Part IV: Professional Database Development
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Tip
Change the default Access file format for new files by opening the Access Options dialog box, selecting the
General tab (see Figure 24.3), and selecting the file format you’d like to use from the Default File Format drop-
down list. When you’re creating a new database, you can always select a different file format to use. The
default selection simply makes it easier to work with a particular format if necessary.
FIGURE 24.3Choose the default Access file format on the General tab of the Access Options dialog box.
The Access 2007 file format should be used only in an Access environment where all users are
using Access 2007 or 2010. In addition to complete compatibility with all Access 2007 and 2010
features, you may experience some performance advantages when using the Access .accdb file
format with larger databases. However, you should stay with the Access 2002–2003 file format for
compatibility with a mixed environment of Access 2002, 2003, 2007, or 2010 users. In a mixed
environment of Access 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, or 2010 users; stay with the Access 2000 file for-
mat. An Access 2003, 2007, or 2010 program can attach to Access 97 data files, but if you’re trying
to accommodate Access 97 users, you cannot upgrade the Access 97 data files.Distributing .accde Files
One way to ensure that your application’s code is always compiled is to distribute your database as
an .accde file. When you save your database as an .accde file, Access compiles all code mod-
ules (including form and report modules), removes all editable source code, and compacts the
database. The new .accde file contains no source code but continues to work because it does
contain a compiled copy of all your code. Not only is using an .accde file a great way to secure
your source code, but it also allows you to distribute databases that are smaller (because they