3/1/2023 0 Comments Record navigation bar accessIt’s very similar to the Microsoft Access properties panel but you’ll find a lot more available options. On the bottom right of the screen is the Properties panel which shows the properties, settings and events for whatever object is active at the time.The project that I just created is stored within a Visual Studio solution which can contain a number of projects which can work together. The Solution Explorer panel on the top right of the screen shows the files that make up the project with ‘Form1.cs’ being the form that I’ll be working with in this demo.The individual sources need to be defined in the project before the projects can work with them. Microsoft Access is also a recognized format. Visual Studio can work with a variety of different types of data from SQL Server to text files. Under the Toolbox is the Data Sources panel which shows the databases and other data sources that are currently available to use in projects.If this panel is not showing, you can select it from the View menu at the top of the screen. Just like in Access, you can drag and drop controls onto the form that you’re building and the panel on the left shows the Toolbox with these controls grouped into various categories.While this looks different from the Microsoft Access environment that you might be used to, the Visual Studio IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is really not complicated once you understand the individual parts: For this demo, I’ll use a simple Microsoft Access data file to show how easily it can interface with Visual Studio.įigure 3 – Visual Studio IDE (Click for larger view.) Typically, I would also use Microsoft’s SQL Server Express for the database and that’s also a free download. Creating the Projectįor this demonstration, I’m going to use Visual Studio 2017 Express which is available as a free download from Microsoft. If you follow these steps, you can create a basic Windows program that can be copied and run on other machines. In fact, you can create a basic form with which you can read and edit your data in around five minutes. I want to show you that that’s not always the case. When considering a move to Visual Studio, some users might be intimidated by the idea of having to learn and write masses of code in order to do the same things. One of the things that makes Access so fun to work with is the ability of users to create forms and reports just by dragging and dropping some items and changing a few settings. A couple quick searches of sites like will show you the kind of jobs and salaries that knowledge of Visual Studio can lead to as opposed to Microsoft Access. It enables professional programmers to design any type of solution without being tied to a Microsoft Office installation and without the limitations of the Windows desktop. While Microsoft Access provides some impressive tools for the office power user and even some full-time programmers, Visual Studio is the next step up the development ladder. With Visual Studio, you can create a variety of professional applications from Windows form applications to websites powered by ASP.NET. NET family of languages including C# and VB.NET. One of these tools is Microsoft Visual Studio, the development suite that provides access to the. If you want to get serious about programming, however, it’s important to expand your skillset beyond Access with tools that are in demand by potential employers and customers. Its user-friendly interface provides an easy learning curve and introduction to the basics of relational databases, data entry forms and report design. I’ve written a lot about Microsoft Access over the years and still believe it’s a great training ground for people who want to learn to design database applications. (This article was updated in August 2018 for use with Visual Studio 2017.) Moving Beyond Microsoft Access
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