microsoft Access continues to evolve and serve as a critical database development platform despite limited visibility in Microsoft's marketing efforts.

In this comprehensive update at Access DevCon Vienna, Karl Donaubauer provides a data-driven look at how developers are using Access in 2025, Microsoft's recent feature additions, the challenges posed by the New Outlook client, and important community initiatives. His presentation combines usage statistics, feature announcements, practical workarounds for emerging challenges, and opportunities for the Access community to showcase modern applications.

Whether you're concerned about Microsoft's commitment to Access, curious about new features, or wondering how to handle the transition to New Outlook, this presentation offers valuable insights for professional Access developers.

Access Usage Statistics

Current Version Adoption

• Microsoft 365 (subscription) is now the leading version at almost 70% adoption
• Access 2019 and 2016 versions remain popular at around 35-45% each
• Access 2010 still maintains significant usage at approximately 25%
• Access 2003 (5-7%) actually has higher usage than Access 2013 (under 5%)

Development Patterns

• Access continues to be used as a front-end for approximately 90% of database work among Access developers
• As a back-end, Access is used in 40-50% of projects (with SQL Server being the primary alternative)
• Despite Microsoft's push toward 64-bit, roughly two-thirds of Access work is still done in 32-bit environments

Recent Features and Bug Fixes

New Features Since DevCon 2024

• Modern Charts improvements (September 2024)
  • New chart types and formatting options
  • Programming support added in March 2025
• Monaco SQL Editor (October 2024)
  • IntelliSense down to form control level
  • Code formatting and multi-selection
  • Line numbers and syntax highlighting
  • Can be disabled if developers prefer the classic editor

Bug Fixes and Stability

• Microsoft released 36 official bug fixes in the past year
• Fewer critical bugs between August 2024 and January 2025 (five-month period)
• Recent updates have been more stable overall

Microsoft's Engineering Priorities

Current Focus Areas

• Bug fixes and quality improvements (ongoing)
• Large monitor support (coming soon, estimated July 2025)
• Integrated source control (in development)

Office 2024 Considerations

• Access is only included in the Professional edition of volume licenses
• Standalone purchase option is still available (though somewhat hidden)
• Support commitment extends to October 14, 2029

Access Visibility Challenges

Microsoft Website Issues

• Access is poorly represented on Microsoft's product pages
• Only the US English website is updated with Access 2024 information
• Other language websites still show Access 2019 as the latest version
• Access is included in most Microsoft 365 plans but rarely mentioned prominently

Purchasing Challenges

• Access icon no longer shown on purchase page for consumer Office packages
• Must specifically look for Microsoft 365 Apps for Business/Enterprise plans
• Only visible when scrolling far down product comparison pages

The New Outlook Challenge

Current Situation

• New Outlook client is a web-based desktop application with no COM, VBA, or automation capabilities
• Microsoft has begun automatically switching users from classic Outlook
  • October 2024: Personal accounts
  • January 2025: Small business accounts
  • 2026: Enterprise accounts (planned)

Mitigation Strategies

• Use registry edits or PowerShell to block New Outlook (requires admin rights)
• Consider alternative email clients (Thunderbird, etc.)
• Implement COM Interop/CDO (older technique)
• Explore Microsoft Graph API (Maria Barnes' DevCon session)
• Investigate Power Automate integration (Ynte Jan's DevCon session)

Community Initiatives

Access User Groups and Conferences

• Six conferences scheduled for 2025, including:
  • J Street Access Day in Redmond in March
  • Access DevCon Vienna
  • Valencia (Spanish conference)
  • UK Access user group events in May and October
  • German Access conference in October

Access Forever Initiative

• Community-driven website (AFo) providing organizational information
• Updates on bugs, features, and Access events
• Created by six Access MVPs to maintain visibility for the product

Application Showcase

• New initiative to highlight modern Access applications
• Seeking current, active Access projects that demonstrate capabilities
• Contact form available for developers to submit application stories

Conclusion

Despite marketing challenges and the significant hurdle of New Outlook automation, Microsoft Access continues to receive meaningful updates and has committed support through 2029. The Access community remains active and engaged, with the Access team at Microsoft continuing development on new features like large monitor support and integrated source control. Professional developers still rely heavily on Access for both front-end and back-end development, showing the platform's ongoing relevance in business applications.

Access to Recordings

This presentation was part of Access DevCon Vienna, a paid online conference for Microsoft Access developers. The full recording and other conference materials are exclusively available to registered attendees of the conference.

If you attended Access DevCon Vienna, you should have received (or will soon receive) an email from the conference organizers with a link to the videos.

Consider Attending Future Conferences

The quality and depth of content from Access DevCon Vienna demonstrates the value of professional development conferences focused on Microsoft Access. Consider attending future conferences to:

• Learn advanced techniques directly from expert presenters
• Gain access to exclusive content not available elsewhere
• Ask questions of expert presenters and other attendees
• Stay current with the latest Access development trends and best practices

For information about upcoming Access DevCon Vienna conferences, visit donkarl.com.

Acknowledgements

• Initial draft generated by Claude-3.7-Sonnet