Chapter 38: Upsizing Access Databases to SQL Server
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It is important to understand that an Access .adp file doesn’t contain linked tables. The tables in
an Access .adp file are equivalent to any Access table. The only difference is that the table’s data is
provided by SQL Server and not by the Access Database Engine. And, because the tables are hosted
by SQL Server, the data types available to you are somewhat different from the way they are in a
native Access database. Figure 38.9 shows the user interface of the Access ADP created earlier in
this chapter. Notice how similar it is to any Access application.FIGURE 38.9An Access ADP looks like any other Access 2010 application.
Comparing Access to SQL Server data types
Opening an upsized .adp table in Design view quickly reveals a significant difference between
Access and SQL Server. In Figure 38.10, the Customers table has been open in Design view.
Notice that SQL Server provides many more different field data types and that the properties at the
bottom of the table designer include items such as Precision, Scale, and Identity. These
are all SQL Server constructs, yet they’re accessible from within the Access developer interface.