Tool Smoothes Conversion to Access 2003

A new toolkit is available to help system administrators identify any Access databases that will not work correctly with Access 2003. Although the vast majority of Access databases can be updated to the latest version without trouble (around 99%, according to Microsoft), some require modification before they can be used successfully. Organizations migrating to Office 2003 need to be able to identify all the Access databases in their organization in order to ensure a smooth transition. Prior to the July 2004 availability of the Access 2003 Conversion Toolkit, developers and IT administrators were not easily able to determine in advance which databases could be upgraded directly and which would require modification.

(The most common reason for an Access database conversion to fail is that the developer converted it from an MDB file to an MDE, which compiles the code and secures the database from changes to its schema, forms, and reports. In such cases, the developer must locate the original MDB file, upgrade it to Access 2003, and then reconvert it to an MDE file.)